Chat messenger with push notifications

In this Advanced course you will learn how to create a client-server Android application for online chat and messaging yourself, regardless of programming experience. The course contains step-by-step instructions for developing a mobile application, developing and deploying the server side, and setting up push notifications. The Chat Messenger application is developed in accordance with the principles of Clean Architecture using the following approaches, technologies and tools:

• Development languages: Kotlin, PHP
• Client client development applications in Android Studio
• Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) Architecture
• Clean Architecture
• Using Kotlin coroutines
• Android Architecture Components: LiveData, Room, ViewModel, Data Binding
• Dependency injection with Dagger 2
• Server-side development (REST API) in PHP
• Interaction with a remote MySQL database< /li>
• Setting up push notifications with FCM

What will you learn in this course?

In this course you will be able to create mobile client-server Android application and server part for it. The application is used for communication by exchanging messages via chat. It is possible to send photos, add friends, receive notifications about missed messages and confirmations of friendship, etc. Interaction with the server is built using typical modern approaches. After completing the course, you will know:

• how to create a client-server Android application,
• how to build a Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) architecture
• how to work with LiveData, Room, ViewModel, Data Binding
• how to process network requests with Kotlin coroutines
• how to reduce coupling using Dagger 2
• how to develop a server part (REST API) in PHP,
• how to work with a remote MySQL database,
• how to set up push notifications with FCM

Based on the results By completing the course, you will, in fact, master the full-stack - the full cycle of developing client-server applications. First, learn how to create Android applications in the Android Studio development environment. Secondly, learn how to create a server part in PHP, deploy it on a remote server, configure a MySQL database and FCM push notifications.

What is the functionality of the application?

The application provides a chat and messenger with the ability to authorize by email and password. Validation is implemented for all input fields. The password is stored in the database in encrypted form. If you have forgotten your password, you can request a temporary password to your email specified during registration. After authorization, you can change your password to a more secure one.

To navigate the application, use the Navigation Drawer sidebar, displaying an avatar and basic information about the user. When you tap on the header, you can go to the current user’s account, where you can set or replace an avatar, status, username, email and password.

The application opens on the “Chats” screen. To start communicating, you need to add your interlocutor by specifying his email. If the specified user is in the database, he will receive a notification in the application. If there is no such user, you will be asked to send him an email with a link to the application.

After adding users, they will appear on the “Friends” screen. The list displays your avatar, username, status, and Online status. Tapping on a list item opens a chat window. In the chat, you can communicate online, send and receive text messages with emoji support, as well as photos from the gallery or directly from the camera.

When you tap, the photo expands to full screen. By tapping on the username, you can open the user information screen. Here you can accept a friend request or remove the user from friends. Avatars are clickable.

The “Chat” screen displays a list of chats. The list displays the avatar, username, text and time of the last message. When you tap, a chat opens. The chat header displays the time the user was online. If the other person closes the chat, they will be notified of all new messages. A long tap on a message highlights it for deletion. 

The application is developed in accordance with modern approaches in architecture, design and development of client-server applications using current techniques, technologies and tools. You can learn more about the example application from this course by following the link on Google Play. The publication of the application is planned in the near future.

Who is the course suitable for?

The course is suitable for both beginners and more experienced developers. You can simply create an application step by step without programming knowledge, using the project source code and our instructions. But if you already have some knowledge gained on our channel, then this course will help you consolidate it, and in addition you will be able to create your own Android Chat Messenger application. To confidently understand what is happening in the course, it will be enough to know the basics of Java, Kotlin, PHP, and the basics of Android development. The course will provide links to materials to familiarize yourself with the basics and deepen your knowledge on the topic.