android software development - Fascinate General

I was wondering if anyone else who is computer illiterate like me is very interested in learning how to create kernels, roms, themes... and anything else under the sun that deals with android software.
Anyone else interested in becoming a dev like those helping us out with froyo and whatnot?
I'm on Google now... I guess I'm looking for help on where to start. Like from square one... any nice guides you brainiacs could show us noobs?
I wouldn't mind teaching myself from the ground up just by reading internet guides - I enjoy both reading and learning.... I could see myself developing stuff for our community as a fun hobby.
If you would like to help me, think of me as an old man who's never owned a cell phone or a computer till now. That's how far back I'd need to go to learn, I have no experience in computer programming at all.
Since I got my fascinate and stumbled across xda, I've just been, well... fascinated with android and the mechanics behind it all. And the great devs that make this possible for our nice little community here!
So... you other noobs and pros out there wanna help each other out by sharing guides and experiences?
sent from my beast of a phone

Related

Handroid; The android port to the Hermes

Handroid; Android on the Hermes.​
Hi all!
Ok, first off i'd just like to say i'm not as new here as I may seem - i've been stalking round these parts for 2/3 months now. Please don't flame me for that.
My only other post was on the discussion on a possible android port to the Hermes.
I liked this idea greatly, and so I decided to start the 'Handroid' project.
The idea is simple, a full port of android to the hermes. Nothing more, nothing less.
The port will be based on the linux port to the hermes as it would be foolish to let that port rust a little more while we start a new one.
We've all seen videos of android running on other pocketpc's so it's evidently possible.
But this is where I have to ask for your help. To get this port underway quickly and efficiently we need a team. And a team means that people like yourselves that feel they could help us out in some way. Help. Or even anyone you know who might have the skills required.
Handroid now has it's own wiki up Here.(That address is only a temporary one on my blog's webspace, handroid.org will be registered soon. Also, please for goodness sake don't flame because its a Work In Progress site. It will be looking much better soon.) I would love to hear from some of you soon on the wiki, or here.
Any help or even just a few points of input (or even failing that, simply encouragement) would be greatfully recieved. However, make no mistake, if this project is to suceed we need your help. I can't do this on my own.
I really hope to speak to some of you on the team soon.
Sam
Ok we will on touch!!!
Ok men if we could find anything usefull maybe pmed you must works... nice wiki...
BTW how can you do it? i have an account there too and i dont know where to start hahaha
*flames lick feet... i think*
Ok, so I take that's the first of many flames? Or was it genuine. Some how I doubt. *sigh*
Welcome !!!!
Hi,
i appreciate this attempt of getting some attention to port some alternative OS to hermes platform. Indeed it could be done and it would be in the spirit of GPL like the openmoko people did for there mobile devices.
In fact we urgently need some brave kernel hackers to push this forward, because the base of all that android stuff is a nice working kernel.
Please have a look at this thread to get an idea of the work that has been put into this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=273579
There's a lot of useful stuff
There are some barriers (arrrghh) and there are new devices drawing attention so the progress of linux port stucked a bit....
Anyway the winmob family is doing great work, so let's see how far we would come with this alternative!
Have fun,
scholbert
I am very interested and I hope I can be helpful (at least cheer leading). Though I don't know anything about the Hermes kernel, as a reverse engineer, I always hack my way out. I keep my eyes on your wiki.
Great!
Thanks for the anti-flames.... I think my feet didn't get burnt too much.
We ultimately need people with a specialism in linux driver/kernel development. However, as far as I can tell the kernel is pretty much functional, but I will check more closely later.
I'm also going to contact some developers of the other Android ports around and see if they have any advise.
Will report back soon,
Sam
Any new notice?
Anybody still working on this?

