[Q] How hard is it to become a developer? - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello!
I'm currently studying in the last high school year and I'm thinking in going for Informatics and Computing Engineering at the College so most likely I'll be connected to this kind of development work...
Despite knowing some basic things of HTML and CSS and programming little programs in C or C++ I am still noob and don't really have knowledge to call myself a programmer but I'm interested and "self prompted" to learn more and more about this world and I believe some Android would be good for me.
Well, I am thinking in trying to learn alone in my free time with the objective to be able to build a custom rom for myself or something like that. I also want to make some apps... well, some Android things not only for myself but also to share here and help the others like I've been helped since ever. But... well I am realistic and I believe it isn't that easy and I need to take the right way, that's why I'm asking here for some advice and information... how did you developers learn what you learned? was it from the internet and practice at home or did you take any course? how much time did you need to learn the basics and start your experiments?
Thanks in advance!

Well its not for everyone.. I mean its not that easy. Ive been trying to pull of something myself and didnt succeed yet. But im gonna try till it succeeds. Just dont give up. There are plenty of guides around. Im sure youll figure it out!
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

There are some resources in these forums:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/coding
http://forum.xda-developers.com/app-development
http://forum.xda-developers.com/chef-central

I've bookmarked them all, thanks ^^

Related

[Q] Where's a good place to start modding/developing ROMs?

I would like to start learning how to mod ROMs and eventually get into developing my own. After being a user for over a year I'd like to help a little myself eventually. I'm looking for a good place to start , kind of like an all in one tutorial if possible. I know a good amount of java (I took an AP computer science class at my school if that helps you get the idea of around where I'm at) and a little C. And I'm willing to learn more along the way as needed. I have a passion for doing this kind of stuff so hopefully it won't be too hard to learn. I'm willing to start anywhere and any guidance is much appreciated.
Check the developers thread a guide has been posted already
Kieron
sent from my x10 with more roms than sense
Sorry but i just looked for the thread ao i could link it for you but cant dind it for love or money. Or maybe my mind is playing games with me.
But i was sure a dev posted a guide
Kieron
sent from my x10 with more roms than sense

[Q] Easy way to create android apps

I want to learn making Android app, just to make an app for my business website, could anyone help me how to learn android app, can anyone point out to related books which can teach an amateur like me clearly or any online tutorials. I look out for answers thanks in advance.
"Head First Java" by by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates.
just to tell you now there is no easy way only hard work lies ahead. Do you still wish to continue?
Sent from my Galaxy S Firefly 3.0
I'm interested in the same thing, and while I heard of a few people who jumped right into Android and learned Java on the way, I've decided to start from the bottom and learn Java. Head first Java is a good book, and my main reference point. If I get to something that is a bit confusing, I jump to another book to try to take it from a different point of view. The other books I mostly use are "Sam's Teach yourself Java Programming in 24 Hours" and "Beginning Java Programming for Dummies". I generally hate any book that is "for dummies" or claims to teach you something "in 24 hours", but these books actually work for me. Don't be afraid to use more than one book/site.
Lastly, everyone will tell you that the best way to learn is to jump in and start coding, but you obviously need a little info first. What I did was study up the basics(variables, syntax, and most importantly OOP), then start coding like crazy. Even if they are simple as hell programs. I would make myself write about 5 programs per day when I started(and still do). Some of them would be as simple as writing a 10 line Dog class with a Bark() method, then crating another class with a main method to run the program. Sure they are easy program, but it still help to be consistent and definitely helps keep you skillset moving forward. If you want any info or books, just let me know. I'm pretty new myself and am really enjoying Java so far. I can't wait til the day where I can work on apps, kernels, and ROMs!
Captain_Nero said:
"Head First Java" by by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates.
just to tell you now there is no easy way only hard work lies ahead. Do you still wish to continue?
Sent from my Galaxy S Firefly 3.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dear me such negativity.
Try Effective Java as its cited quite a bit on developer.android.com. But yeah, if phrases like Object Oriented Programming, Integrated Development Environment and debugging are foreign...yup a long road lies ahead of you. Rewarding, but long.
A guide on Eclipse can get you places too
Kernal is written in C but that is the easiest language to learn
Sent from my Legend using XDA Premium App
i didnt bother trying to lean java before going to android java. ill help you to learn the basics if you want?
I'd be interested in learning the basics from you if you don't mind. Shoot me a PM.
lukemovement1 said:
i didnt bother trying to lean java before going to android java. ill help you to learn the basics if you want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jaydude23 said:
I'd be interested in learning the basics from you if you don't mind. Shoot me a PM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 same here
Sent from my PG86100 using XDA App
same here TEach me the basics please, thank you
lukemovement1 said:
i didnt bother trying to lean java before going to android java. ill help you to learn the basics if you want?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1, please teach me!!!!!
You should set up a thread whither basics and stuff haha
Sent from my DROID X2 using XDA App
I just bought my first Android device, and would be interested in learning as well. been reading the development forums for the Atrix for about two weeks now, have a general concept of rooting/unlocking, fastboot and ADB. now i would just like to expand that knowledge into programming applications, on the little spare time i have.
if you'd be willing to teach me a little bit of the basics here and there, i'd be extremely grateful.
Thanks for the book list info.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA Premium App

