What's the best way to learn android for someone with no previous programming experience? [closed]

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, visit the help center for guidance. Closed 11 years ago.

I really want to get into android programming and I've already read two books and a lot of the stuff that is going on here. Thanks a lot. This site has already become my very favorite resource. Anyhow, do开发者_C百科es somebody have any additional tips on how to accelerate the time to take off? Thanks a lot!

---

That's like wanting to jump straight into a Formula 1 car and race in a Grand Prix before you've ever had even a single lesson driving a regular car. First tackle some basic non-Android programming. It's "just Java", and there's lots you can do with Java without having to deal with the Android platform on top of everything else.

Especially if you've never programmed before. Get the core programming concepts clear in your head first, then work your way up to a specific platform.

---

I started out reading a couple of books, but didnt feel I got into programming fast enough. So I just dove into it and started making a simple app and then googled (and used stack overflow) ALOT when I needed help..

I suggest following the tutorials and guides on http://developer.android.com and just jump into it

---

Learn java and start with the tutorials They are really good :)

You can do both (java and tutorials) semi at the same time, althoug some basis in java is a good thing :)

---

I find that books are a real help, I recently bought an android application for dummies book, which is helpful for revising the basics. It would deem that you are already well on your way - after all, you are using a website like stack overflow!

Personally, I would recommend looking at C# before or at the same time as Java, they both have a similar syntax and both have very good IDE's. If you're looking at the web as a potential outlet for your skills, then PHP is a sort of similar option.

---

I suggest you play with App Inventor for a while also. This will let you dive in and start learning about what goes into an android application without the daunting task of staring and neverending lines of code.

http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/

---

The first step is to learn programming. I started by reading "Learn C++ in 21 days" but Android is Java-based so you would probably want to start with that (although C/C++ is still my recommendation for someone just starting out). However, be careful - the current Java books out there focus a lot on Swing and teach using NetBeans. Swing is useless if you are only interested in Android and most development is done in Eclipse, not NetBeans.

Now that I think of it, you only need to know very basic programming to start with Android (classes, functions, variables, types, inheritance, loops and maybe some simple algorithms) and the rest you can learn from an Android book. Here are some recommendations: The Best Books for Developing on the Android Platform. There are good resources online as well but it is mostly pure documentation and only a couple low-level tutorials.

In general, you should be prepared that if you want to learn how to program, it will take time.