Where can I get info? - Android

First off, yes I've read the stickies.
My problem is I've got no background what so ever. Nothing. I need to start from scratch. I'm very good at technical writing and would love to start putting together something for other people like me as well.
I know each device has specific things but even general information would be helpful. The problem with what I've run through so far is it assumes the reader understands programing, and/or Linux.
Specifically I'd like to get into ROM building. But even app development is lacking in info.
Any links would be very helpful.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=697938
You might want to read up on the two textbooks they posted there. I'm barely into them yet. These two languages are the basis of the android platform.

Related

[Q] steps for android development

hello every one!!!!
i am proud owner of SGS from last one year.
no of times i flashed custom ROM and researched for info on internet
got almost all the information from this forum but still got some question.
i got the tutorial for setting up the development environment.
but still not got the satisfactory ans/tutorial/guide for android development.
i am not from programming background but still i am very much interested in android development and i know that with interest i can learn any thing.
i am very much interested in ROM development.i know it involves very much knowledge/patience/coding etc.
could anybody tell me what are the steps involved to develop for android platform so i can research and learn to do it.
help will be appreciated!!
hey,
other than searching on google for code sample/example, i refer to the following to answer some basic information: http://developer.android.com/index.html just one thing to note is...the code they provide on their website may have bugs ( i have run into a few myself as i was starting to code on android platform)...
You probably know this one, but maybe not
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=17254660 via http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=816994
Hi swapk007,
Setting up an android development environment is a little complicated, so instead of trying to list the steps here, I'm going to give you some advice. This is coming from someone who also started android development about a month and a half ago, so the following advice is something I'll stand by.
If you don't have a programming background, try and tinker around with some basic Java. I've gone to school for Computer Science, so I got enough Java experience that I could jump right into Android, but it is something I would recommend to others who don't have that exposure.
Next, check out Commonsware. It is a site/service/set of online books run by a guy named Mark. I purchased the books back when I started and they have been HUGELY helpful. He explains in detail how you should set up your development environment, and then walks you through the different parts of the development process. Furthermore, he does "office hour" chats once or twice a week, so if there is something extra complicated that you can't figure out you can talk with him. He is really friendly and helpful.
Once you get a handle on developing some apps, be they basic or advanced, then you'll be able to get into Rom development.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
fastindy said:
hey,
other than searching on google for code sample/example, i refer to the following to answer some basic information: http://developer.android.com/index.html just one thing to note is...the code they provide on their website may have bugs ( i have run into a few myself as i was starting to code on android platform)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Janzomaster said:
You probably know this one, but maybe not
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=17254660 via http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=816994
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bkensey said:
Hi swapk007,
Setting up an android development environment is a little complicated, so instead of trying to list the steps here, I'm going to give you some advice. This is coming from someone who also started android development about a month and a half ago, so the following advice is something I'll stand by.
If you don't have a programming background, try and tinker around with some basic Java. I've gone to school for Computer Science, so I got enough Java experience that I could jump right into Android, but it is something I would recommend to others who don't have that exposure.
Next, check out Commonsware. It is a site/service/set of online books run by a guy named Mark. I purchased the books back when I started and they have been HUGELY helpful. He explains in detail how you should set up your development environment, and then walks you through the different parts of the development process. Furthermore, he does "office hour" chats once or twice a week, so if there is something extra complicated that you can't figure out you can talk with him. He is really friendly and helpful.
Once you get a handle on developing some apps, be they basic or advanced, then you'll be able to get into Rom development.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you all...will definitely go through all this n reply..
I´m not a android developer, sometimes i do some OOP in C#, and I would suggest you should start coding some apps (games, toys etc.), maybe just for PC´s, before even start thinking about developing custom rom´s - just start reading JDE stuff and if you finaly know what your doing, you will not have to ask for thinks like "how to code ROM´s", but just start coding...
...would you start building a house, if you even didn´t know how to do a wall?
will definately do it tomrof!!!

[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.