want to learn how to do stuff

so i would like to learn how to do things for my phone and possibly help with the dev community. but i know practically nothing about linux or how to do anything useful. i am looking for links or other useful information to help me get started. i have lots of time on my hands and learn pretty quick. i assume i would start with the sdk (would i use the 1.5 one since thats what our phones are currently running on, or is the 2.0 out yet? and would i try from there), but other than that have no idea what else would be useful.
so.... yeah. helpful link to good info or any good e books, or anything like that that will get me going. thanks in advance
i would use the newest SDK, 2.0.1, and make sure that it will function on the emulators for both 1.5 and 2.0.1, frankly if you arent already proficient with linux or java, this wont be a easy thing to get into. However I WILL point out how threads like this are terribly pointless... you arent helping anyone out, and frankly you're asking for information that is quite available.
thanks for nothing. other than making me feel stupid.
Some help, maybe.
ix3u said:
thanks for nothing. other than making me feel stupid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been spending quite a bit of time on the threads here, I too am in search of more information specific to the android. I don't know that I'll ever be able to contribute too much to the devs, but at least I can understand my phone better, and help out with answering questions on the forums.
I would think that starting with something like creating a theme would be a good place to start, and would get you a little more familiar with the ways of android. Then I would move up into other things, and before you know it you will be much more proficient. It's all about starting somewhere. (and having a good backup)
Here's some posts / links that I have collected that i thought might aid me when i create some time to start the same endeavor...
* Ratcom's guide to creating Theme's
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=574167
* An Android Developers Guide (with tutorials, and tons of info)
http://developer.android.com/guide/index.html
* How-to's regarding android application development:
http://www.brighthub.com/mobile/google-android/topics/guides.aspx
* Tutorials and exercises
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-11-19-n27.html
I haven't looked at most of those, but hopefully they will be a good start. I look forward to the day when I start looking at them too.
Hopefully that's helpful, it's all I can offer.
Good luck, and godspeed
-AndyS-
thanks., that is more like what i was looking for
jmhalder said:
i would use the newest SDK, 2.0.1, and make sure that it will function on the emulators for both 1.5 and 2.0.1, frankly if you arent already proficient with linux or java, this wont be a easy thing to get into. However I WILL point out how threads like this are terribly pointless... you arent helping anyone out, and frankly you're asking for information that is quite available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm. So much for helping someone out who at least has the desire to learn and grow to be more. Communist much? or just a Liberal Democrat? I applaud him for trying. Who knows more about where to get the information other than XDA? Hell a google search on this stuff turns up mostly useless garbage anyways. Why spend hours digging it up when someone else may know a good resource.
Lets refrain from flames/rebuttals please.
I have a few FAQ's and tutorials on my site. Also checking things like my release notes and mind map (linked in v1.0 release) will help. There aren't any full on tutorials but it's just a good place for general info.
Check my sig.
As flipz stated, there's no good centralized place for organized information. The best advice is truly to search this site, and search with google. It's an uphill battle getting that base of knowledge built up to get you going. I know, I'm still working my way up the hill. I thought about putting a site together to organize and share information but that would take away too much from what little time I have to spend on rom developement.
I doub't that is really the answer you were hoping to get but unfortunately thats the grim reality of things. Perhaps someone with a lot more free time than I, will put together a site of their own and compile and organize all kinds of good information in a central place. It would truly be a boon to the android community.
obelisk79 said:
As flipz stated, there's no good centralized place for organized information. The best advice is truly to search this site, and search with google. It's an uphill battle getting that base of knowledge built up to get you going. I know, I'm still working my way up the hill. I thought about putting a site together to organize and share information but that would take away too much from what little time I have to spend on rom developement.