[Q] Fastest Way To Learn Programming? #StartUps

Ok This may sound really stupid, and it may not come true. But you can always dream.
I want to learn how to develop apps on all the mobile platforms and want to make a startup. For example what Seesmic and others are doing.
Android is obvioulsy coded in Java.
But how should I start, and what things should I follow? Thanks a lot appreciate it to the MAX.
Learn Java.
Google AppInventor.
Read the SDK.
Experiment.
learn java
get the android application development for dummies book
Yeah google has a lot of great resources online with tutorials for the Android SDK specifically. Once you learn Java from an online class or a book or something, you can look through the SDK tutorials and generally understand how to do things. There are also a lot of basic app tutorials to show you through the ropes of displaying notifications, having different screens of an app, etc. so just look around on the internet.
"ALL THE MOBILE PLATFORMS"? Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, HP(I think HP has their own OS).
That's quite a dream. Do you have any programming experience?
I've been a programmer for 15 years and started doing Android development over a year ago. I've not even touched 1/1000 of what Android has to offer. In other words, there is a learning curve that is directly proportional to your skill level.
I'm a firm believer in college education, so if you can, get a degree in Computer Science, all the better. And there are actually some very good 2-year programs out there if 4 years is out of the question.
Rootstonian said:
"ALL THE MOBILE PLATFORMS"? Android, iOS, Windows Mobile, HP(I think HP has their own OS).
That's quite a dream. Do you have any programming experience?
I've been a programmer for 15 years and started doing Android development over a year ago. I've not even touched 1/1000 of what Android has to offer. In other words, there is a learning curve that is directly proportional to your skill level.
I'm a firm believer in college education, so if you can, get a degree in Computer Science, all the better. And there are actually some very good 2-year programs out there if 4 years is out of the question.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree 100%. You can't just jump in and expect to know everything there is to know. I've been a C/C++ developer for close to 20 years. I just got into Android and Java in the last year or so, and I agree with Rootstonian; you need a good base in OOP to get anywhere in Java and you can only really get that from a college.
Thanks a lot everyone for your help. Now that some of you tolde me you have been developers for close to 20 years or so. Programming seems scary and hard. Now I have doubts if I want to start programming :S
Anyways thanks a lot for everything.
Z!GZA!G said:
Thanks a lot everyone for your help. Now that some of you tolde me you have been developers for close to 20 years or so. Programming seems scary and hard. Now I have doubts if I want to start programming :S
Anyways thanks a lot for everything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well true it takes time,i myself have been programming c,c++,java for the past 8 years.i am now starting out with android,my advice would be select one os platform that you would like to work on and move slowly and steadily up the ladder
It's ONLY "scary and hard" at the beginning...honest. Think back to something you have learned and at the time thought "this is crazy, I'm never going to get this!!" Then a year later you look back and say to yourself "why did I think (insert whatever) was so hard?" ROFL
Like Gene said, about everything is Object Oriented these days. When he and I learned it was Assembler, Fortran, Pascal, "pure" C, <gasp> BASIC, <cringe> COBOL...there was no OOP (well not quite, I learned OOP in C++).
Don't give up before you get started With the help of some good JAVA books and the wealth of information on the Net, you have more resources than I ever had when I started learning.
And you can always come here for questions. Like someone else said, pick a platform and "go for it"...you have nothing to lose! If you think it's something you're going to like, then look for formal education.
I just want to reiterate that you should start small. If you have no programming experience at all then I suggest learning the basics first. I took an Intro to Programming class a while back and it was way different than I expected. But it prepared me to start learning programming languages. After you have the basics down, App Inventor would be a good place to start, IMO.
