i want to learn... - Vibrant General

what would be the best direction to go if i want to learn how to make apps/live wallpapers and help with overall development of anything i would be able to.
if i wanted to take classes on it what type of classes would i need to take?
if i wanted to learn on my own?
are there some ways of learning that are better then others?
are there things i should totally avoid?
i love that all you people do so much for everyone and i would love nothing more then to be able to help with everything.
its like the saying "give a man fire and he will be warm for the night... teach a man how to build a fire he will stay warm for life."
i only have so much money to donate... but i have a brain i feel that is going to waste on my daily routine
i dont even know where to start...

I am a new developer myself, but I will give you my two cents. The best place to start learning to develop for Android is to learn JAVA. The applications are made fro JAVA, so that would be a good place to start for applications. The operating system is based off of Linux, so look into that if you want to start modding.

Related

[Q] Is there a full detail guide to rom building?

Hey guy's (please don't flame me to bad still a little new to the forums) I have looked over many guides but they don't really go over Samsung mostly HTC. I have the source from Samsung for the 2.1-update-1 and have been looking at it but not sure what i am really looking at. If anyone can maybe shed some light on it...of course i could be just confusing myself and its simpler then i think. I have been reading a paper on how to build linux from scratch to get that understanding considering Android is linux in all reality...
Thanks ahead of time guys.
Not to be mean, but unless you understand the code, all you'll be doing is copying/pasting into terminal to get a build. Which isn't very useful if you are trying to learn something.
If you are actually looking at building the OS and manipulating the underlying code, go ahead and grab a C book. It'll take even an intelligent person a good deal of time to understand it all.
As far as putting some APKs into a zip file and calling it a rom, well there's tons of stuff on that laying around, most of that is scripting. If you get into rebuiling the APKs with Smalli - there is code involved there - but you will need to know how java works for it to make sense to you there...might as well learn that while your at it.
Well i know C++/C# and java (took them in college and currently use them for my job) so it shouldn't take too long..i guess i just need to dig into the code and go from there. I don't want to copy past thats definitely out of the question. Have any pointers where i should start and see if i can grasp this or just stick with using other custom rom's which in the end if thats what i do that's fine by me just wanted to get into it myself.
PS: didn't take what you said as mean lol any criticism or help is always appreciated.
^
What he said.
There are a bunch of mini-guides to teach you to copy and paste some stuff, but little in terms of a clear concise guide. I've been working on learning to do a rom myself, but I learned to program in C and Java on unix and linux machines in college. You're going to have to spend a lot of time reading and learning things that you won't be sure you'll ever really need to in order to do any meaningful dev work with that source.
Start using linux on a home machine. Start learning C. And pick up a book called "Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment" to begin to understand how the low level parts of a linux operating system work. Then you will be much better prepared to see how it all works together.
edit: Looks like we both replied at the same time. I guess you can ignore the above post.
lol, i will look into that book for sure though. I have been slowly getting back into linux i use to use it all the time then somethings i was working on and a few apps i was using i had to switch to mostly Microsoft and lost a lot of my Linux knowledge (which sucks) but i will start there thanks again!
I think if you are familiar with the code you are ready for what you want to do. Seeing as how you are reading htc development guides tells me your searching cause that's all that you can really find online. You dont know the steps to take to actually build that source your looking at. First thing is you need your development machine set up to build. I hope youve done that already if not, source.android.com will get you through that. You need the sdk and all that. Next you hook the phone up usb debugging and from within your android folder (mydroid) run extract.sh that willful the samsung files into your environment. From here it will be similar to the htc guides for building but you have the files in front of you to edit you just need to research the structure of linux and those files. Also you need to get familiar with building a kernela well to see how they interact. Good luck
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

[Q] developing roms, where to start?

