Good evening all
I was wondering if someone could make some recommendations please, I am looking to develop an Android App that is heavily text based, it's not going to be a game or anything like that, more like a random generator.
I don't have much coding experience outside of some C++ and Java and was wondering what is the best way to make it? Would I need to code that from scratch or are there some good programs out there that would make this much simpler?
At the moment I'm looking at learning Kotlin but if there's something easier to use I'm all ears!
Thanks for reading this!
Hiya, welcome to XDA.
You didn't mention if you wanted a dogmatic opinion or not.
Since you already know a bit of Java, why don't you stick with that for a bit before embarking on Kotlin?
Normally people just start with Android Studio https://developer.android.com/studio
If you're a hard-core looney (like me), you can just make your app without an IDE, just the "platform tools" in the SDK and a bit of sweat.
You'll be rewarded by knowing what's what. The SDK can be found by scrolling down the above link.
Renate said:
Hiya, welcome to XDA.
You didn't mention if you wanted a dogmatic opinion or not.
Since you already know a bit of Java, why don't you stick with that for a bit before embarking on Kotlin?
Normally people just start with Android Studio https://developer.android.com/studio
If you're a hard-core looney (like me), you can just make your app without an IDE, just the "platform tools" in the SDK and a bit of sweat.
You'll be rewarded by knowing what's what. The SDK can be found by scrolling down the above link.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!
I'll check out the link and hopefully I'll be able to figure enough of it out to get started xD
Thanks again! <3
Related
So, I've been a member for a while, and I've done my fair share of using everyone elses ROMs on my phones, starting from HeroC, to Moment, to Epic, to OG Evo, then on to TMo phones like the MT4G and Nexus S.
Now that I'm back on Sprint and rocking this beast of an Evo 3D, I'd like to actually CONTRIBUTE to the community. I give you Dev's/Chefs mad respect for what you do, and I'd like to be a part of that as well.
So, here's the actual questions for this Q&A thread: Is there any special programming knowledge I need to start cooking roms, or starting to dev? Do I need to know code? Do I need to be fearless with my own device? (lol) Is there a *For Dummies*-ish site/thread/forum that would be a good idea to read up on?
I realize that there are probably a million threads like this, spread all over the interwebz and these are PROBABLY some "OMG NOOB SEARCH" questions, but in my opinion the best place to go for information is directly from the source
Believe or not...the best source of info IS searching...not us...learn the basics...adb, java, XML, start small...learn Linux and learn, learn, learn....all great developers and chefs...are self taught...because what you learn on your own...you learn to ask questions to yourself,,,for yourself...it is either in you or not..a passion for knowledge in programming and or modifications of system cannot be taught for the drive..because if you search first and learn by doing with the tutorials...then and only then can you ask the right questions..
^^^ I've never seen so many ellipses. :s
@OP Yeah, I'm trying to do the same thing. I've picked up a book at B&N titled "Android Apps for Absolute Beginners", by Wallace Jackson. It's pretty up-to-date, and includes Honeycomb bits.
It's readable (as opposed to reference-able), and it's taught me quite a bit. I recommend you have a super basic background in Java (any object-oriented language would be good, but all the code in the book is Java and XML), something like Introduction to Computer Science or similar would do fine.
Good luck with that, and lemme know if you find any resources I should know about.
Zak Jones! said:
^^^ I've never seen so many ellipses. :s
@OP Yeah, I'm trying to do the same thing. I've picked up a book at B&N titled "Android Apps for Absolute Beginners", by Wallace Jackson. It's pretty up-to-date, and includes Honeycomb bits.
It's readable (as opposed to reference-able), and it's taught me quite a bit. I recommend you have a super basic background in Java (any object-oriented language would be good, but all the code in the book is Java and XML), something like Introduction to Computer Science or similar would do fine.
Good luck with that, and lemme know if you find any resources I should know about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a bad habit.. I commend you on what you are doing...my background was I taught myself 8086 assembler for the at class back awhile ago. Nobody would help so I digested book after book and line after line of assembler and a language called Force. To make a Long story short, I wrote my first commercial assembler library with over 1600 functions! That's a lot of code. I was one person that wrote it, the manual and support over compuserve. I was very proud of and I believe no other language library even came near it. It was at the time the most feature rich one available with another library called Funcky II with around 1400+ functions. Both were C callable, large memory model. Today's hardware do not need that crap. Then eventually went into programming full time a little after that. So I speak from experience. It is one thing to ask for guidance and another for specific items. Every good programmer, without exception was self taught..yes they went to college for computer programming or others like me that did not..they shared a common theme which is self motivation and the discipline not to quit. I once asked a very good programmer what is the secret to becoming a great one and his reply was simply code and code away. A very good reference for programmers is in fact the library source. It is invaluable. Hope this helps a little bit. I did tout my horn, yes, but you needed to get a background so you would not think I was as my dad used to say "speaking out of my a?s".
