[Q] Beginner Help: GIS app - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey DEVs,
I've been a power user for almost a year now. I really really dig Android and I feel its about time that I should start developing for this awesome platform too.
I've previously worked in Java and MySQL but I'm completely new to Android Development. Noob is another word to sum it all up. I've tried few video tutorials by setting up SDK and Eclipse. So far that has worked pretty fine for me. I'm now planning to work on a GIS app that could at least incorporate local POIs of where I live.
Its just that I don't really know where to start things from. I've already spent few days looking for appropriate stuff but whatever I came across, was more like scattered pieces of a Jigsaw puzzle. Google Map APIs is another thing that I need alot to learn about ! so Kindly guide me through and give me something to start with ....... I'l be very very grateful !!
regards,
an aspiring dev !

I wrote a custom GIS android app in flash builder 4.5.1, the code base is flex and actionscript using ESRI's arcserver flex api and uses adobe air for native integration on a mobile device. The web service is a local service I am serving up through the town I work for, it is using ArcServer to serve the data. You can check out the app in the android market its called Vernon GIS Fire. ESRI also has an app in the market, it allows you to search their resource center for different web services, you could upload your own data in the resource center and serve it up using their resoucres

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[Q] learning how to develop apps

i want to start making apps for android but dont know where to stat i have the sdk on my desktop but thats about it. If someone could please help me or push me in the next step please do so.
Just go to the dev guide on the Android website to start making your first Hello World app. As for language, Android (I could be wrong) uses Java. Again, I could be wrong.
Sent from my GT-I9000M using XDA App
Indeed, Android uses Java. I'd suggest learning it before attempting to program for Android or else you'll feel like it's gonna be too difficult. There's plenty of books on Java, and some powerful Google searching will lead you to step-by-step guides to learning Java.
Also, go through the Android Dev Center for a lot of information. There's plenty of guides there on things like 'how to design your app to flow with the overall android feel' and 'designing icons to fit general android homescreen look'.
You're gonna want to download Eclipse for Java Programming. It's a free Java development environment much like Dreamweaver and Visual Studio are for web development.
Oh, and PLAN! Like any good development project, your project will not get anywhere if you don't know where to start and when to end it.
Plan first. Then plan the planned elements. Java is object-based programming, and just like building a house each object needs to be solid or else it'll crumble to pieces.
Same here. Thx for the advice.
elindemann said:
Indeed, Android uses Java. I'd suggest learning it before attempting to program for Android or else you'll feel like it's gonna be too difficult. There's plenty of books on Java, and some powerful Google searching will lead you to step-by-step guides to learning Java.
Also, go through the Android Dev Center for a lot of information. There's plenty of guides there on things like 'how to design your app to flow with the overall android feel' and 'designing icons to fit general android homescreen look'.
You're gonna want to download Eclipse for Java Programming. It's a free Java development environment much like Dreamweaver and Visual Studio are for web development.
Oh, and PLAN! Like any good development project, your project will not get anywhere if you don't know where to start and when to end it.
Plan first. Then plan the planned elements. Java is object-based programming, and just like building a house each object needs to be solid or else it'll crumble to pieces.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, you're doing things the hard HARD ...HARD way....
if you want to develop apps for android, Titanium Mobile (appcelerator.com) is the best way to go. It takes far less time to learn JavaScript , CSS and HTML then it does to learn pure JAVA, and then learn to implement Android's API.
There are a few things that Titanium Mobile can't do, but they are always working on it to make it better. And of course - it's free
I've made a few apps using it. Including an HTML eBook reader, Chinese Flashcard App, and a Simple Chat Client.
Their JavaScript API takes a bit to get used to, but after that, you can easily spit out a simple app in about a day or so.
I have a web-app Template that lets me dump a Web-app (html/css/js) into a project, and spits out a nice new shiny Android app ready for the market.... I also wrote code that lets you access the Menu Button on android too. So it's not like using PhoneGap where it's just a Browser session with an icon on your phone.
PM me if you're interested, and i'll show you everything i learned about Titanium Mobile so far (i'm still learning actually). Or if you want an app done, i can do it for you... free if it's easy enough
DaoMingJin said:
Actually, you're doing things the hard HARD ...HARD way....
if you want to develop apps for android, Titanium Mobile (appcelerator.com) is the best way to go. It takes far less time to learn JavaScript , CSS and HTML then it does to learn pure JAVA, and then learn to implement Android's API.
There are a few things that Titanium Mobile can't do, but they are always working on it to make it better. And of course - it's free
I've made a few apps using it. Including an HTML eBook reader, Chinese Flashcard App, and a Simple Chat Client.
Their JavaScript API takes a bit to get used to, but after that, you can easily spit out a simple app in about a day or so.
I have a web-app Template that lets me dump a Web-app (html/css/js) into a project, and spits out a nice new shiny Android app ready for the market.... I also wrote code that lets you access the Menu Button on android too. So it's not like using PhoneGap where it's just a Browser session with an icon on your phone.
