Hey, I want to be an Android programmer. Tell me what to do.

How many times have you seen a post on various forums about someone wanting to be an Android programmer? Is there a simple answer? Of course not, programming is not easy and there are piles of things you end up doing during any given day.

Wait a minute there! Isn't all I have to do is learn Java and some Android libraries? Oh, how we all wish but there is a lot more going on and that is just the start. Yes, you need to learn Java (or Kotlin) and you need to learn about the SDK as well but there is a ton more.

Today it hit me I had been in the following in just one day:

1. Java writing the main app code
2. Kotlin working on a utility program to convert iOS plist to Android format
3. Groovy because I was editing the gradle build scripts
4. Bash as I updated my Java version and needed to change my .profile 
5. Various Linux terminal commands
6. Various Git commands on command line and in Source Tree
7. Vector Graphics as I was working on a new image I needed
8. XML for the Android layout manager, string tables and color tables
9. PNG images for new icons
10. REST calls
11. JSON parsing for REST call responses
12. Sublime text editor creating and running macros against text files
13. File manipulation in Finder
14. Looking at ObjC in Xcode that I am converting to Android
15. Using IntelliJ, Android Studio and Xcode

It is not just learning Java and an API. I could not get Adobe Illustrator to do exactly what I wanted to I directly edited the SVG file. How many languages and file formats have I been in today already? Piles of them and I was able to quickly do the list above and I am sure I missed stuff.

Obviously Java, Kotlin and Groovy have a similar syntax so it is not like I am switching from assembler to JavaScript mentally but there are differences so you do have to perform a mental switch.

I don't mess with graphics every day but we have been setting up a number of build flavors this week so I have been doing a lot of graphics work along with "normal" programming. Honestly there is no such thing as normal. I shift around all the time. I decide to write the utilities in Kotlin as something new to learn, it was not required by my job. Glad I did, gives me a better appreciation of the language. Really want v1 to move out of beta before I use it for my Android apps.

Developers have to understand more than just the language they are using. You end up using a lot of tools like Git, Paint.NET, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, different IDEs, text editors and various utilities. Plus you get to keep the OS on your machine updated along with IDE, SDK, Language versions and tools.

Never know when the boss will need your help on a spreadsheet, document or power point as well. You have to be able to run at least a minimal feature set in a ton of tools just to keep up with life as a developer.

I am unsure how a new developer even gets started. I have amassed a large quantity of knowledge over the years. I can apply that to Kotlin when I experimented with it this week. I already knew the IDE, the .plist file format, XML, how to use collections, etc. I was picking up a new syntax but when you start from scratch you are tossed into a tank of sharks. The only way is to start small. Just work on one concept then move on. If you try to do an entire game or program with multiple screens you will go nuts before you get very far.