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In this video we'll make our first changes to the simple layout file that was automatically created for us.
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Okay, that's enough about the tools.
0:00
Let's do something.
0:02
We'll talk more about the tools
as we work through this project.
0:04
I'll make sure you understand everything
you need to know to build this app.
0:07
There are two main things we
will work with in Android Apps.
0:11
The first is the layout of the screen.
0:14
For this, we'll use the design
view which allows us to
0:17
visually manipulate the layout
by dragging and dropping.
0:20
It's pretty helpful.
0:23
We can also manipulate the layout and
code,
0:24
and we'll see how to do that as well.
0:26
The other main thing we'll work on is
how our app works behind the scenes.
0:29
That's where we write Kotlin code that
does things like pick a random fun fact.
0:33
I'll explain everything you need to know,
but
0:38
if you get confused remember to
check the teacher's notes for help.
0:40
And feel free to ask about
anything in the community.
0:44
Take a look at these mock ups from
one of our designers at Treehouse.
0:48
You can find this image
in the teachers notes.
0:51
This shows what the app should
look like when we're finished.
0:54
We'll have text at the top that says,
did you know.
0:57
Then we'll have one of the fun
facts displayed in the middle, and
1:01
then at the bottom we have
a button to show another fun fact.
1:04
Notice how we´re also going to change
the background color for each fact.
1:08
We´ll even give our app
an icon to match this one.
1:12
This app is relatively simple,
but it´s still a lot of work.
1:16
We´re going to tackle it piece by
piece to make it easy to understand.
1:20
Let´s start by making
the simplest version possible,
1:24
this is something that
developers do all the time.
1:27
Starting with something simple, let's
just make sure the app works as expected.
1:30
Then we can refine it and
make it look more and
1:34
more like what we see
here in the mock ups.
1:37
We'll start by changing the layout to
show the, did you know, text at the top.
1:40
Then we'll build on this, piece by piece,
to turn it into the full app we see here.
1:44
Before we get started, just to make
things a little easier to see,
1:50
I'm going to put this
into full screen mode.
1:54
We should already have
our layout file open.
1:57
Our app is created with
just one simple screen, and
2:00
the layout of that screen
is defined right here.
2:03
I mentioned that this code is in
a language called XML, which stands for
2:06
extensible markup language.
2:11
If you're familiar with HTML,
you'll notice it has some similarities.
2:14
The good news is there's a design
view of this layout as well.
2:18
Remember that we can switch back and
forth between XML, text, and
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the design view by clicking
on these tabs down here.
2:26
Changes we make to the design view
update the XML code and vice versa.
2:30
It's up to us to choose
how to edit the file.
2:34
Often it maybe easier to work visually
like this, but sometimes we might
2:38
want them more precise control we get
by editing the XML code directly.
2:43
All right, so
we already have a TextView on our screen.
2:48
Let's change that TextView to say,
did you know, just like in the mock ups.
2:51
Click directly on the Hello World
to select it, and
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on the right we can see a bunch
of properties for this TextView.
2:59
In the middle we can find
a property called text, and
3:04
it's set to Hello World,
just like we see in the preview.
3:08
Let's delete that and type,
did you know, With a question mark.
3:12
Hit Enter and there we go.
3:20
Now if we flip to the XML by using
the Text tab, there's our new text.
3:22
We've seen what happens when we
have errors in our code, but this
3:30
yellowish highlighting is what happens
when we have something called a warning.
3:34
Warnings aren't as severe as errors.
3:38
We don't have to fix warnings,
but we probably should.
3:41
Errors we do have to fix
before we run the app.
3:44
Now this warning is telling us that
we should use a string resource
3:47
instead of hard coating the string.
3:51
We'll cover how to use string
resources in a later project, so
3:53
we're going to ignore this warning.
3:56
But I encourage you to try and
fix it on your own if you're curious.
3:58
And if you want to ask for
help in the community, please do.
4:02
Also before we go any further, there's one
more change we need to make in our layout.
4:05
Instead of using a constraint layout,
we want to use a relative layout.
4:09
So up there at the top let's delete
this constraint layout bit and
4:14
replace it with RelativeLayout.
4:20
Then let's also delete these
four constraint lines, and
4:24
make sure not to delete the closing tag.
4:28
Awesome, finally let's talk about saving.
4:32
Android Studio will save everything for
you automatically.
4:37
But if you want to explicitly
save a project you can go File,
4:41
Save All or use Command S for
MAC or Control S for Windows.
4:46
All right, nice work.
4:52
Let's see if you can make that
same change in just the XML.
4:54
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