PM me if you're interested, and i'll show you everything i learned about Titanium Mobile so far (i'm still learning actually). Or if you want an app done, i can do it for you... free if it's easy enough
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, I'm very interested. I might check it out.
sent from my pimp hero running Froyo CM6 and the XDA app
If you know the C or C++ language you could try out MoSync, depends what you like, some programmers like the level of control and speed you get from C++. If your content with simpler apps then maybe phonegap or appcellerator for you.
I guess that when mobile apps get more sophisticated javascript programs will be just as complex as C++ programs.
Thats my view, but then I like C++ better.
/Tony
MoSyncTony said:
If you know the C or C++ language you could try out MoSync, depends what you like, some programmers like the level of control and speed you get from C++. If your content with simpler apps then maybe phonegap or appcellerator for you.
I guess that when mobile apps get more sophisticated javascript programs will be just as complex as C++ programs.
Thats my view, but then I like C++ better.
/Tony
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It really depends on how much control and you really need. If you're going to write games, then you do need speed that C++ and the Native Application Development API on android can give you. If you're writing a social networking app, the speed of C++ would really be an overkill.
As far as i've read, PhoneGap still has a lot of issues. And the build process is a bit more complicated than on Titanium Mobile.
If you're just using the regular Android API to write apps, i don't notice a lot of difference in speed execution between writing it in pure Java, or using Titanium mobile (using native code and UI elements - i don't mean putting everything into a WebView).
The current app that i'm writing now i don't think can be written using Titanium Mobile or PhoneGap (unless i added some native functions and did my own fork of PhoneGap).
More or less, i'm writing an App for Android and JRE/Linux systems that will allow me to enumerate, and access USB status bits, and USB data frames of a given USB device, and then allowing that USB device to be accessed through a TCP or UDP connection.
I might be able to do this with Titanium Mobile, but i don't think i can. As the only files you're allowed to access are on the SD card, application data directory, and temp directory.... i think there's one other place you're allowed to access too, but i never used it. However later today i might just try to see if i can access the /Dev/DSP01 (aka sound card) on an android device. If i can, i think i could write it using titanium mobile. I'm already halfway done with this app in pure java, so i wouldn't actually rewrite it in Titanium Mobile now.
DaoMingJin said:
if you want to develop apps for android, Titanium Mobile (appcelerator.com) is the best way to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanx mate!
If you looking a book or something to teach you the basics Beginning Java Programming for Dummies and Android Application Development in 24 Hours are good reads.
I'd rather not fill the forum with more threads so I'm just going to ask my question here. What is the best way to read the android dev guide on the device itself? Just going to the site directly? Ideally I'd like a pdf or something designed to be read on a small screen. The site can have formatting issues when read on a small screen.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I've been developing for a long time (nearly 30 years), and whenever I need to learn a new language I start with the Sams range, "Teach yourself whatever language in X days/hours". They're pretty good and this is available for Kindle, which is great if you use the Amazon Kindle app...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Teach-Yours...1_fkmr2_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1287485537&sr=8-2-fkmr2
It obviously costs, but I really do rate those books as brilliant starting points. The rest is google and friends on here.
Hope this helps - good luck mate.
Personally, I've been coding in Java for what... four years now? I'm feeling dwarfed here by johncmolyneux but honestly, the best way to learn is to not use an IDE like Eclipse, but to use something that you have to hand-code everything yourself, such as Geany! You learn fairly quickly after writing a few applications.
If you are thinking "titanium", "mosync" or "phone gap" it is worth doing a bit of background research. There are several extremely powerful tools out there that can help you build cross platform apps - these are among the top ones.
bit more discussion about this here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=16703287#post16703287
There are a few useful reports comparing them - check out ours by googling "triballabs cross platform"
The Google App Inventor makes it pretty easy to create your own Android apps. Best part is you don't need to learn any programming languages. You won't be creating anything too complicated like a video game for example, but it's a good start nonetheless.
http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/
If you want to learn the basics of Java, then please check out a book called as "Head First Java". They really explain the basics with the help of real life examples to make things much simpler so that people understand.
Beginner app projects
I'm also just getting started with app development. Something I've been looking for is a beginner app project. Wish I could find a walkthrough of a simple app like a game of Hangman or something like that. I've been through the android developer training web site and got some good info but some things I'm still a little stuck on. Id Love to see an actual app (rather than just a mock up of some fields and buttons) and then a slightly dumbed down explanation of the code. Might be a lot to ask but man it would be great!

[Q] New to development!

