During development of this course, all samples were built using Android Studio 3.3, and the codelabs assume you are using Android Studio 3.3 with. Code for the solution apps in this course are in a different repository.

so that you can more quickly solve the problem. A starter app is an app that contains the code for starting a codelab. You’ll then also be able to ‘debug’ the program as it runs and get feedback explaining crashes etc. At the same time, Android Studio also enables you to run your code, either through an emulator or through a piece of hardware connected to your machine. Java is needed to write the programs, the Android SDK is needed to make those programs run on Android and Android Studio has the job of putting it all together for you. Think of this as an extension to the Java code that allows it to run smoothly on Android devices and take advantage of the native hardware. At the same time, Android Studio will give you access to the Android SDK or ‘Software Development Kit’. Android Studio is simply where you will write, edit and save your projects and the files that comprise said projects. If you choose Java, this will be installed separately on your machine.

The programming language you will be using is either Java or Kotlin. As an IDE then, Android Studio’s job is to provide the interface for you to create your apps and to handle much of the complicated file-management behind the scenes.

Beginning android studio development