How to Build Android Applications with Kotlin: A hands-on guide to developing, testing, and publishing production-grade Android 16 apps , Third Edition

Alex Forrester

Eran Boudjnah

Alexandru Dumbravan

Jomar Tigcal

$49.99

Paperback Sep 2025 654 pages 3rd Edition

Alex Forrester

Eran Boudjnah

Alexandru Dumbravan

Jomar Tigcal

$49.99

Paperback Sep 2025 654 pages 3rd Edition

What do you get with Print?

Instant access to your digital copy whilst your Print order is Shipped

Paperback book shipped to your preferred address

Redeem a companion digital copy on all Print orders

Access this title in our online reader with advanced features

DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want

AI Assistant (beta) to help accelerate your learning

View table of contents

Preview Book

How to Build Android Applications with Kotlin

Creating Your First App

This chapter is an introduction to Android, where you will set up the Android Studio environment and focus on the fundamentals of Android development.

You will cover creating an Android project with Android Studio. Then, you will set up a virtual device and run your app on it. You will explore the Android manifest file, which details all the Android app components, features, and permissions model. You will learn how to use the Gradle build system and analyze the Android application structure. You will start developing user interfaces (UIs) with the Android UI toolkit, Jetpack Compose.

By the end of this chapter, you will have gained the knowledge required to create an Android app from scratch and install it on a virtual Android device. You will be able to analyze and understand the importance of the AndroidManifest.xml file. You will know how an app project is structured in Android Studio and use the Gradle build tool to configure and build your app...

The Android manifest file

The app you have just created, although simple, encompasses the core building blocks that you will use in all the projects you create. The app is driven from the AndroidManifest.xml file, a manifest file that details the contents of your app. To open it, locate the tool window by selecting View | Tool Windows | Project. Once displayed, the drop-down options on the top of the Project window allow you to change the way you view your project, with the most commonly used displays being Android and Project:

Figure 1.14 – The Tool Windows drop-down menu

The AndroidManifest.xml file is located at app | manifests in the Android display of the Project window:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest
    xmlns:android="
        http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">
    <application...

Android application structure

Now that we have covered how the Gradle build tool works, we’ll explore the rest of the project. The simplest way to do this is to examine the folder structure of the app. Open up the Project tool window.When you select it, you will see a view like the screenshot in Figure 1.17. If you can’t see any window bars on the left-hand side of the screen, then go to the top toolbar and select View | Appearance | Tool Window Bars and make sure it is ticked.Open the corresponding folders in the Android display. This view neatly groups the app folder structure, so let’s look at it:

Figure 1.17 – Overview of the files and folder structure in the app

The Kotlin file (MainActivity), which you’ve specified as running when the app starts, is as follows:

import…
class MainActivity : ComponentActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
 ...

Download Code

Key benefits

Build real-world Android apps with Kotlin and the Jetpack Compose UI framework
Leverage the latest libraries to accelerate your Android development
Overcome development challenges with tips and tricks from experienced Android professionals
Get With Your Book: PDF Copy, AI Assistant, and Next-Gen Reader Free

Description

Written by four veteran developers with 60+ years of collective experience, this updated third edition will jumpstart your Android development journey, focusing on Kotlin libraries and Jetpack Compose, Google’s powerful declarative UI framework. You’ll learn the fundamentals of app development, enabling you to use Android Studio, as well as get to grips with Jetpack Compose to create your first screens, build apps to run them on virtual devices through guided exercises, and implement Jetpack Compose’s layout groups to make the most of lists, images, and maps. The book has been updated with Kotlin’s powerful networking and coroutines libraries to help you fetch data in the background from a web service and manage displaying the data using Kotlin flows. You’ll learn about testing, creating clean architecture, and persisting data, as well as exploring the dependency injection pattern and learning how to publish your apps on the Google Play Store. You'll also work on realistic projects split up into bite-size exercises and activities, along with building apps to create quizzes, read news articles, check weather reports, store recipes, retrieve movie information, and remind you where you parked your car. By the end of this book, you'll have gained the skills and confidence to build your own creative Android apps using Kotlin.

Who is this book for?

