CODEWITHSUNDEEP
androidc++
wixy0
wixy0

Reputation: 17

Android application only in C++

Is it possible to make an Android application only in C++? I don't know Java. I've tried Visual Studio 2019 approach but I guess my computer isn't good enough for emulating Android phone.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 4163

Answers (1)

Kevin Boone
Kevin Boone

Reputation: 4307

You can write code for Android in C++, if you have the appropriate programming tools. You'll need a cross-compiler and linker for the appropriate architecture. These are readily available in Google's Native Development Kit:

https://developer.android.com/ndk/

I don't know if these tools can be used with Visual Studio -- I suspect it will be fiddly to set up.

The problem with programming in C or C++ for Android is that it's hard to integrate the application with the regular launcher and, even if you can do that, it's hard to provide a regular Android graphical user interface. Android simply does not provide a C API for the user interface.

I write/port a lot of command-line stuff for Android, so the lack of a graphical user interface doesn't bother me. However, most developers provide the user interface in Java and, if parts of the app needs to be in C or C++, it gets integrated with the app in the form of a native library.

Android Studio and similar tools know how to manage a project that has a mixture of C or C++ and Java code. Using well-established Android tools for developing complex, mixed-code apps like this is way simpler than trying to figure it all out yourself using a hodge-podge of tools from different places.

Upvotes: 5

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