With the newly deodexed honeycomb I have gotten the itch to start looking into how to create/develop my own rom.
What is the best way to start learning, is there a good starting point, I have been doing some reading but it just seems so overwhelming.
I do have basic Linux knowledge and can whip up a linux VM in no time to get crackin. I have been modding my EVO for the last year so i know how to be a "user" and have tinkered with the xoom but have only scratched the surface.
So my question is just this, Where to start??
any input would be helpful.
+1!
need a little walkthrough too :S!!
and someone can say what files NEVER EDIT to not brick the xoom!!
i too would be highly interested in learning what steps to take.
bossjeeves said:
With the newly deodexed honeycomb I have gotten the itch to start looking into how to create/develop my own rom.
What is the best way to start learning, is there a good starting point, I have been doing some reading but it just seems so overwhelming.
I do have basic Linux knowledge and can whip up a linux VM in no time to get crackin. I have been modding my EVO for the last year so i know how to be a "user" and have tinkered with the xoom but have only scratched the surface.
So my question is just this, Where to start??
any input would be helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get that VM set up, and get your environment set up so you can build AOSP.
Look through the source so you know what parts of Android are found where in the tree.
Learn a little about the platform, what does what...
Basically, just get your hands dirty.
ydaraishy said:
Get that VM set up, and get your environment set up so you can build AOSP.
Look through the source so you know what parts of Android are found where in the tree.
Learn a little about the platform, what does what...
Basically, just get your hands dirty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so this is kind of what I expected for an answer but I would like a little more if you dont mind.
Like maybe a couple of links pointing in the right direction, like what does the environment need for tools etc.
ydaraishy said:
Get that VM set up, and get your environment set up so you can build AOSP.
Look through the source so you know what parts of Android are found where in the tree.
Learn a little about the platform, what does what...
Basically, just get your hands dirty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's like saying jump in a lions den and see what ticks him off. Can we get more details please? I want to get into theming and want to know the ideal OS to do it on. I was hoping on doing it in Linux but want advice from themers.
IV been playing hippie for a couple of weeks so I don't know if I missed something but, unless the full AOSP source has been released, a deodex rom will help with nothing but theming.
You can't do much to customise a ready built rom, and you would be wasting your time to try anything but the simplest of mods.
That being said, if you're happy to play with smali you might achieve a little more.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
alias_neo said:
IV been playing hippie for a couple of weeks so I don't know if I missed something but, unless the full AOSP source has been released, a deodex rom will help with nothing but theming.
You can't do much to customise a ready built rom, and you would be wasting your time to try anything but the simplest of mods.
That being said, if you're happy to play with smali you might achieve a little more.
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is exactly what I am talking about here, This is kind of why I brought it up in the xoom forum, since we dont have source and we do have a deodexed rom wouldnt playing with that be a great place to start? if so like what would be the best place to start, you say play with smali, now I know I can google and get tons of answers but I am asking to explain a little more because I trust the feedback from here and I think others might benefit also
bossjeeves said:
this is exactly what I am talking about here, This is kind of why I brought it up in the xoom forum, since we dont have source and we do have a deodexed rom wouldnt playing with that be a great place to start? if so like what would be the best place to start, you say play with smali, now I know I can google and get tons of answers but I am asking to explain a little more because I trust the feedback from here and I think others might benefit also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Smali is a tool that will reverse engineer (baksmali) dalvik byte code into (barely) human readable code. If you can learn to understand this you can reverse and modify stuff with it. If i remember right, brut.all is the guy responsible, have a read around, but i warn you, its not for the feint of heart.
Macbots drool as I XOOM through the Galaxy to my hearts Desire.
bossjeeves said:
this is exactly what I am talking about here, This is kind of why I brought it up in the xoom forum, since we dont have source and we do have a deodexed rom wouldnt playing with that be a great place to start? if so like what would be the best place to start, you say play with smali, now I know I can google and get tons of answers but I am asking to explain a little more because I trust the feedback from here and I think others might benefit also
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is one of the best sources I've found....... made by cyanogen himself, tonnes of info here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=667298
I did come across this link http://simply-android.wikia.com/wiki/ROM_Development
looks like something that would be a helpful start. thoughts?
ps thanks for the replys
I think the best way to learn anything is just to read a lot, and to search for any questions you have. There are a thousand ways to learn to hack, but they all require the initiative to find answers on your own.
Sorry if this sounds patronizing. I always hated it when I get on a board and ask for something, and some curmudgeon geek tells me "Google is your friend". But it's true. You get better answers faster, as you can avail from the entire Internet, as opposed to the small number of people who reply to your query.
Thanks to the dude who linked to the Cyan advice post. My takeaway is this one line:
"There is a *ton* of information out there but any kind of "step-by-step rom cooking guide" is going to be a complete fail- it's too broad of a subject."
IMO if you are serious about ROM hacking, you need a dedicated linux environment. Cygwin is OK for run-time stuff, but too limited for anything else. If you only want to run basic bash commands, a simpler solution is win-bash (http://win-bash.sourceforge.net).
I'm kinda in the same shoes you are. Android interests me, although I don't have a Xoom or an Android tablet for that matter. Was gonna get a HC tab to tinker, but HC is still too green, so decided on a Nook Color for educational purposes. It's been out a while, and has many hacks already done that I can peruse. That, and it'll be useful for my "read a lot" mantra above.