This book is for beginners as well as intermediate-level developers with no prior experience in Android app development. Basic knowledge of the Kotlin programming language or experience in a similar programming language, along with a willingness to brush up on Kotlin is required.

What you will learn

Create maintainable and scalable apps using Kotlin
Grasp Android asynchronous programming with coroutines and the Flow API
Simplify app development with Google architecture components
Apply MVVM and Repository architecture patterns to standardize retrieving and displaying data from outside sources
Increase app stability and robustness with unit and integration tests
Use standard libraries for dependency injection, networking, data parsing, and persistence
Publish your app on the Google Play Store

Estimated delivery fee Deliver to United States

Economy delivery 10 - 13 business days

Free ~~$6.95~~

Premium delivery 6 - 9 business days

$21.95

(Includes tracking information)

What do you get with Print?

Instant access to your digital copy whilst your Print order is Shipped

Paperback book shipped to your preferred address

Redeem a companion digital copy on all Print orders

Access this title in our online reader with advanced features

DRM FREE - Read whenever, wherever and however you want

AI Assistant (beta) to help accelerate your learning

FAQs

What is the digital copy I get with my Print order?

When you buy any Print edition of our Books, you can redeem (for free) the eBook edition of the Print Book you’ve purchased. This gives you instant access to your book when you make an order via PDF, EPUB or our online Reader experience.

What is the delivery time and cost of print book?

Shipping Details

USA:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

Economy: Can deliver to P. O. Boxes and private residences.
Trackable service with delivery to addresses in Australia only.
Delivery time ranges from 7-9 business days for VIC and 8-10 business days for Interstate metro
Delivery time is up to 15 business days for remote areas of WA, NT & QLD.

Premium: Delivery to addresses in Australia only
Trackable delivery to most P. O. Boxes and private residences in Australia within 4-5 days based on the distance to a destination following dispatch.

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Disclaimer:
All orders received before 5 PM U.K time would start printing from the next business day. So the estimated delivery times start from the next day as well. Orders received after 5 PM U.K time (in our internal systems) on a business day or anytime on the weekend will begin printing the second to next business day. For example, an order placed at 11 AM today will begin printing tomorrow, whereas an order placed at 9 PM tonight will begin printing the day after tomorrow.

Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

Afghanistan
American Samoa
Belarus
Brunei Darussalam
Central African Republic
The Democratic Republic of Congo
Eritrea
Guinea-bissau
Iran
Lebanon
Libiya Arab Jamahriya
Somalia
Sudan
Russian Federation
Syrian Arab Republic
Ukraine
Venezuela

What is custom duty/charge?

Customs duty are charges levied on goods when they cross international borders. It is a tax that is imposed on imported goods. These duties are charged by special authorities and bodies created by local governments and are meant to protect local industries, economies, and businesses.

Do I have to pay customs charges for the print book order?

The orders shipped to the countries that are listed under EU27 will not bear custom charges. They are paid by Packt as part of the order.

List of EU27 countries: www.gov.uk/eu-eea:

A custom duty or localized taxes may be applicable on the shipment and would be charged by the recipient country outside of the EU27 which should be paid by the customer and these duties are not included in the shipping charges been charged on the order.

How do I know my custom duty charges?

The amount of duty payable varies greatly depending on the imported goods, the country of origin and several other factors like the total invoice amount or dimensions like weight, and other such criteria applicable in your country.

For example:

If you live in Mexico, and the declared value of your ordered items is over $ 50, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 19% which will be $ 9.50 to the courier service.
Whereas if you live in Turkey, and the declared value of your ordered items is over € 22, for you to receive a package, you will have to pay additional import tax of 18% which will be € 3.96 to the courier service.

How can I cancel my order?

Cancellation Policy for Published Printed Books:

You can cancel any order within 1 hour of placing the order. Simply contact customercare@packt.com with your order details or payment transaction id. If your order has already started the shipment process, we will do our best to stop it. However, if it is already on the way to you then when you receive it, you can contact us at customercare@packt.com using the returns and refund process.

