Basics
To get started with GitHub, Android Studio, and Java Programming, you will need to follow these steps:
Create a GitHub account if you haven't already
Fork the FTC Robot Controller repository
Download Android Studio
Clone your forked repository
Open the project in Android Studio
Code
Send the robot your updated code
Set up a config on your robot
Start controlling your robot!
Android Studio Tutorial
Android Studio Setup
Android Studio Setup Video Tutorial:
Android studio is one of the easier IDEs in terms of setup and usability. There are a lot of things that you can get lost with easily though.
Gradle - The gradle is the way your app (robot) will run
ADB - Android Debug Bridge is the way your computer will connect to the control hub and build the application
How does everything work?
Basically, when you hit upload, it runs and installs an app to the robot's control hub. What this does is allow it to run effectively while connected to the driver station. The gradle is the way that this app gets built. This is also why it is so important to fork the FTC Robot Controller. They make the onboarding steps so much easier just because all the work for setup is done for you.
Plugins
I have encountered a bunch of plugins for AS that make the experience so much better. None of these are mandatory but may improve your experience. You access this page in the settings for AS.
ADB Idea - Allows you to effectively use ADB with your computer to make sure everything is working properly.
Better Comments - Changes your comments to different colors with different tags. This is extremely beneficial because it catches your eye more so you can leave notes for yourself.
CodeGlance Pro - This improves the normal sidebar you will see when scrolling, it shows you the color of all of your code so you can easily see where you might need to be looking.
Discord Integration - Definitely not necessary but very fun to use and show everyone which project you are working on in Discord.
Dracula Theme - My personal favorite theme for AS because it looks very nice and the color coding makes a lot of sense to me.
GitHub Copilot - A very useful companion when you are coding. It is a subscription that you can get free with GitHub Student Developer but basically allows you to have an AI "copilot" built in to your IDE for code completion and general help.
Star Wars Progress Bar - My personal favorite plugin I have. All it really does is change your progress bars to Star Wars ships. It adds a lot of fun to the IDE.