Google Jetpack Compose

2021: Beta Release

On February 24, 2021, Google announced that the set of tools for creating user interfaces for Jetpack Compose mobile applications is now available to everyone in beta testing mode. Jetpack Compose is designed to speed up and simplify the creation of software for all devices on Android.

The beta version of Jetpack Compose presented by Google already includes a full set of APIs that will be in the final release, and no other APIs will be added, nor will it be excluded from the final release. According to SiliconANGLE, the beta version already contains all the functionality that is necessary to create applications ready for full use.

Google introduced Jetpack Compose in beta

One of the main tasks of the beta version was to ensure interaction with existing Android applications. Google said it has developed several integrations with shared libraries to help developers migrate their applications to the Jetpack Compose user interface structure.

Many application developers already have code, so we created Jetpack Compose to achieve compatibility, "said Google Product Director Karen Ng. - It is not necessary to rewrite the application.

To help developers master Jetpack Compose, Google has updated its training scheme for beta, adding a new carefully selected list of video lessons, practical laboratory work and various documentation. In addition, Google has created eight examples of applications created in Jetpack Compose, which developers can familiarize themselves with in order to understand how the tool works.

Google noted that the next steps will focus on stabilizing the Jetpack Compose APIs in anticipation of the release of its full-fledged version, which is expected at the end of 2021.^[1]

2020: Announcement of Google Jetpack Compose - a tool for quick development of Android applications

At the end of August 2020, Google released a tool for fast developing Android applications called Jetpack Compose. It optimizes the process of creating the application user interface and requires knowledge of only one programming language - Kotlin, which is recognized as the preferred programming technology for Android.

Android developers traditionally had to write elements user interface using XML markup language. Using XML complicates projects because basic functions Android apps should be written in a completely different language. Jetpack Compose reduces the amount of standard code required for applications, and eliminates the need for XML, allowing developers write both the main features of the application and user interface in one language.

Google has released a tool for the quick development of Android applications

Jetpack Compose also simplifies user interface development in other ways, for example, by reducing the amount of code that developers must write to handle interface changes. Google hopes Implement Jetpack Compose into the development community by offering a few additional features. First, the company simplified Use the tool with existing Android apps. Interface elements created with this tool can be built into the Android application, originally created using XML.

Second, Google has integrated Jetpack Compose into Android Studio, a set of tools that Android developers use to create applications. Now the programmer can write the code for the element interface in Android Studio Editor and evaluate its action when preview on the adjacent tab. The preview is automatically updated when the base code changes.^[2]

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