Android Apps Development Course

Hello,
I would like to learn how to develop Android Apps. But it seems like there's not so many schools offering such course.I tried to search and found out about Viope Online Android course. I wonder if anyone of you has tried that out. I didn't see any review on that course. So, if you have any idea/comment, please share with me. Thanks!!
htran2012 said:
Hello,
I would like to learn how to develop Android Apps. But it seems like there's not so many schools offering such course.I tried to search and found out about Viope Online Android course. I wonder if anyone of you has tried that out. I didn't see any review on that course. So, if you have any idea/comment, please share with me. Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you ever done any programming before?
From what I understand...if you know java you can pretty much code android apps...
So take a class in java (I'm taking one next semester) and see where that leads you, from there take classes in other encodings that may also be requires...but for the most part its a lot of java
Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
I would reccommed you to read several books about android programming. There are plenty of books available, e.g. books on O'Reilly website. Take easy ones, such as "Introducing .." or "Beginning ..", not something like "Cookbook"
Some of the books include quick overview of java. Of course you must know the basics of programming
But if you insist on cources, I'd recommend Stanford Computer Science (easy to find in Itunes)
Advice from my experience: do as many practice as you can, don't stuck in reading and learning. This will motivate you to move forward!
htran2012 said:
Hello,
I would like to learn how to develop Android Apps. But it seems like there's not so many schools offering such course.I tried to search and found out about Viope Online Android course. I wonder if anyone of you has tried that out. I didn't see any review on that course. So, if you have any idea/comment, please share with me. Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out thenewboston's guides on youtube. I'd highly suggest watching their java videos first. The android series is 200 parts, and its really good. I'm on the 117th.
Check out these tutorials for android apps.
Vogella-Android App tutorial
Marakana Tech TV(tutorials)
Google Dev Training
I'm teaching myself how to write apps, and custom ROM's and I had absoloutely no programming experience beforehand. I've been self teaching myself for about 7-8 weeks now. I've got a fairly good understanding of .XML files now and find them easy to make and edit. I've got a basic understanding of Java, and can write and understand some code. (I still need a lot more practice with it though)
Just stay dedicated and you can learn if you really want to. I'm proof!
Thread might be a little old, but thought I'd post this for future searchers, since it will be a good response to the question. I've started a project to create a full training course on writing Android apps, geared toward complete beginners (whether they have prior programming experience or not). It's currently only in the planning stages, but I'll post updates on the thread I started HERE on xda-developers as the project progresses.

[Q] Comment about terminology and process

I am a new Xperia Ultra owner and whilst not planning to do any flashing just yet I thought tonight I'd take a quick look at threads discussing steps that would be involved in doing this.
Let me qualify what I'm about to say by stating that I appreciate people on this site who develop tools which allow us to hack our devices so we can make better use of our phones. They are incredibly skilled, gifted and generous with their time. I would love to be able to spend the time learning how to do this but I simply don't have the time. So please don't take what I am about to say as a criticism but more as an observation, considering the effort contributors put into this it would indeed be incredibly foolish of me to criticise anyone here.
I can probably safely say that none of the contributors are also trained technical writers and a fair number do not have English as their first language. Its my first and only language and I often have difficulty getting the meaning across succinctly not to mind getting the spelling right . And I know even for large software houses support documentation is not a priority.
I want to approach hacking my phone with confidence this time round. In the past I've reflashed several phones for myself and friends and simply followed steps and not really understanding completely what the hell I was doing. Lordmanhattan I know I sent you an email regarding a contradiction on your thread. And you very kindly got back to me very quickly.....amazing, thank you. And then there is the "TA partition", WTH is that? I did very briefly google this to find a quick answer but no joy....grrrr (also looked in the XDA Wiki acronyms) I'm sure if I looked hard enough I'd find it. It's mentioned everywhere but nobody seems to be offering an explanation what it is or what it does or why it's important or what it stands for !!!!
Very often I find threads on here describing how to do something hard to follow and this is often for the following reasons:
It could be that there is more than one way to achieve something so its a case of different people offering varied procedures, this can be confusing
A process may be described but then to the newbie the author seems to miss out on a step that to the experienced is obvious
The level of English used leads the reader to scratching their head wondering ...did he/she mean this or that
Threads not being updated or corrected even after feedback
Okay I won't go on.
So I have decided my time might be well spent doing some background research before delving into messing about with my Xperia Z Ultra and saving you guys from having to deal with daft questions from me.
