Android Studio
Android Studio is the official[7] integrated development environment (IDE) for Google's Android operating system, built on JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA software and designed specifically for Android development.[8] It is available for download on Windows, macOS and Linux based operating systems or as a subscription-based service in 2020.[9][10] It is a replacement for the Eclipse Android Development Tools (E-ADT) as the primary IDE for native Android application development.
Android Studio 3.1 running on macOS | |
Developer(s) | Google, JetBrains |
---|---|
Stable release | 4.0.1 (July 14, 2020[1]) [±] |
Preview release | 4.2 Canary 4 (July 8, 2020[2]) [±] |
Repository | |
Written in | Java, Kotlin and C++ |
Operating system | Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome OS[3] |
Size | 727 to 877 MB[3] |
Type | Integrated development environment (IDE) |
License | Freeware[4] +Source code[5][6] |
Website | developer |
Android Studio was announced on May 16, 2013 at the Google I/O conference. It was in early access preview stage starting from version 0.1 in May 2013, then entered beta stage starting from version 0.8 which was released in June 2014.[11] The first stable build was released in December 2014, starting from version 1.0.[12]
On May 7, 2019, Kotlin replaced Java as Google's preferred language for Android app development.[13] Java is still supported, as is C++.[14]
Features
The following features are provided in the current stable version:[15][16]
- Gradle-based build support
- Android-specific refactoring and quick fixes
- Lint tools to catch performance, usability, version compatibility and other problems
- ProGuard integration and app-signing capabilities
- Template-based wizards to create common Android designs and components
- A rich layout editor that allows users to drag-and-drop UI components, option to preview layouts on multiple screen configurations[17]
- Support for building Android Wear apps
- Built-in support for Google Cloud Platform, enabling integration with Firebase Cloud Messaging (Earlier 'Google Cloud Messaging') and Google App Engine[18]
- Android Virtual Device (Emulator) to run and debug apps in the Android studio.
Android Studio supports all the same programming languages of IntelliJ (and CLion) e.g. Java, C++, and more with extensions, such as Go;[19] and Android Studio 3.0 or later supports Kotlin[20] and "all Java 7 language features and a subset of Java 8 language features that vary by platform version."[21] External projects backport some Java 9 features.[22] While IntelliJ states that Android Studio is built on supports all released Java versions, and Java 12, it's not clear to what level Android Studio supports Java versions up to Java 12 (the documentation mentions partial Java 8 support). At least some new language features up to Java 12 are usable in Android.[23]
Version history
The following is a list of Android Studio's major releases:[24]
Version | Release date |
---|---|
1.0 | December 2014 |
1.1 | February 2015 |
1.2 | April 2015 |
1.3 | July 2015 |
1.4 | September 2015 |
1.5 | November 2015 |
2.0 | April 2016 |
2.1 | April 2016 |
2.2 | September 2016 |
2.3 | March 2017 |
3.0 | October 2017 |
3.1 | March 2018 |
3.2 | September 2018 |
3.3 | January 2019 |
3.4 | April 2019 |
3.5 | August 2019 |
3.6 | February 2020 |
4.0 | May 2020 |
System requirements[7]
Microsoft Windows | Mac | Linux | |
---|---|---|---|
Operating System Version | Microsoft® Windows® 7/8/10 (32- or 64-bit)
The Android Emulator only supports 64-bit Windows. |
Mac® OS X® 10.10 (Yosemite) or higher,
up to 10.14 (macOS Mojave) |
GNOME or KDE desktop
Tested on gLinux based on Debian (4.19.67-2rodete2). |
Random Access Memory (RAM) | 4 GB RAM minimum; 8 GB RAM recommended. | ||
Free disk space | 2 GB of available disk space minimum, 4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image). | ||
Minimum required JDK version | Java Development Kit 8 | ||
Minimum screen resolution | 1280 x 800 |
The Android Emulator has additional requirements beyond the basic system requirements for Android Studio, which are described below:[25]
- SDK Tools 26.1.1 or higher;
- 64-bit processor;
- Windows: CPU with UG (unrestricted guest) support;
- HAXM 6.2.1 or later (HAXM 7.2.0 or later recommended).
The use of hardware acceleration has additional requirements on Windows and Linux:
- Intel processor on Windows or Linux: Intel processor with support for Intel VT-x, Intel EM64T (Intel 64), and Execute Disable (XD) Bit functionality;
- AMD processor on Linux: AMD processor with support for AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) and Supplemental Streaming SIMD Extensions 3 (SSSE3);
- AMD processor on Windows: Android Studio 3.2 or higher and Windows 10 April 2018 release or higher for Windows Hypervisor Platform (WHPX) functionality.
To work with Android 8.1 (API level 27) and higher system images, an attached webcam must have the capability to capture 720p frames.
References
- "Android Studio release notes". Android Developers. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- "Android Studio 4.2 Canary 4 available". Android Studio Release Updates. July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- "Download Options". developer.android.com. Google. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
- "Terms and Conditions". developer.android.com. Google. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
- "Build Overview". android.com.
- "Building Android Studio". android.com.
- "Android Studio website".
- Ducrohet, Xavier; Norbye, Tor; Chou, Katherine (May 15, 2013). "Android Studio: An IDE built for Android". Android Developers Blog. Google. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- "Getting Started with Android Studio". Android Developers. Google. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
- Haslam, Oliver (May 16, 2013). "Download Android Studio IDE For Windows, OS X And Linux". Redmond Pie. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- "Download Android Studio". Android Developers. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
- "Google Launches Android Studio And New Features For Developer Console, Including Beta Releases And Staged Rollout". VentureBeat. December 8, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- "Kotlin is now Google's preferred language for Android app development". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- Sinicki, Adam. "I want to develop Android Apps — What languages should I learn?". Android Authority. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- Honig, Zach (May 15, 2013). "Google intros Android Studio, an IDE for building apps". Engadget. AOL. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- Dobie, Alex (May 15, 2013). "Android Studio unveiled at Google I/O keynote". Android Central. Mobile Nations. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- Olanoff, Drew (May 15, 2013). "Google Launches Android Studio And New Features For Developer Console, Including Beta Releases And Staged Rollout". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
- "Android Studio BETA". Google. Google. May 15, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
- Google Go language IDE built using the IntelliJ Platform: go-lang-plugin-org/go-lang-idea-plugin, Go Language support for IDEA based IDEs, February 23, 2019, retrieved February 23, 2019,
Supported IDEs [..] Android Studio 1.2.1+
- "Get Started with Kotlin on Android | Android Developers". developer.android.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
- "Use Java 8 language features | Android Developers". developer.android.com. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
- "android-retroflow: Backport of Java 9 (JEP 266) reactive-streams Flow and SubmissionPublisher API for Android Studio 3.0 desugar toolchain, forked from [..]". retrostreams. October 22, 2017. Retrieved October 25, 2017.
- "Android's Java 9, 10, 11, and 12 Support". Jake Wharton. November 27, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
Hopefully by the time Java 12 is actually released D8 will have implemented desugaring for Java 11’s nestmates. Otherwise the pain of being stuck on Java 10 will go up quite a bit!
- "Android Studio Release Notes". Android Developers Official Website. August 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- "Run apps on the Android Emulator". Android Developers. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
External links
- Official homepage at developer.android.com