Accelerate App Development With Google’s Latest Android Jetpack

In the recently held Google I/O 2018 Developer’s Conference, Google CEO Sundar Pichai made some of the biggest announcements.

The major announcements include the introduction of Android P, the contribution of AI and ML in the health sector, the Google Assistant, the smart compose feature in Gmail, Google Photos and much more.

One of the important tools that came into the spotlight during the Google I/O 2018 Developer’s Conference was the introduction of Android Jetpack – the tool to fuel the process of app development.

What is Android Jetpack?

If defined in literal terms, Android Jetpack is a set of components, tools or a guidebook that can help Android app developers in building unique apps. The components of Android Jetpack will offer the additional architectural components and extended Support Library. They have been further categorized into four divisions namely User Interface (UI), Foundation, Architecture and Behavior.

After the introduction of Android P and announcement of major changes to Android app development, Google’s Jetpack is set to rock the mobile world. Once the Jetpack gains the full functionality, the apps can be added and deployed into the Play Store easily.

The Jetpack components also have the support of the “unbundled libraries” but it is not related to the primary Android platform. This enables the developers to implement every component at their own pace.

Further, if you’re quick enough, you can offer new features to your users in just one day.  The unbundled Android Jetpack libraries have moved to the new androidx.*namespace.

Benefits of Android Jetpack

• One of the biggest advantages of Android Jetpack components is that they suitably allow apps to run on all versions of the Android platform due to the independent functionality and backwards compatibility.
• The set of components provided by Google features up-to-date design techniques including the productivity features, testability that enhances the process of app development apart from further simplifying the task. Even the coding work is also very less.
• Although many components of Android Jetpack have been developed together, this does not mean that you have to use them all unnecessarily. The Android Jetpack parts can be integrated in order to resolve the issues. You can keep the parts of your app, which are functioning well.

Key Components Associated with Android Jetpack

• WorkManager – WorkManager is a newly introduced robust component or library by Google. The WorkManager offers solutions related to constraint-based background tasks at one place that needs to be surely executed, thereby substituting the need to use things such as jobs or SyncAdapters.

It also offers updated and simple API, which in turn allows the developers to work on devices without taking any help from Google Play Services. Further, you can also develop graphs of work besides inquiring the status of work.

• Paging – The most popular apps are said to have the huge amount of data, which irritates the user to an extreme level at the time of loading. Therefore, it is recommended not to go for downloading and presenting simultaneously. Google has introduced the Paging component 10.0 due to which you can easily load and present a large amount of data.

It also increases the speed of endless scrolling with the help of RecyclerView. It loads the paged data either from the network or from the local storage or even both thereby making easy for you to update your content.

• Navigation – Most often the developers tend to face problems while developing in-app navigation because of the inconsistency during the sharing and transition of data between each other. Google paid attention towards this and introduced Navigation – a framework that helps to structure the User Interface.

Now, what is that inconsistency? Talking about the Android platforms, screens can be created with a couple of things; first is taking an activity for every single screen, while the second option is taking single activity and different fragment for each of the screens or may be a mix match.

This becomes a challenging task for the developers. Therefore, Navigation has been launched to address that issue and make things easier. This component will offer full extended support to the fragments. Further, you also receive added advantage of the Architecture Components including ViewModel and Lifecycle.

• Android KTX (Kotlin Extensions) – Google has formally declared its full support to the Kotlin Language apart from the Java to develop the best apps. With the release of Android Jetpack, Kotlin language has become more productive and transformation of codes has become much easier than ever due to the presence of Android KTX.
• Slices – The last component of the Android Jetpack is the Slices alpha. It is an all new component that has made its appearance for the first time. With the adoption of Slice method, you can surface your app’s UI inside the Google Assistant as a result of a search.

Conclusion

Google has introduced the Android Jetpack with an aim to accelerate the speed of Android application development process. It comes with a myriad of advantages such as Support Library, the Architecture Components as well as other new components.

What else! It will also extend support to Android Studio and Kotlin language. Mobile app developers and Android app development service providers can also send their feedback and share their experience of using Android Jetpack to Google by visiting its official website.

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