Android
Android is a Linux-based operating system developed for mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets. Developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance and first published in 2008, Android has started to be used in wristwatches, televisions, glasses and even automobiles, with the advancement and development of technology. As the number of mobile devices and users in the world increases, Android has become the most popular operating system in the world. In the statements made as of 2021, Sameer Samat, who served as Vice President of Google Product Management, announced that the number of active smart devices using the Android operating system worldwide has exceeded 3 billion.
Android is an open source operating system based on Linux and is free to use. By offering Android to users as free and open source, Google aimed for the operating system to develop faster and for technology companies to use the price advantage and to use the Android operating system on more devices. This move made by Google gave the desired result and a very large software developer community with users from 190 different countries emerged to improve the functions and capabilities of the devices by taking advantage of the open source code. Applications for mobile devices using the Android operating system are published in the application market called Google Play Store. The application extension supported on the Android operating system is “.apk”. According to recent statements, in the second quarter of 2020, Android users will be able to access more than 2.7 million applications through the Google Play Store. These applications reached 28.3 billion downloads in the same period.
Parts That Make Up Android
There are 5 basic parts that make up the Android operating system, which is developed based on Linux. These sections;
- Sunflower seed : Android is based on Linux. Therefore, the Android kernel is also a Linux kernel. The core includes security, process and memory management, network stacks and driver models.
- Android RunTime: It is a virtual machine for the Android operating system.
- Library : It is the section that contains the web browser, database, graphics and interface libraries.
- Application Framework: It is the section with a wide platform for application developers.
- Application Layer: It is the section that contains applications developed with the Java program.
history
When we examine the history of the Android operating system, it is possible to find some interesting information. The most important of these is that the first purpose of Android’s development was digital cameras rather than phones. During his speech at a forum in Tokyo, Andy Rubin, one of the founders of Android, explains that they actually developed the operating system they use on mobile phones for cameras, but cameras did not have a large enough market and they entered the mobile device market by keeping up with the developing technology.
Android Versions and Namings
| Version | Code name | Release date |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Android 1.0 | September 23, 2008 |
| 1.1 | Android 1.1 | 9 February 2009 |
| 2.3 | gingerbread | February 9, 2011 |
| 2.3.6 | gingerbread | September 2, 2011 |
| 3.0 | honeycomb | 22 February 2011 |
| 4.0 | Ice Cream Sandwich | 19 October 2011 |
| 4.1 | Jelly Beans | July 9, 2012 |
| 4.2 | Jelly Beans | November 13, 2012 |
| 4.3 | Jelly Beans | July 24, 2013 |
| 4.4 | kitkat | 31 October 2013 |
| 4.4.4 | kitkat | 19 June 2014 |
| 5.0 | lollipop | 3 November 2014 |
| 5.1 | lollipop | March 9, 2015 |
| 6.0 | marshmallow | October 5, 2015 |
| 7.0 | nougat | 22 August 2016 |
| 7.1 | nougat | October 4, 2016 |
| 7.1.1 | nougat | December 5, 2016 |
| 8.0 | Oreos | 21 August 2017 |
| 8.1 | Oreos | December 5, 2017 |
| 9 | pie | 6 August 2018 |
| 10 | 10 | September 3, 2019 |
| 11th | 11th | September 8, 2020 |
Table 1: Android Operating System Versions and Release Dates
Android for developers
With today’s technology, the number of mobile devices is increasing day by day. In this sense, many software developers are developing applications for devices with Android operating system in order to meet the needs of users and make their lives easier. The software most used by software developers is the Android Studio program. Apart from this, it is possible to develop Android applications with various software such as Xamarin, Cordova, Titanium, Eclipse and IntelliJ.
The developer options available in the Android operating system are turned off by default. You need to go to the settings menu of the phone and press the version number in the About phone section within the system option settings repeatedly until the “You are Now a Developer” notification appears. After this notification, developer settings for mobile application developers will be available in the settings menu.
How to Install Android Applications?
Installing applications on your Android devices is done as follows:
- Go to your device’s Settings menu and click on “Apps”.
- Click on “Manage Apps” and go to “All Apps”.
- Click on “App Sources” and turn on “Download from App Stores”.
- Open the Google Play Store app and type the name of the app in the search bar.
- Find the app and click the “Install” button.
- Wait for the installation process to complete and click the “Open” button to open the application.
You can also install applications using APK files on your Android devices. These files are package files used to install applications on Android devices, and they can usually be downloaded from the application’s official website or another source. After downloading the APK file, open the “Developer Options” setting on your device and enable the “Install Apps from Unknown Sources” option. Next, copy the APK file to your device and start the installation process by clicking on the APK file from the file manager.