I doub't that is really the answer you were hoping to get but unfortunately thats the grim reality of things. Perhaps someone with a lot more free time than I, will put together a site of their own and compile and organize all kinds of good information in a central place. It would truly be a boon to the android community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be happy to bring some writers on to my site or to host some tutorials or anything that others have written. My job offers me a lot of flexibility and free time, however like you I am spending all of it developing right now. This kitchen is kicking my butt.
Edit: We'll see if I get any hits. http://geekfor.me/news/wanted-writers-for-faq-tutorial-help/
I may be able to help. My freetime seems to come and go, but I’ve always been pretty good at making How-To’s.
What format would be best?
html,pdf,etc…
ix3u said:
so i would like to learn how to do things for my phone and possibly help with the dev community. but i know practically nothing about linux or how to do anything useful. i am looking for links or other useful information to help me get started. i have lots of time on my hands and learn pretty quick. i assume i would start with the sdk (would i use the 1.5 one since thats what our phones are currently running on, or is the 2.0 out yet? and would i try from there), but other than that have no idea what else would be useful.
so.... yeah. helpful link to good info or any good e books, or anything like that that will get me going. thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good thread, thanks for starting it.
I'm in a pretty similar spot. 2 weeks ago I had zero exposure to or knowledge about Android or Linux. I'm proficient with Windows. In the last 2 weeks I've rooted, flashed RA 123, 151 & then 152. I backed up, ran an optimizer .zip file, restored, flashed fresh 1.0 and learned some very cool stuff. I'm comfortable in the terminal but I'm getting to where I'm not sure what I should or want to learn next. Also, although I've done these things easily half of it was just copying instructions from one of the fantastically helpful posts on this forum. Before I learn what to do next I'd like to understand the system better. I checked out wiki and ended up bookmarking a page that explains kernal computing, and a few others, lots of reading ahead
As a noob I have tried to learn without getting in the way too much. I'm glad you admitted your noobness and asked for some direction, you're not the only one who could use it!
obelisk79 said:
As flipz stated, there's no good centralized place for organized information. The best advice is truly to search this site, and search with google. It's an uphill battle getting that base of knowledge built up to get you going. I know, I'm still working my way up the hill. I thought about putting a site together to organize and share information but that would take away too much from what little time I have to spend on rom developement.
I doub't that is really the answer you were hoping to get but unfortunately thats the grim reality of things. Perhaps someone with a lot more free time than I, will put together a site of their own and compile and organize all kinds of good information in a central place. It would truly be a boon to the android community.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like what the original replyee said but said much more tact.
I'm hoping that was a compliment in a round about way.
THIS is an amazing resource. I've stopped in there before but wasn't ready to poke around too much.
I'll see you guys/gals in the spring!
I'd like to offer some insight, but there's really not much more I could add than what's already stated and linked above. Everything you need to know can be found (usually) easily on the android developer site, or in a google search. The hard part is putting those pieces together to know what needs to be done in order to accomplish what. That's not an easy task: check out cyanogen's github projects (http://github.com/cyanogen). He's made modifications to the kernel, Android applications, core frameworks, configurations, recovery images, packaged resources/images, and more. It's not just one piece that goes into these builds.
Most of what you see around here (and this is certainly not to take away from all the great work I'm referring to, because this is just as important as everything else), are people modifying what was already done somewhere else, and making it work for their own phone. And really that's all it takes to move progress forward.
You don't have to be a linux whiz or a Java programmer to be able to make progress with your phone- you just need to understand how each particular piece works in order to make progress on that piece. If you want to make a theme, you need to know what jar or apk files contain the resources, and how to replace those images and styles. If you want to add support for the camera you need to know what linux driver it should use, and how Android expects to interact with that driver. Same for supporting accelerometer sensors, etc.
There's no definitive checklist of things you have to know before you can help development, it just depends on what what you want to help with, and your willingness to research how that particular piece works and what it would take to make the necessary changes.
maejrep,
Informative and encouraging. Thanks!