when i started to learn some basics, i started with the Google App inventor, then to
Processing + Arduino, and learning more and more each day.
A good Start is with Processing, Or Processing for Android.
They have super easy examples, and its easy to do just about anything. Give it a try.
Search the "thenewboston" at youtube. Watch his java tutorials. After the java tutorials watch his android tutorials. The way he teach it makes all professors boring. Lol but he's really good.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Thanks a lot everyone for your replies.
I think I may check out Processing for Android as suggested by Technochris1.
But as a proper language, I will start with C#. So I can get started on Windows Phone apps.
Then Java or C++ after that.
Thanks.
I don't know C#, so my comment could be moot...
Windows phone apps? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the dominate forces in mobile apps would be Apple's iOS and Android.
I see nothing wrong with learning JAVA as a first language, but like someone posted, START SMALL and work you way up. You have to know about variables, program flow, looping structures, arrays, etc.
Even something as simple as the mod operator can confuse beginners but is just one of many tools you need to have under your belt. In other words, you can't build a house if you don't know how to use a hammer!
Rootstonian said:
I don't know C#, so my comment could be moot...
Windows phone apps? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the dominate forces in mobile apps would be Apple's iOS and Android.
I see nothing wrong with learning JAVA as a first language, but like someone posted, START SMALL and work you way up. You have to know about variables, program flow, looping structures, arrays, etc.
Even something as simple as the mod operator can confuse beginners but is just one of many tools you need to have under your belt. In other words, you can't build a house if you don't know how to use a hammer!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YES Android and iOS are WAY ahead of Windows Phone, WebOS and the others. But as I stated in the OP, I stated that I would like to make apps for all of the platforms eventually.
I would love to get started with Java, but can't really find any good material to learn the Java language.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
http://mobile.tutsplus.com/ This site has a few great tutorials for building mobile apps. But still need an easy and fast way to learn java.
i was really looking for a thread like this thanx a lot!!
and pretty nice sources out there to learn.
Z!GZA!G said:
Ok This may sound really stupid, and it may not come true. But you can always dream.
I want to learn how to develop apps on all the mobile platforms and want to make a startup. For example what Seesmic and others are doing.
Android is obvioulsy coded in Java.
But how should I start, and what things should I follow? Thanks a lot appreciate it to the MAX.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if i am not wrong u released ur custom ROM for X10.
and u don't know how to develop apps.weird!
developing custom ROM is easy?Can u tell me from where u started?
No offense just saying/asking!
iynfynity said:
Search the "thenewboston" at youtube. Watch his java tutorials. After the java tutorials watch his android tutorials. The way he teach it makes all professors boring. Lol but he's really good.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cornboyz on youtube also has some videos on developing apps
Z3US911 said:
if i am not wrong u released ur custom ROM for X10.
and u don't know how to develop apps.weird!
developing custom ROM is easy?Can u tell me from where u started?
No offense just saying/asking!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the best place to start is at chef central for android, this thread in particular
sweetnsour said:
cornboyz on youtube also has some videos on developing apps
the best place to start is at chef central for android, this thread in particular
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YESS!! Thank you! i watched a cornboyz video months ago, but I forgot his username, thanks a lot for reminding me! Now lets slowly get down to business!
Thanks a lot.

