Deploy the Application

1. Establish the ADB Server

Android Debug Bridge(ADB) deploys an application to Android devices. It is a command-line tool that acts as an interface and facilitates developers to communicate with an android device. To start the deployment, the ADB client will first check whether the ADB server process is already running on the device. If there isn’t, the server process starts with the ADB command. The ADB server starts and binds with local TCP port 5037. All communication and commands are transferred from the ADB server to ADB clients using port 5037. Further, the server sets up a connection with all running devices. It scans all the ports and when the server detects an ADB daemon(adbd: a background process on emulator or device instance), it set up a connection to that port. The adbd process that matches on the android device can communicate with applications, debug them, and collect their log output.

2. Transfer .apk file to the Device

The ADB command transfers the .apk file into the local file system of the target Android device. The app location in the device file system is defined by its package name. For example, if the application package is com.example.sampleapp, then its .apk file will be located in the path /data/app/com.example.sampleapp. 

Developing an android application involves several processes that happen in a sequential manner. After writing the source code files, when developers click the Run button on the Android studio, plenty of operations and process starts at the backend. Every operation happening in the background is a crucial step and are interdependent. The IDE builds all the application files, make them device compatible in order to deploy, and assure that the application runs successfully on the device. This article broadly explains each and every critical step involved in the journey of an android app, from the IDE files to a working device application.