life64x said:
It's a bad habit.. I commend you on what you are doing...my background was I taught myself 8086 assembler for the at class back awhile ago. Nobody would help so I digested book after book and line after line of assembler and a language called Force. To make a Long story short, I wrote my first commercial assembler library with over 1600 functions! That's a lot of code. I was one person that wrote it, the manual and support over compuserve. I was very proud of and I believe no other language library even came near it. It was at the time the most feature rich one available with another library called Funcky II with around 1400+ functions. Both were C callable, large memory model. Today's hardware do not need that crap. Then eventually went into programming full time a little after that. So I speak from experience. It is one thing to ask for guidance and another for specific items. Every good programmer, without exception was self taught..yes they went to college for computer programming or others like me that did not..they shared a common theme which is self motivation and the discipline not to quit. I once asked a very good programmer what is the secret to becoming a great one and his reply was simply code and code away. A very good reference for programmers is in fact the library source. It is invaluable. Hope this helps a little bit. I did tout my horn, yes, but you needed to get a background so you would not think I was as my dad used to say "speaking out of my a?s".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, programming in assembler is no small feat. If you're familiar with Linux and Java you should have no problem figuring ROMs out. Dsixda has a kitchen he posted in the Android Chef's section that is very useful and apktool along with either WinMerge or Meld can be used to learn from the different ROMs.
It was a labor of love. I just seemed so cool in asm. Actually, what I want to write is a decompiler for the android with near perfect retrieval of code back. I seen the engine in smali and just do it for the heck of it. It has the parser in it..but I don't know java that well. Can't even write a hello world..) I was darn good in Delphi with windows and would be more comfortable with that. If somebody wrote simply a lexical for the small/ Bali output then that would all you would need for that type of program. I did not study java's reflection that good and it's another route. I want to give others who want develop the fun and passion I had. This was a hobby when I started. Years later, that hobby never left me. I respect the **** out of you and other developers out there, no matter what phone, tablet or computer because yes you are programming..you are giving something of yourself to others. Non programmers really do not know that developers for all the bugs and crap that comes with it...it is our soul, hearts and emotions that go into every line..every file we put out.
This you don't learn from a book..this you learn by making come alive what is inside our brains.
Thanks for the responses guys! Much appreciated. Looking forward to diving in head first!
Bigirish said:
Thanks for the responses guys! Much appreciated. Looking forward to diving in head first!
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Click to collapse
Have fun! I took xHausx suggestion and went to chefs central and it will help all new developers. Last night, went to the android forum section in there..hit last page of it and went backwards reading page by page and in that night investment..I found resources that are invaluable. I recommend you do the same. One thing I should tell you many out developer wanna bees out there...the only thing that sperates the ones who are and not is the simple fact..if they had a problem, they did give up. This may sound simple..but when you get frustrated...it is easy to throw in the towel.
Hi guys,
I think I have been an xda user long enough..so I though, why dont I try my hand in developing and be more of a giver than a taker in this great community.
Problem is, I dont know where to start. So if you dev guys could give me an effective learning path(study this first, then this, then this)..I would be most greatful!
Im not a developer by training(an accountant, of all things!!), however, I did get into IT audit so I know a little bit about the different flavors of unix..and I love coding(we use some scripting software in the trade, i know i know, its different) and i am never happier than trying to figure out how to make things work using code..
I know some of you may laugh at me, but I really am interested in this.
Thanks!
There's a great site here with lots of useful info
If your endgame is to develop for Android it might be best for you to jump in the deep end and start learning Java immediately. Don't worry about learning it by developing Android applications, just focus on developing on PC and you will have a much easier time. Once you've picked up the basics of Object Orientated programming then it's time to take a look at the Android APIs and go through some tutorials so you can see how the apps come together.
At the end of the day it's going to be a big job for you because you have very little experience. Unfortunately theres no real easy way out so you just have to put in the hours.
Yep!! Sleepless nights! Just like a real dev..hehehe... I do know some languages like vb..python..javascript..but that was just me muckin around..nothin serious also..already had the netbeans ide setup...and got my java hello world cherry popped..hahaha..so lame
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DreadPirateDan said:
There's a great site here with lots of useful info
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks man!!! Looks good!
