The Evolution of Android
Google, seeing a large growth of
Internet use and search in mobile devices, acquired Android, Inc., in 2005 to focus
its development on a mobile device platform. Apple introduced the iPhone in 2007 with some
ground-breaking ideas including multitouch and an open market for
applications.Android was quickly adapted to include these features and to offer definite distinctions,
such as more control for developers and multitasking. In addition,Android incorporates
enterprise requirements, such as exchange support, remote wipe, and Virtual Private Network
(VPN) support, to go after the enterprise market that Research In Motion has developed
and held so well with its Blackberry models.
Device diversity and quick
adaptation have helped Android grow its user base, but it comes with potential challenges
for developers.Applications need to support multiple screen sizes, resolution ratios,
keyboards, hardware sensors, OS versions, wireless data rates, and system configurations. Each
can lead to different and unpredictable behavior, but testing applications across all
environments is an impossible task.
Android has therefore been
constructed to ensure as uniform an experience across platforms as possible. By
abstracting the hardware differences,Android OS tries to insulate applications from device-specific
modifications while providing the flexibility to tune aspects as needed.
Future-proofing of applications to the introduction of new hardware platforms
and OS updates is also a consideration.This mostly works as long as the
developer is well aware of this systematic
approach.The generic Application Programming Interfaces (API) that Android
offers and how to ensure device and OS compatibility are main threads discussed throughout
this book.
Still, as with any embedded
platform, extensive testing of applications is required. Google provides assistance to
third-party developers in many forms as Android Development Tool (ADT) plugins for Eclipse
(also as standalone tools) including real-time logging capabilities, a realistic
emulator that runs native ARM code, and in-field error reports from users to developers of
Android Market applications.
0 komentar:
Post a Comment