The document provides 20 tips for becoming a better Android developer, emphasizing the importance of understanding the Android framework, learning new programming languages, and contributing to open-source projects. Developers are encouraged to improve their coding skills through reading others' code, adopting clean coding practices, and focusing on app architecture and design. Additionally, adopting habits like consistency and effective use of time are highlighted as keys to long-term success in the field.

1. How to become a better Android
developer: 20 bite-sized pro tips
www.asterixsolution.com/android-development-course.html

2. • 1. Get more familiar with the Android framework internals
• I am not talking about the documentation but the actual framework code. I
have seen many developers who were afraid to dive deep into the Android
framework internals. Don't be one of them. It's amazing how much you can
discover when you see how things actually work and how the different
pieces fit together properly.
• If you need to up your Android game, stop shying away from the inner
workings of the Android SDK and start befriending it.

3. • 2. Get over your fear of missing out (FOMO)
• Android is big, very big. You cannot learn it completely end to end in a
month or three. And the more you learn, the more you will understand
how much you don't know. As a beginner, it’s perfectly normal to be afraid
that you're missing out on learning crucial information by trying to build
things while still in a state of great ignorance, but try to get over it.
• Learn the things that you really need to get started with the app you are
currently working on and then slowly expand your horizon.
•

4. • 3. Start reading a lot more code
• Most developers don’t take time to read what other developers are
writing. And they spend most of their time writing what they already know.
• But that will not help you grow as a complete Android developer. The only
way to truly become a better developer is to read the excellent code of
more experienced developers. You should start looking at other open-
source apps and libraries, where you'll discover a lot of coding techniques
and feature implementations that you had no idea about before.

5. • 4. Consider learning more languages
• I am not telling you to learn Spanish or Chinese, obviously. I'm saying you
should learn new programming languages. You need to keep yourself
updated with what is happening in the industry rather than confining your
thinking to the Android space.
• This will open up your perspective, inspire new ideas, and help you
improve your Android development skills significantly. Make up your mind
to learn one new programming language every year.

6. • 5. It’s time to learn Java design patterns
• I can’t stress enough how important this can be in your Android development
career. Whenever you are stuck in trying to solve a critical programming
problem, design patterns can be a lifesaver.
• You also need to be on the same page with other developers, so that when
they are talking about using a Factory, Decorator, or Facade pattern, you
instantly know what they mean.
• Make a promise to yourself to learn one new design pattern every week until
you know most of them.

7. • 6. Start contributing to open source
• If you have developed a library, plugin, or other useful piece of code and you're
using it in your own app, consider open-sourcing it. There's much to learn in
the process of contributing to open-source projects or maintaining your
own. It's an excellent crash course in open-source development that will
exponentially increase your value as a developer.
• If you don’t have anything to open-source, consider checking out other open-
source projects that interest you, and fix some bugs, improve the
documentation, or write a few tests there.
• Even the smallest bit of contribution (such as fixing some grammatical errors in
the docs) will be helpful for the project maintainer to keep the project running.

8. • 7. Make your IDE work for you
• Start spending more time in understanding the IDE you are using:
Android Studio. It can do much more than you probably think it can.
There are many cool features and shortcuts hidden in the IDE that
most developers don’t even try to discover.
• Make it a habit to discover new and better ways of making your tools
work for you, thereby improving your workflow and productivity.

9. • 8. It’s time to architect your app properly
• Most of the time we end up dumping all our code in the Activities or
Fragments (I've committed this sin as well), turning them into gigantic God
objects that are nearly impossible to maintain and test.
• It is very important to adopt a good architecture for your app, such as MVP
or MVVM. Separate your app’s business logic, view interactions, and data
interactions into different layers so that they're easy to manage and test.

10. • 9. Learn clean coding guidelines for Android
• You can’t ignore this either, because it's really difficult to maintain the
standard coding guidelines of Android development when working
with developers who don’t write clean code.
• It’s not rocket science, and it shouldn't take you more than a few
hours to learn most of the fundamental Android coding guidelines.

11. • 10. Spend some time learning about Android best practices
• To give yourself an edge over other developers and build apps that
look good and work well, you need to start learning some of the best
practices of Android development.
• Learn the dos and don’ts that will help you become a better
developer and help your app stand out from the rest.

12. • 11. Use your free time effectively by listening to podcasts
• Try to use your time properly and effectively. When you are
commuting, working out at the gym, driving, or cooking, your genius
brain is not doing too much.
• You can multitask at such times by listening to some Android
podcasts.

13. • 12. Don’t over-engineer things. Be realistic.
• I have seen this happen not only with me but with several fellow
developers as well. Thinking about something before starting to work
on it is good (very good, actually), but overthinking and
overanalyzing lead to unnecessary confusion, delay, and anxiety.
• Do what seems good for the project right now, and you can always
adjust to the changing situations in the future as required.

14. • 13. Try to learn about design
• I can understand that as a developer your primary focus is on learning to
write better code. But if you want to be a complete developer, you should
start spending some time on learning and understanding user interface (UI)
and user experience (UX) design as well.
• This will change the way you look at the apps you have been coding. Try to
talk and interact more with the UI and UX designers in your team to get
better insight into app design.

15. • 14. Start being a perfectionist
• "Perfect" is a subjective term, but as a rule of thumb, try to achieve the
best possible version of the product that you are required to deliver, all the
time.
• Never settle for less. Don’t work on something just for the sake of it. Be
passionate about the work you are doing, and do it better than the best.
This will help you constantly grow and become a more successful
developer in the long run.

16. • 15. Consistency is the key to success
• If you want to be successful as a developer (or anything else in life), you
need to be consistent.
• Doing something for a few days or weeks and then quitting won’t take
you anywhere. Don’t be fickle. Try to visualize where you want to be as
an Android developer in the next few years and stick to your goal,
whatever challenges come your way.
• It is very easy to start doing something but very difficult to continue
doing it with the same passion and dedication for a long time.

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