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saunderez said:
If your endgame is to develop for Android it might be best for you to jump in the deep end and start learning Java immediately. Don't worry about learning it by developing Android applications, just focus on developing on PC and you will have a much easier time. Once you've picked up the basics of Object Orientated programming then it's time to take a look at the Android APIs and go through some tutorials so you can see how the apps come together.
At the end of the day it's going to be a big job for you because you have very little experience. Unfortunately theres no real easy way out so you just have to put in the hours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes..that is my endgame..but i was hoping you guys could point me to some android specific stuff..like how kernerls work..etc..basically i want to know the environment first...using google doesnt really yield in depth stuff
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Android is basically Linux with a custom UI.
If you want to know how kernels work (and you really shouldn't(!) if your goal is to make apps, as that's REALLY in-depth lowlevel stuff) just check out how Linux works - there's a million million articles on the net about the internals of Linux.
Android specific app development stuff, incl. tutorials and samples are here:
http://developer.android.com/guide/index.html
Maybe you just wanna setup the SDK and try to get the "Hello World" working, continue from there.
SDK: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
So I came into this with previous programing knowledge, but not knowing java. I've read a book on java, then the programing android book.
So from those of you that actually write apps for the android platform, what do you think is the next step? Just get to it already? Start using eclipse and its built in tools to get started and learn by doing and googling as I go along?
Is that the way most of you have got your start? Any other books I should pick up?
Thanks
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Questions or Problems Should Not Be Posted in the Development Forum
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Moving to Q&A
I am getting started too, am beginner / intermediate java programmer with little experience. The android site has some nice resources.
Developer.android.com ... Resources tab: look at the tutorials. The Hello World is a nice intro. You will install the Android SDK, eclipse, write a simple app, and seeit in action using the emulator. I have done Hello World and Hello Views.
I'd also appreciate any advice / guidance from more experienced droid devs!
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I've done that stuff so far. I've also played with the layout manager to.o. I th.ink I might start out making a sound board app. That seems pretty simple to do.
I'm just looking for some advice as the best way to precede
You're on the right way. The next step as a developer is just to develop software. Thats it.
You can look at some books and resources on the Internet to learn basics.
But I think the best thing to do is to imagine a mini-app (very simple, for example a calculator), and try to make it from scratch.
You'll learn how to search information and this will be less boring.
You can also create new projects from samples of the SDK, they are quite interesting.
Write code! Seriously. Screw the books (or you can waste money like me). I am sure that if you start building something like I have coming from a similar background, you will know what books to pick up when its time.
If you are a coder, just make up a project and learn Android in the trenches by figuring it all out as you go. That said, it would be invaluable to read up on the platform itself (the Android dev site is great) as programming for it is a bit different than what a lot of us are use to.
It's fun after you figure out the build environment on your platform. Also, if you are like me you live and die by text editors. That said, I have learned to finally embrace both Eclipse and Java thanks to Android.
EDIT:
I am now getting a lot of mileage out of Creating Android Applications by Chris Haseman. This is only after wasting money on books I wont read or that teach me to do things the wrong way. I was only able to make an informed decision after hacking together my first serious app. This book is packed with nuggets of insight from a and immediately answers questions I have from my experience with the ocassionally sparse documentation. I would highly recommend this book and because of it my future code is going to be very solid without the "did I do the right" feeling. <-- typed on g2x in Browser
Your right, I think I have enough background to dive in. I was playing around and created an app that plays mp3's when you click on buttons, didn't take long at all. Next thing I want to do is create a splash screen, and I took a quick look to see how to create buttons that are a picture and text, similar to the buttons in the google api sample.
Having fun with it so far.
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hey, i want to start creating android apps. i currently have the ui of an app i want to create done in eclipse but i dont have much knowledge on java scripting. ive done minor scripting with very small things but not much java.
anyone know a place to study or any recommendations from where you learned?
thanks for the help :silly: :good:
I can't vouch for it since I haven't used it, but when I was looking for info on the Android OS I came across this:
http://developer.android.com/training/basics/firstapp/index.html
Seems to be pretty comprehensive.
^ bookmarked. Thank you.
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Hi All!
I want to learn to code Android Apps. I have no experience (aside from some BASIC coding back in school), but I have plenty of motivation.
I've found thenewboston website and the video tutorials looks really good, but they assume some coding knowledge which I need to get before proceding.
So, should I learn some C or JAVA first?
Or feel free to tell me otherwise.
I'd really like a plan of attack for the process of learning all this, as it's rather over whelming for a noob when presented with so much information and slightly differing opinions on what to learn first.
Thanks in advance.
Donald.
If you're focusing on Android 100% for now then pick up Java first. Also grab Android Studio as it's an excellent development tool that's replacing eclipse (Google is phasing out support for it later this year)
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recommend the book "head first java"