Android Application Development All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 1

Using Android Studio

IN THIS CHAPTER

Making sense of all that stuff in Android Studio's main window

Getting the most out of Android Studio

When you develop software, you have two options:

• Be tough and use only command-line tools. Edit programs with plain-text editors, such as UNIX vi, GNU Emacs, Windows Notepad, or Macintosh TextEdit. Issue commands to the Windows command prompt or in the Macintosh Terminal window.
• Be wimpy and use an integrated development environment (an IDE). Execute commands by clicking menu items. Edit programs with a full-featured editor — an editor customized for whatever programming language you use. Change object values with code-aware property sheets. Create forms by dragging widgets from a palette to a visual layout.

We admire toughness, but wimpiness is more efficient. Being wimpy makes you more productive and less prone to error. Also, being wimpy helps you to concentrate on the app that you're creating instead of having to focus on the commands to create the app.

Don't get us wrong. Tough command-line tools are great in a pinch. When your IDE covers up subtle (but important) details, you need command-line tools to show you what's going on behind the scenes. But for most developers, most of the time, IDEs are great time-savers.

With ...