Lesson 02 · Android with Kotlin & Compose
Android: Android Studio & Your First App
Install the real toolchain with honest numbers, generate a Compose app from the Empty Activity template, learn the job of every file the wizard leaves behind, add a dependency through the version catalog, and run your app on an emulator or a phone.
Prerequisites: Android: Kotlin Fundamentals
Learning objectives
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Install Android Studio with realistic expectations for RAM, disk and virtualization, and say what the SDK, platform-tools and AVD manager each contribute
- Generate a Compose app from the Empty Activity template and explain what onCreate and setContent do when Android starts the app
- Name every file in a fresh project - AndroidManifest.xml, res/, app/build.gradle.kts, the root build.gradle.kts, settings.gradle.kts and gradle/libs.versions.toml - and state its one job
- Add a dependency by declaring it once in the version catalog, referencing the generated accessor in build.gradle.kts, and syncing Gradle
- Choose between an emulator and a physical device for a given task and enable USB debugging on a real phone