Please understand that Packt Publishing cannot provide refunds or cancel any order except for the cases described in our Return Policy (i.e. Packt Publishing agrees to replace your printed book because it arrives damaged or material defect in book), Packt Publishing will not accept returns.

What is your returns and refunds policy?

Return Policy:

We want you to be happy with your purchase from Packtpub.com. We will not hassle you with returning print books to us. If the print book you receive from us is incorrect, damaged, doesn't work or is unacceptably late, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com with the order number and issue details as explained below:

If you ordered (eBook, Video or Print Book) incorrectly or accidentally, please contact Customer Relations Team on customercare@packt.com within one hour of placing the order and we will replace/refund you the item cost.
Sadly, if your eBook or Video file is faulty or a fault occurs during the eBook or Video being made available to you, i.e. during download then you should contact Customer Relations Team within 14 days of purchase on customercare@packt.com who will be able to resolve this issue for you.
You will have a choice of replacement or refund of the problem items.(damaged, defective or incorrect)
Once Customer Care Team confirms that you will be refunded, you should receive the refund within 10 to 12 working days.
If you are only requesting a refund of one book from a multiple order, then we will refund you the appropriate single item.
Where the items were shipped under a free shipping offer, there will be no shipping costs to refund.

On the off chance your printed book arrives damaged, with book material defect, contact our Customer Relation Team on customercare@packt.com within 14 days of receipt of the book with appropriate evidence of damage and we will work with you to secure a replacement copy, if necessary. Please note that each printed book you order from us is individually made by Packt's professional book-printing partner which is on a print-on-demand basis.

What tax is charged?

Currently, no tax is charged on the purchase of any print book (subject to change based on the laws and regulations). A localized VAT fee is charged only to our European and UK customers on eBooks, Video and subscriptions that they buy. GST is charged to Indian customers for eBooks and video purchases.

What payment methods can I use?

You can pay with the following card types:

Visa Debit
Visa Credit
MasterCard
PayPal

What is the delivery time and cost of print books?

Shipping Details

USA:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the US within 10-15 business days

Premium: Trackable Delivery to most addresses in the US within 3-8 business days

UK:

Economy: Delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 7-9 business days.
Shipments are not trackable

Premium: Trackable delivery to most addresses in the U.K. within 3-4 business days!
Add one extra business day for deliveries to Northern Ireland and Scottish Highlands and islands

EU:

Premium: Trackable delivery to most EU destinations within 4-9 business days.

Australia:

India:

Premium: Delivery to most Indian addresses within 5-6 business days

Rest of the World:

Premium: Countries in the American continent: Trackable delivery to most countries within 4-7 business days

Asia:

Premium: Delivery to most Asian addresses within 5-9 business days

Unfortunately, due to several restrictions, we are unable to ship to the following countries:

Afghanistan
American Samoa
Belarus
Brunei Darussalam
Central African Republic
The Democratic Republic of Congo
Eritrea
Guinea-bissau
Iran
Lebanon
Libiya Arab Jamahriya
Somalia
Sudan
Russian Federation
Syrian Arab Republic
Ukraine
Venezuela

How to Build Android Applications with Kotlin: A hands-on guide to developing, testing, and publishing production-grade Android 16 apps , Third Edition

What do you get with Print?

How to Build Android Applications with Kotlin

Creating Your First App

Join our book community on Discord

Technical requirements

Creating an Android project with Android Studio

Setting up a virtual device and running your app

The Android manifest file

Using Gradle to build, configure, and manage app dependencies

Android application structure

Summary

Page 1 of 9

Key benefits

Description

Who is this book for?

What you will learn

Product Details

What do you get with Print?

Product Details

Table of Contents

Recommendations for you

About the 4 authors

FAQs

How to Build Android Applications with Kotlin: A hands-on guide to developing, testing, and publishing production-grade Android 16 apps , Third Edition

What do you get with Print?

Contact Details

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Key benefits

Description

Who is this book for?

What you will learn

Product Details

What do you get with Print?

Contact Details

Shipping Address

Billing Address

Product Details

Packt Subscriptions

Table of Contents

Recommendations for you

About the 4 authors

FAQs

Create a Free Account To Continue Reading

Sign in to activate your 7-day free access