Build a Ridesharing Android App - Part 1

Getting started is sometimes the hardest part.

Some of the technologies we'll use include the following.

• Room - used to store ride and location information offline so it will (partially) work without internet
• Kotlin - my preferred language of choice, and officially endorsed as a first-class language in Android
• Android Studio - the official IDE for creating Android apps, everything we need -- and free!
• XML - how good design is created, also with ConstraintLayout
• LiveData - from JetPack
• ViewModel - from JetPack
• WorkManager - from JetPack
• Android Architecture Components - aka Jetpack

For this series, we will use either AWS or Firebase. Both offer affordable, scalable and performant backend solutions while staying below $10/month.

1. Initial Setup

Create a new Android Studio Project

Use Kotlin and androidx

Now you'll see the different panes of Android Studio.

Android Studio can be a difficult program to use. However, it's strength is in its power, and with that power you can do anything. First, you'll notice that Android Studio opens content_main.xml. This is the layout -- or UI -- for our app.