All right, we're ready to dive into Android.

The name Android refers to different things.

Besides a type of phone, it's specifically a collection of software components

that run on phones, tablets, watches, TVs and other hardware.

This software provides the operating environment to do

everything from displaying text on a screen, to sending and

receiving phone calls, to running apps like the one you are about to write.

Making apps for Android requires a few free tools.

They used to be a pain to set up, but it's much easier now.

However, let me say one thing before we get started.

Android is a rapidly evolving technology, and

that means that our tools are constantly evolving too.

So don't worry if your tools look a little different than mine.

The stuff we learn in this project is important foundation stuff that won't ever

change much, if at all.

What's important is that you get comfortable working in a tool like we'll

use here and with the basic concepts of creating an Android app.

One more thing before we begin.

If any minor changes or bugs pop up in these videos,

then we'll add a visual callout like this.

And then, I'll add some notes or

screenshots to the teacher's notes below the video.

So if you spot a difference, check the teacher's notes first and

then let us know in the community.

It's possible that bigger changes might occur too.

And in that case, we'll still add a callout and notes, but

we'll also record an updated video as soon as possible.

So what exactly are we going to use?

Let's take a brief tour and then we'll walk through the setup.

First, we need a place to write code.

We're going to use a tool called Android Studio,

which is known as an Integrated Development Environment or IDE for short.

Android Studio lets you write, build, and test your Android apps.

We don't have to use Android Studio to write our code.

But it is the recommended tool for development.

So that's what we'll be using in these videos.

When it comes time to test our apps,

we're going to run them on something called an emulator.

This is a version of Android that runs on our computers.

However, the emulator doesn't specify anything about the device we would

like to emulate.

So for specifying things like screen size,

we'll use an Android Virtual Device or AVD.

Luckily, Android Studio includes a default virtual device and the emulator.

So we should be ready to test right from the start.

But if you want to learn more about the Android Emulator and virtual devices,

check out the workshop linked in the teacher's notes below.

Being able to use an emulator means that you don't even need an Android device

to write and test Android apps.

It helps, but you can get through this entire course and

beyond using just the emulator.

That's about it for now.

In a moment, we'll walk through setting up our tools and

creating our very first project.

If you need help installing the tools, check out the teacher's notes below for

some installation instructions to help get you started.

I highly, highly recommend you follow along with these videos

by installing the tools and writing your own code as I walk you through it.

You will learn so much more by actually doing it, than just watching the videos.