Hey im a programming student in my second year and ive been wanting to play around with some android development (mostly because my school doesnt teach java or php. Im pretty experienced with visual basic and C#. But my questions is can someone help me out with a link to or something where I can take a look at some open source code for some android apps? It can be as simple as tic tac toe I dont car. Im just basically doing some research myself. Also is eclipse the best compiler for android development? Thanks
You can find quite a number of examples under 'Resources' on developer.android.com.
You may be interested to know that Eclipse is not a compiler, it is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). What is better or not is largely a personal preference, but starting out you are likely to find more tutorials assuming you use Eclipse than anything else.
Source of pre-installed Android Appliaction is open. And you can program with eclips for Android App.
Sent from my LG-SU760 using XDA
Android is open-source, but not the apps.
You can run Eclipse, and create a new project from existing samples. You will be able to choose from a list (this samples come from the sdk, if you downloaded them).
There are some games (snake, ...) and demo apps like API demos.
And Eclipse is very good for Android development, especially if you use the plugin ADT tools.
I am more than happy to have all the eyes I can on my code. I would post a link, but (no rant here)...
AWOL: ArchWiki Offline
by
Tetractys Productions
Search for this on the Google App Store with search term "archwiki".
The code isn't great as I am a novice with both Java and Android, but you will find use of Activities, WebViews, Menus, using external Jars and perhaps a little more. If your scholarly background leads you to make a suggestion or two... please do.
Also... don't buy most of the books. They suck. The "cookbooks" seem pretty good and the Android Developer Documentation and Stackoverflow are your friends. I wasted enough money on Android books I will never read. Hope you don't fall for that too.
Rant:
10 post requirements encourages low quality posts. Perhaps its a good trade-off, but from where I'm sitting I'm drinking HaterAde.

[Q] Where/How to start devoleping?

For awhile now I've wanted to start getting into coding/development.. I want to make apps for Android, but I don't know where to start, or how I would go about learning. I currently use Code Academy to get the basics down, but I was wondering if anyone could actually help me get going?
(Also sorry if I posted in the wrong area. I'm kinda new to the whole forum thing)
WickedWireZ said:
For awhile now I've wanted to start getting into coding/development.. I want to make apps for Android, but I don't know where to start, or how I would go about learning. I currently use Code Academy to get the basics down, but I was wondering if anyone could actually help me get going?
(Also sorry if I posted in the wrong area. I'm kinda new to the whole forum thing)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In order to develop apps for Android you will need a good understanding of Java. Since it sounds like you have some previous programming experience from Code Academy (I used there Python track as a basis for learning Python and it was great), I would recommend checking out this great free course from Udemy, (Free and material is self paced) on the basics of Java development. To move on to Android then I would recommend checking out the official Android developer training and documentation. Also XDA's app development forum section has a wealth of information for Android app development. Let me know if you still have questions.
shimp208 said:
In order to develop apps for Android you will need a good understanding of Java. Since it sounds like you have some previous programming experience from Code Academy (I used there Python track as a basis for learning Python and it was great), I would recommend checking out this great free course from Udemy, (Free and material is self paced) on the basics of Java development. To move on to Android then I would recommend checking out the official Android developer training and documentation. Also XDA's app development forum section has a wealth of information for Android app development. Let me know if you still have questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks your advice is much appreciated I'll go check this stuff out right now!

How to make theme/launcher app in App Inventor 2?

Actually I wish I could be able to use my App Inventor programming skills to develop a fully or partially functional launcher apps. But there's no functionality present over that platform. I Googled every bit of information available over the Internet but alas i didn't find anything useful and additionally I didn't want my hands to get dirty on programming complex codes to create such app. So I arrived to this forum and finally decided to ask advanced members of XDA-DEVELOPERS forum to find solutions for my query.
Okay, now I realised after much experimenting with AI2 that so isn't possible at all!
Lol, just mess it up and use other tools.
For those who want to create their own theme can visit redraw.io by T-me/Timmy Studios.
Thread closed.

You are new to Android development? Consider reading this post!

Hi everyone. I want to share some resources that may helpful for anyone who still don't know where to start.
If you don't have any background, consider learning programming using Scratch or Alice. It seems just suitable for kids but actually for everyone who want to think logically.
If you have some basic background and want to have solid Java background (which I recommend) before moving to Android development, you should start with "Head First Java". They also have "Head First Android", but personally I don't like it so much.
After you have a solid Java background, you can start learning Android using this free course on Udacity. It has 5 parts that cover everything that you need to make literally any app on Play Store.
After you completed the above course, let's make your own project. You don't have to learn other courses or textbooks in order to make an app. You should try to make your own app using what you have learned with the above course. When you making your project, you will encounter real-life problems. By solving it (using Google, StackOverflow, XDA, other tech forums, ...), you will learn more than any course or textbook can help you.
I hope you will find this post helpful for you. If anyone has a question, please leave your question below
Hi, new user here. Thanks for the read
Hi,
I just signed up on this forum and came across this thread and so decided to post a question. First, i have been a full-stack developer and now working on Cloud, AI/ML but android mobile app development is new to me and i am pursuing a self-paced training. My intention is to start off by learning the basics of android and the ide, the various elements and work my way up to the advanced level. Then start learning and work on flutter. I have a fair bit of experience on Java as i have developed java enterprise and web application (JSP, applet based) in the past.
Right now, i am looking at the Android Basics to Advanced nanodegree program offered by Google on the android site, udemy, udacity, etc and lots others on the internet. just wanted your opinion which course would be a good place to start.
Thanks.

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