Android platform analysis from the software engineering perpective
Alan Salazar Wink · Lume (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) · 2016
Applications for mobile platforms become increasingly complex with increasing market of mobile devices. To avoid an increase in development costs, it is necessary to use Software Engineering techniques. However, mobile devices have a set of non-functional requirements different than desktop platforms, such as power consumption, data usage, etc. There is also the need to follow restrictions imposed by the platform for developing applications, requiring techniques and models of Software Engineering to be adapted to use in this platform. The quality of applications developed in a platform depend directly of the own platform quality, and from the resources that are available to the developer. However, there are techniques that can be used by the developer to improve the quality of their applications, using resources that were not originally available in the platform. In this study, we analyzed the Android platform and the components offered to the developer and how these impact the quality of the final application from the point of view of Software Engineering. We also verified through the development of a mobile app to how the developer can apply Software Engineering techniques to enhance the developed application. We also analyze alternative components that seek to improve the features offered by the platform and consequently its quality.