Catching up with the times

I need a little help from the regulars here on the forums to help catch me up, and maybe those that are in the dark about developement politics and what's been happening on the forums could benefit from this as well.
I've had trouble staying current since I'm in the middle of a big project making some really nice video guides for everyone, and want to make sure that the 100 or so hours I've already put into it haven't become too obsolete because of my time spent with the project. (hence the reason for this post)
What I've heard is that developers like those with Team Whiskey and Eugene have migrated on to their own sites and away from these forums from what I know. I just read the Axura rom is also having issues as well. These are the kind of relevant things I need to know.
So, with that being said. If you plan to respond, please keep it unbiased and fill me in on just the facts please. Whys and hows would be nice to know and it doesn't need to be limited to just developement. I want to make these guides as amazing as possible with the help of everyone.
Sent via mini V
Bumpity bump bump.
Nutshell anyone?

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hello everyone! I wasn't sure where to put this... I wanted to put it under the android development section, but didn't want to clutter anything. So, I am pretty much a noob when it comes to all of these modifications to phones. I have pretty much been reading these forums non-stop for the past few days, and the amount of information on here is incredible. Last night I flashed the Axura 2.2.6 ROM to my phone with no problems! I was amazed at how easy it was! All of the applications people developed are so useful like ROM manager and Titanium backup. You could never get these kinds of tools and info from the manufacturer. I am truly in awe of the smarts and talent the people on this website have. So thank you so much, for taking the time to create and put tutorials together, so people like me, who don't understand all of the programming language and resources needed to make something like a custom ROM come together, be able to reap all of the benefits my phone has to offer.
-Tara
P.S. I wanted to click the "Thanks" button on a lot of the threads, but it wasn't there?!
Glad to have you around and glad that the Forums helped you out. This is a tight group (most of the time) even if a lot of issues around Samsung currently going on.
Thanks for the welcome! I look forward to what comes out in the future for these phones... as far as controversey around Samsung... I was part of the group that was dealing with Motorola and the Motorola Cliq. I was able to get out of that mess and switched to the Vibrant, and I feel like I'm encountering it all over again. I know the manufacturers have no obligation to give us updates, but then don't promise it! And if it comes, it's kind of like a really nice surprise! When companies make promises like an upgrade by a certain date, and don't follow through, of course people are going to be pissed! But, with the help of developers, we can enjoy all the benefits the phones have to offer. And probably, the modifications made by developers are better than the manufacturers would do anyway!
Welcome
Tara, glad to have you here, as you already know these forums are a wealth of information regarding your phone. I also got to the vibrant from a bad experience with a phone. (the Samsung Behold II) Follow along, don't be afraid to ask questions when you have them, as someone will most always be there to help. You may even find like I did that you don't need to worry so much about the updates promised by TMO and Samsung. Most of the 2.2 ROMS we have available to us now are already beyond what the updates would give us anyway. So I would encourage you to read, read, read through the threads and to support the developers wether it be Team Whiskey, Master, Eugene, or whoever.
But most of all, welcome
Welcome, because of the people here you will so much more enjoyment from the phone. You are right the stock item is really substandard compared to the custom awesome work of the people in the android family and specifically this forum.
Keep reading, especially the stickys/bible and other notable instructions.
Enjoy and welcome
I have been lurking around<(creepy?lol) and reading the crap out of stickies here for about a month now, and I too would like to extend a token of grattitude to all of the extremely intelligent and helpful members here. Thanks for taking the time to explain procedures clearly and concisely. The custom roms and information you have provide truly make this device awesome.
-Brad
P.S. Sorry for jacking your thread Tara, but I didnt want to add another thanks to the general.
Thanks for all the friendly messages everyone! And that's ok Brad! All day I have been watching folders open on my phone, and just the way the flip out, out of nowhere, is so cool!!! I am just amazed at the work the developers have put into making these phones run so well. And, on top of that, sharing the wealth with all of us, and including step by step written tutorials and videos. They have my complete gratitude and I truly look forward to see what they think of next!

To all devs!

First let me say this thanks. Besides that let me say this, you should be geting paid for what you do. Not by the manufacturers, but by people like me who benefit from your effort. I understand that a great percentage if not all devs do this work out of the love for game. That's not lost on me, but it seems to me that the more devs you have working on something, the quicker things are released. Here's my proposition: Devs share the knowledge of how to get things done with those who are interested. And I don't mean linking to the android sdk page. We're dumb as **** when it comes to that. If someone would develop a tutorial that was inclusive of the required knowledge, along with shortcuts, cheats and the like, we could have something. There are so many newbs who want to know how to help but just cant. That knowledge is worth money and I'd pay by the hour to learn it from someone with knowledge rather than googling dozens of sights. Give us leadership and we'll give you money, set it up donation style so that those who are serious can participate. Personally, I'd pay 11$/hr for this training up front and I'd bet others would too. You'd also eliminate a lot of needless posts, replacing them with answers. I'll broker the deal for nothing but lets get something going. Maybe just start with the abc's of coding and go from there. Anyway, just a rom lovers's hope to a better community. You could even start a thread like "How I learned to dev" with tutorials and such. You guys know better than I how to start this up. Anyway, post your thoughts on the viability of such a project or whether I 'm pissin' in the wind.
This sounds lika an excellent idea!
Both thumbs up!
I would love that!
I may not know a lot but i would be very happy to give a full tutorial on theming, tweaks and some editing of layouts.
again not for the money, the more people we have the better the community we will have!!!
let me know if you are interested in what i know,
Great idea!
+1. I totally support this idea. I always want to do something for the community
Op just let me know how you would like to set up these sessions and you can pick my brain
sent from my Atrix via XDA premium
marko! said:
I may not know a lot but i would be very happy to give a full tutorial on theming, tweaks and some editing of layouts.
again not for the money, the more people we have the better the community we will have!!!
let me know if you are interested in what i know,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me wants your theming tutorials.
Do Google hangouts do screen share?
sent from my Atrix via XDA premium
I did a tutorial on theming a while back that seemed to help a lot of people get their feet wet. Itll help you understand how apk manager works and what not.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1186819

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