[Q] Noob question

OK, well I've finally decided to take a dive into the WONDERFUL world of development (specifically android related). i have some experience and know how most things work. I am a bonified flash junkie lol. anyway i'm wanting to learn how to tweak/customize various things, such as porting controls to a status bar, or adding features to the lockscreen ect. However, i don't know what programming language i need to learn or really where to start for research.
Would someone kindly point me in the direction of a good beginners guide on what i need to know.
with regards,
Tiwey, Future developer (i hope)
Java is a good place to start. java java java
Good info on this thread, perhaps we can build it up to be a general beginners dev guide...I think it would help if there was one.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1173176
There seems to be a lot of demand for this. To the point I'm thinking of contacting some colleges in my area to see if they would add an Android course to curriculum and hire me as a lecturer
I like Reto Meirs (sp?) book on Android 2.

Learning to develop

I've been around this site quite a while now and have really wondered what its like to develop a rom or a kernel or even an app for that manner. Is they any way i could take the steps to learn even the basics of doing this? Even if it meant developing for the new windows phones or something, i just wanted to know how to do something...
Rocklee99 said:
I've been around this site quite a while now and have really wondered what its like to develop a rom or a kernel or even an app for that manner. Is they any way i could take the steps to learn even the basics of doing this? Even if it meant developing for the new windows phones or something, i just wanted to know how to do something...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some basic tutorials on app development can be found at http://developer.android.com/ and I do mean basic, but it will get you going.
You can also get the book Sam's Teach Yourself Android Application Development in 24 hours. It's really good and starts you, from the ground up, building applications and test with various platforms.

Starter Android Development Tutorials

Hello! I am a new comer into the world of Android Development, I do have a begginer to intermediate Java knowledge, but no Android Development knowledge.
I am asking you for some good tutorials I can use to help myself, preferably newer ones. I found a few, but all of them were 2-4 years old. And other thing I noticed at them is they all use Eclipse. Is it a big difference if I use IntelliJ, it's the IDE I'm most familiar with and I find going back to Eclipse very annoying.
I want to start developing Andoid application because I have a few cools ideas (or at least I think they're cool) for some applications, as well as games. But I don't want to rush right inot making the game or such, I have all the time in the world to learn how to properly develop Android applications.
Thanks for reading!
Hello RoPirate
You say you already find a few tutorials, could you share them please, I'm a beginner please thanks
Tutorial
The New Boston mainly, ando ther very bad and unclear ones.
Right now I found teamtreehouse.com it's paid, but they explain everything really nicely and good, and update the tutorials with new tools when they come out. They also have iOS developemnt, web development, web design, Python and lots of other nice tutorials.
If you decide to get a subscription there (had some doubts at first too, but I definitely do not regret buying the subscription) and want to help me out a bit you can sign up on my referal link (PM me if you want)
I want to chime in a recommend the Codepath Android Cliffnotes set of guides. It's well built, and very useful.

Categories

Resources