[Q] Gonna try some dev work - Reach out to existing devs

So I'm going to try to start doing some dev work. I feel like my programming and hardware background is sufficient enough that I should be able to pick it up fairly quickly especially with some of the tools I've already found.
Question for the existing devs working on the note...
Are you using a tool like Custom ROM Creator Studio or are you doing it by other means? I looked and there doesn't appear to be a book I could read to help me along like I've done in the past with other languages/etc. Are you doing it directly through a linux box? I have a lot of questions as I am beginning this process but for now I have to go off of what I find through google and here. So any help or direction would be appreciated. Thanks!
Edit: I'm currently reading through the documentation at source.android.com
If you don't get and responses I would suggest searching in the general forum area of xda, I found good info on developing there when I was thinking about it.
Sent from my SGH-I717R using xda premium
supermerkin said:
If you don't get and responses I would suggest searching in the general forum area of xda, I found good info on developing there when I was thinking about it.
Sent from my SGH-I717R using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Searching through the general forum now. Finding a lot of device specific stuff, specifically HTC. I'll keep looking though. Thanks for the tip!
Still doing my homework...any teachers that can tell me what homework I should be doing would still be nice
I admire your courage. Best of luck. We need more devs.
kimtyson said:
I admire your courage. Best of luck. We need more devs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm setting up my dev environment on my mac now. With some time (and maybe some luck) I can start moving on this. I'm going to have to set up the same environment on my mac at home as well so I can play around there too. I didn't realize that I'd have to set up such a huge virtual machine to do the development on my windows machine. Didn't really want to give up all that space.
I love my note but want that power that those devs have! Back when I was on my Galaxy S II I went nuts trying to find the one ROM that had everything I wanted but could never find that one ROM that suited me. I have to admit that is my driving force for wanting to develop. Obviously I'll be happy to share what I do (if I really am able to do something) and even support what I release because thats what a good dev does
I've been programming since I was 12. Taken some college courses but dropped out because I knew more than the instructors and was bored out of my mind. Ended up with a job at that university! Now I'm just hoping I can pick up the android os like I was able to pick up everything else.

[Q] Is it possible for a total beginner to develop this?

Hi guys,
(you can skip the blablabla to the fat letters )
it's been a while i'm registered and totally stunned of the work which the devs do @ this Forum. For years i think about the possibilities with coding stuff. But always thought it's to hard and take years.
But now with android i will give it a try. Because it would be awesome to write stuff by myself or solve problems with apps cause i understand the code or log output.
The best thing i invented was a Premium account Alarm for Rapidshare. It was just a tiny little script which checks for certain words/banner on the site and will popup the Firefox with an alarmfile i set. And i was proud that i managed that the process was in the background. Acessable through the taskbar... Easy as hell. You see i got no clue but understand a little bit of html. I can search the code of sites for certain stuff i want...No skill at all but reading...
My goal is it to archieve an app which can transform not tapatalk supportetd Forums in a better format. Because i couldn't find anything. And it's annoying for me...
Would it be possible? I don't care if it's not compatible to google play or anyone. I want this because i "need" it. And i guess it's fun for me to develop. If it becomes an high recomended app. Awesome but my goal is to get it to work and have fun.
For now i'm on the Hello World app...
Thank you for your patience.
Best regards,
Sam
First row is the Limit...
oh my god. This guy's such a noob
Well you got your foot in the door,but the HTML script on a web page is much different than linux code,this will take alot of researching and then alot more research and time.Im not a coder,but i am also learning and have been for a year now and i just barely scrapped the surface.Soo dont expect to develope an app by tomorrow.Expect alot of trial and error.
I guess it's possible but as mentioned above it takes time to learn to code from scratch. However there are a lot of good tutorials on the net which u can use to learn.
Sent from my LG-P350 using xda premium
I applaud your goal and hope you can come up with something.
I have no idea what's involved.
Just wanted to mention, there is discussion of some ways to view sites in a more mobile-friendly manner (mostly GWT) here:
http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=320809
For now i'm on the Hello World app...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good job, now just a few years and you're ready... Jokes aside, it seems to be very complicated to combine html and linux code so it might be a harsh experience for someone like you.

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