Now does this mean I have to spend time reading through threads and trying to piece it all together to find the best way through and possibly getting the wrong end of the stick or reading superseded posts?
OR
Are there a couple of sites that will get me up to speed understanding the terminology, hardware, memory management, etc for my phone?
I have a feeling it's going to be a bit of both......your suggestions please
Oh, I stumbled across XDA University but got the impression it wasn't being maintained???
Some of the pages I visited....
A New User’s Guide to Android.......unfortunately none of the images for this page loaded
Video guides .................................had flash presentations which didn't load
Ferg8080 said:
I am a new Xperia Ultra owner...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A good and detailed post, and it's not just the dev's and support that could take note. Some of the people that ask questions really need to read your post and think about what they are trying to say, get help with -- we aren't mind readers either.
I always try and help anew user by using as few TLA as possible in a reply to them. I also try to do the steps as #'d lists with as many steps as possible.
I do think LordManhattan's guide needs a little love as a few things are a little out of date - but it is as comprehensive guide as you could get, and most vagaries are covered in the thread.
TA = trim area, where your unique DRM keys are stored, and god only knows what else.
Thanks for your well written post! First I want to say - like Blueether just did, that we are not mind readers, so we can't possible know people's skill level or what they want to do. That's why I've started to ask them straight up what they want to do and where in the process they are. That way it'll be easier for me to help the other person, and hopefully write a short but complete step by step guide. It won't happen that often, but if I got some time to spare, why not.
My guide is a little out of date now, and I have planned to update it for quite some time, but things are moving so god damn quick around here that even I will get outdated if I take a short break. I recently sent my Ultra in for repairs, and 12 days later when I got it back and ready to get back in the game, a new firmware had been released with a new rooting method. I knew everything one day, and nothing on the other. It's really hard to balance real life and being kept updated at all times. Don't forget that you must be sure about what you know and write when you make a guide, because you don't want to brick people's devices. One slipup and the consequences might be ugly.
There are (of course) one or four ways of doing things around here, and you'll probably get different ways of doing things if you ask me or blueether about rooting or flashing custom ROMs. I guess it's just the way it is. New methods also pop up once in awhile, so some people will adopt these new methods while some other people will stick with the old school method, thus making things a little more complicated for new people who are looking for reliable information.
The TA partition is, like blueether already said, your device's unique DRM keys which makes X-Reality (and other minor things, I guess) work. It's important to make a backup of this partition since you'll lose it when you unlock the bootloader. Why would you unlock the bootloader? You have to unlock it if you want to flash custom ROMs, or if you want to make rooting easier. The problem is that you need to be rooted to back it up, so you'll have to spend some time reading and researching before you start.
Just keep your Ultra stock for now, and just casually read and soak up stuff from different threads around here. Walk around like you do in a new city and check out the locals and see what they do and say. You'll pick up a few things here and there and things will start rolling from there.
Sent from my C6806_GPe using Tapatalk
blueether said:
A good and detailed post, and it's not just the dev's and support that could take note. Some of the people that ask questions really need to read your post and think about what they are trying to say, get help with -- we aren't mind readers either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LordManhattan said:
a new firmware had been released with a new rooting method. I knew everything one day, and nothing on the other. It's really hard to balance real life and being kept updated at all times. Don't forget that you must be sure about what you know and write when you make a guide, because you don't want to brick people's devices. One slipup and the consequences might be ugly.
some other people will stick with the old school method, thus making things a little more complicated for new people who are looking for reliable information.
Just keep your Ultra stock for now, and just casually read and soak up stuff from different threads around here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you can see some people just rush in with questions without giving serious thought to what they want to achieve. I think its people who don't often understand the process properly, haven't thought it through and are following what seems like a straightforward step by step process. Understanding what you are doing requires patience and TIME.
XDA I think is an unrivalled repository of amazing contributions from amazing people on a technology that is constantly evolving. Its also a jungle. One doesn't go into the jungle unprepared
Thanks for the fantastic advice guys and I will heed but I can't promise I might come out with some corkers
One last thing, how on earth do you find the time to lead a normal life? You obviously love what you are doing. It might be easy to assume everyone who contributes here is in IT. I imagine there are plumbers, electricians, mechanics, office workers, retired folk.....

