just starting out on Android development; figured i'd gather bits as i learned them.

  1. Install Android Studio
    1. https://developer.android.com/studio
    2. be sure to check the sha256 just in case; they're in the lower half of the above page with no internal link. :-/
  2. create ~/.local/share/applications/android-studio.desktop
    1. [Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Android Studio
Comment=Android IDE
Exec=/path/to/android-studio/bin/studio
Icon=/path/to/android-studio/bin/studio.png
Terminal=false
Categories=Development;IDE;
StartupNotify=true
    2. chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/android-studio.desktop
    3. it will now appear in the Apps list (if you're using Ubuntu + GNOME)
  3. start android-studio
  4. new Project
    1. select an Activity
      1. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/android/introduction-to-activities-in-android/
      2. Activity Lifecycle dictates which methods of the Activity are invoked when and why
        1. https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/android/activity-lifecycle-in-android-with-demo-app/
Template UI System What It Generates Best For
No Activity None Completely empty project; no Activity, no layout, no Compose setup Custom architectures, manual setup, advanced users
Empty Activity XML ``MainActivity.kt`` + ``activity_main.xml``; classic ``setContentView()`` Traditional XML apps, tutorials, legacy UI
Gemini API Compose Activity wired to Google AI Gemini API client; sample request/response UI AI‑powered apps, chatbots, LLM demos
Navigation UI Activity Compose Activity with Navigation Compose graph, multiple screens, scaffold Multi‑screen apps, modern navigation patterns
Basic Views Activity Compose Starter UI with Material3 theme, sample composables, preview Compose beginners, quick prototypes
Empty Views Activity Compose Minimal Compose setup; empty ``setContent ``{}`` block Compose experts, custom UI from scratch
Responsive Views Activity Compose Adaptive layout scaffolding (window size classes, foldables) Tablets, foldables, desktop Android, responsive UI
Game Activity Native/Compose hybrid Activity with game loop, rendering surface, input handling 2D/3D games, custom rendering engines
Native C++ C++ + XML Activity + JNI bridge + CMake + native code sample High‑performance native apps, NDK projects