Programming for Non-Programmers: Android & Kotlin

Get a beginner's guide to programming, focused on Android app development. Learn the Kotlin programming language and the foundations of good app design.

Anyone can learn programming with the right tools and training. Android is a great place to start. It's free and easy to adopt and the programming language, Kotlin, is built on the world's most popular language, Java. Join Todd Perkins for this training course, which teaches the most important concepts about Android app development in a visual way that people of any background can understand. You can build a functional app in a few hours and figure out if programming is right for you, without a lengthy time commitment. By the end, you'll have a basic understanding of the building blocks of the Kotlin development language, including variables, methods, and control flow, and the essentials of good interface design. You'll also put together a complete real-world app—a usable calculator—that can run on any Android device.

Introduction

• Welcome
• What you should know before watching
• How to use the exercise files
• The finished app

1. Set Up Your Coding Environment

• Find and install Android Studio
• Create an Android Studio project
• Install Android SDKs and build tools
• The Android Studio interface
• Change preferences in Android Studio
• Using the Android Emulator

2. Programming Building Blocks: Variables

• How programming works
• Variables
• Working with variables
• Using properties
• Connect visual objects to variables
• Enum values
• Private properties and constants
• Practical applications of variables
• Challenge: Create two variables
• Solution: Create two variables

3. Programming Building Blocks: Methods

• Methods
• Using methods
• Parameter methods
• Connect a button to a method
• Practical applications of methods
• Challenge: Methods
• Solution: Methods

4. Programming Building Blocks: Control Flow

• Conditional statements
• Using conditional statements
• Boolean values
• Arrays
• Using arrays
• Loops
• Using loops
• When statements
• Using when statements
• Practical examples of conditional statements
• Challenge: Build a mini calculator app
• Solution: Build a mini calculator app

5. Plan and Prepare the App

• From building blocks to building apps
• Customize UI objects
• Themes
• Grid layouts
• Arrange buttons in a grid layout
• Finish the user interface
• View the app's code structure visually

6. Build a Full Application

• Set up properties and methods
• Connect all of the visual elements to code
• Display tapped numbers in the calculator
• Make the Clear button clear all values
• Set the calculator to add or subtract
• Show the total when the equals button is tapped
• Format the number
• Challenge: Multiplication button
• Solution: Multiplication button

Conclusion

• Next steps