Navigating Long Threads

This will be a launching pad for tips and recommendations for members negotiating long threads and reading pertinent information. I read many posts with members stating that the thread is just too long to read. Then using that as an excuse for not reading at all. Please add your ideas and methods for reading.
The first thing I do when looking at a new thread is read the OP. I always check dates and also the date of the latest iteration of the ROM, kernel, etc. after reading what the author wrote about their thread I'll jump to the end of the thread and read backwards to the date of the latest release. This gets me up to date with the latest build and any issues.
Then I'll decide if I want to flash this on my very expensive device.
Like I said...
Please add on your tips!
Thanks!
RayMcGrath said:
This will be a launching pad for tips and recommendations for members negotiating long threads and reading pertinent information. Please add your ideas and methods for reading.
The first thing I do when looking at a new thread is read the OP. I always check dates and also the date of the latest iteration of the ROM, kernel, etc. after reading what the author wrote about their thread I'll jump to the end of the thread and read backwards to the date of the latest release. This gets me up to date with the latest build and any issues.
Then I'll decide if I want to flash this on my very expensive device.
Like I said...
Please add on your tips!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi...
The way you use to read a thread pretty much summarize the way I do it myself. I go a step further by searching within the said thread with some key words such as:
Problem, issue, brick, bricked, bootloop, etc...
I may sound paranoid, but I often browse the forum late at night and I could miss an important post due to being tired.
Cheers...
Great idea Ray. Teach by teaching, not by beating a person over the head lol
I go to the OP also and if I am interested in flashing, go back a month or two and read posts to see if things are stable or not. I also follow a bunch of Roms that I don't intent to flash or, have flashed before - just to see what kind of problems have arisen and how they were dealt with. It's a great way to pass a ride on the train or other idle time. I do think that there are many from around the world here and language might be a factor effecting their ability to read and/or search. Either way, I love this XDA, a valued tool! Too bad I came along so late in the game.
Bobbaloo said:
Great idea Ray. Teach by teaching, not by beating a person over the head lol
I go to the OP also and if I am interested in flashing, go back a month or two and read posts to see if things are stable or not. I also follow a bunch of Roms that I don't intent to flash or, have flashed before - just to see what kind of problems have arisen and how they were dealt with. It's a great way to pass a ride on the train or other idle time. I do think that there are many from around the world here and language might be a factor effecting their ability to read and/or search. Either way, I love this XDA, a valued tool! Too bad I came along so late in the game.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great to have you. You're a big help to many folk.
5.1 said:
Hi...
The way you use to read a thread pretty much summarize the way I do it myself. I go a step further by searching within the said thread with some key words such as:
Problem, issue, brick, bricked, bootloop, etc...
I may sound paranoid, but I often browse the forum late at night and I could miss an important post due to being tired.
Cheers...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right!
Performing a search can be an art form. Using the just right keyword to be successful takes some practice. It is so important to try many paths and exhaust all possibilities before posting your question in the threads. And then phrasing your question with all your information is important as well.
RayMcGrath said:
You're right!
Performing a search can be an art form. Using the just right keyword to be successful takes some practice. It is so important to try many paths and exhaust all possibilities before posting your question in the threads. And then phrasing your question with all your information is important as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, since my first modded android phone in 2008, i have never felt the need of asking anything. Most likely because all issues I encountered were already covered. Either by developers or people answering issues reported by previous users having the same problems. And maybe because I like to get things done by myself. (Which I achieve 1% of the time ).
I check XDA almost every day since. I must say that the "reading thing" may sound challenging for some people. You'll ask me why?
What follows is about novice users for the most part who don't know about/how to use the search function. Try reading a thread where 100 users come each and every day writing the same thing about the same problem over and over. And over again...
Trying to find the relevant posts in-between all this mess is sometimes quite discouraging.
I'm lucky to have affinity with English and of course it's a lot easier to read and find infos when I need them. Google translate became really nice with time. Yet i find myself using it, since English is not my native language and I learned it the hard way. Sometimes it's sad to see people not using such a powerful tool.
People, please use the search function! Take some time to read. If you don't get it, use an online translator. :good:
PS: Hopefully I didn't derail too much from the OP with this post... I'll delete it if needed.
5.1 said:
Well, since my first modded android phone in 2008, i have never felt the need of asking anything. Most likely because all issues I encountered were already covered. Either by developers or people answering issues reported by previous users having the same problems. And maybe because I like to get things done by myself. (Which I achieve 1% of the time ).
I check XDA almost every day since. I must say that the "reading thing" may sound challenging for some people. You'll ask me why?
What follows is about novice users for the most part who don't know about/how to use the search function. Try reading a thread where 100 users come each and every day writing the same thing about the same problem over and over. And over again...
Trying to find the relevant posts in-between all this mess is sometimes quite discouraging.
I'm lucky to have affinity with English and of course it's a lot easier to read and find infos when I need them. Google translate became really nice with time. Yet i find myself using it, since English is not my native language and I learned it the hard way. Sometimes it's sad to see people not using such a powerful tool.
People, please use the search function! Take some time to read. If you don't get it, use an online translator. :good:
PS: Hopefully I didn't derail too much from the OP with this post... I'll delete it if needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the beginning, searching for the answer - did someone else have the same situation and fix it(?) - THIS always seemed easier and more gratifying than waiting for someone to answer me on a thread
Actually, I was flashing macks ROM, then CM on my note 2 and I didn't even KNOW XDA existed. I was so grateful when I found it. Especially when I got this phone. With Google ai, now it seems so much easier to do a quick search on the web
Bobbaloo said:
From the beginning, searching for the answer - did someone else have the same situation and fix it(?) - THIS always seemed easier and more gratifying than waiting for someone to answer me on a thread
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I know how you feel! At least for me having no real technical knowledge, I'm always glad to find the solutions by myself. Since it's around and just needs a search it's even faster than waiting for an answer. Also, since I only need to search when my phone is broken, I simply can't wait for someone to answer. Imagine no one replied during two days...
Bobbaloo said:
Actually, I was flashing macks ROM, then CM on my note 2 and I didn't even KNOW XDA existed. I was so grateful when I found it. Especially when I got this phone. With Google ai, now it seems so much easier to do a quick search on the web
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the first place I found when I started to flash my HTC vision back in 2008. I started reading guides and development and was like: WTF these guys are cracking bootloader, carrier unlocking, etc... And all can be found so easily... :good:

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