Database Users

Wanted: Compile for Android ON THE DEVICE!

Way back when, I could run a c# compiler on my Windows Mobile phone and create apps. I think it would be fun to do on-device "compilation" on my Desire Z too.
I'm not asking for an IDE -- just something that can take Java source code and XML files, compile to bytecode for Dalvik and produce an .apk -- all on the device itself.
Is this possible?

OK -- we'd have to both a javac (java compiler) and a dx tool running on the device to do this. The first compiles the java source, the second takes that file and converts it to Dalvik bytecode.
Anyone else interested in this?

I'm very interested too. I tried sl4a but it's limited for now.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Dexify java compiler
I'm also very interested!
I develop in Java for the Eve VM on Windows Mobile: [www t-arn com/software.htm]
but for this I needed to install a JavaVM on the device.
But it should be possible to dexify the java compiler. I found following post:
[www ist-music eu/developer-zone/documentation/phoneme-and-osgi/music-on-android]
The porting of OSGi requires the dexification of the OSGi bundles. This is a process which makes any JAR file (compliant with Java VM) compatible with Dalvik VM. It basically consists on adding a new file, classes.dex, into the JAR file. To dexify each OSGi bundle, a two-step process is required by using the Android SDK tools. In windows, the process would be:
* Create the classes.dex file associated to the JAR file:
[ANDROID_SDK]\platforms\android-1.5\tools\dx.bat --dex --output=%CD%\classes.dex my_bundle.jar
* Incorporate the classes.dex file into the JAR file:
[ANDROID_SDK]\platforms\android-1.5\tools\aapt.exe add my_bundle.jar classes.dex
Now, the dexified bundles work on both VMs: Java VM and Dalvik VM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess, we could do that for javac. If this does not work, we could try another Java compiler:
- EJC: [thecoderlounge blogspot com/2010/05/ecj-eclipse-java-compiler.html]
- kopisusu: [klomp org/KopiSusu/download.html]
I have no idea how to dexify the dx tool, though :-((
Hope to hear more from you guys
Tom

I have not yet gotten the Android SDK (nor a device...) but it seems that the dx tool itself is written in java. There is a dx.jar in the SKD. This one might already be dexified...or we could dexify with itself.
Tom

On-device development & compiler on a server...
Hi guys, I'm new to this Forum - just got my Archos 101 and now I'm searching for some more fun with it ;-)
So I really liked you guy's idea of having a compiler on the device itself - especially since the java compiler's really fast, so no doubt it can run on a smartphone...
I was really tempted by the open source "Open Blocks" library (education.mit.edu/openblocks) from some of these "Lifelong Kindergarden" people at the MIT... they're having this neat programming environment for teaching children programming, where you can drag/drop your source code like Lego...
Here you can have a look how the programming looks:
education.mit.edu/webdav/How%20to%20Create%20a%20Procedure/How_to_Create_a_Procedure.html
Now even google is using a similar thing, probably the same sources for their "App Inventor" (appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/), but you can only develop online at a real pc, then the .apk file is packaged on the server and downloaded to your android device...
So that's practically another way of having stuff compiled "on your device" - you could do the the development on a device and then have a server dedicated for a fast compiler and dx run...
Basically, I'd say that's the perfect system to write quick programs on a touchscreen device, especially when it's a bit larger tablet...
So if anyone wants to join in, I think I'm really keen on trying to port this OpenBlocks thing to the android screen ;-)
Cheers,
wowbag

Java IDE on Android
Hello everybody
I have just finished the latest version of taJavaIDE (0.3.0)
This APK is meant to become an Android development tool with which you can create native Android apps (APKs) ON the Android device itself.
What is working so far (on my Desire HD):
- Eclipse compiler for Java is integrated and working
- dx tool is integrated (not yet tested properly)
- BeanShell Interpreter is integrated and working.
You can write your own BeanShell script, store it on your SDCard and automate
the build process with it.
What is NOT yet working:
- aapt
- apkbuilder
- jarsigner
- zipalign
apkbuilder and jarsigner should not be a problem. I think, I can integrate those in the same way I integrated ecj.
As far as I know, zipalign is not absolutely needed (I might be wrong here, though).
My biggest problem is aapt which is not a Java application but a C++ application. To make it run on Android, you would need to port it to Java (looks like a REAL challenge!) or use the NDK to create a native library that you could then access from the APK.
I have no experience with the NDK and I also don't have the necessary build environment, so I would really appreciate if someone would help me out here!
Anybody interested in contributing?
Tom

Wow, thanks for getting this started, t-arn!
It's been forever since I did any C++, but I'll take a look at aapt and see what I can figure out.
Hopefully, a true C++ programmer will come along and set us straight

I'm very interested in this project and I would be willing to try to help out if you need it. I'm a second year software engineering student and I'm currently on a work term where all of my work is with android. I may not be of much help but at least I think I have some idea what I'm doing so let me know.

you are correct in saying that zipalign is not necessary. we only need it if we want to sign the apk in release mode(for publishing it to the market). We could just use debug mode and everything would be fine. I'm sure that if someone wanted to release an apk to the market, they could just copy the files over to their pc and zipalign it there. We would still be able to use the apk on the device without using zipalign.

t-arn said:
- jarsigner
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Serison has an application on the market to sign APK's. Just thought I would let you know it is possible.

I would like this as well, as my phone has a physical keyboard and typing code isn't that bad on it - atleast not for minor edits/tweaks

JavaIDEdroid open source project
Hello everybody
I have created an open source project for JavaIDEdroid:
http://code.google.com/p/java-ide-droid/
Everybody is welcome to join the project (and hopefully contribute to it!)
As soon as I have cleaned up the code a little bit, I'll upload the source and the current APK.
For further questions and discussions, please join the java-ide-droid group. You'll find the link on the project's home page.
See you there!
Tom

Sounds pretty promising,looking forward to give it a try！
Sent from my Dell Streak using XDA App

Sounds possible, if you have the right components. I would love this. Would definitely donate to whoever got it working easily and 100%.

Very interesting project

Look nice. Downloading now.
I have wanted this since I first got an android phone.
I ended up using a virtual debain command line running OpenJava to compile and run the stuff. But if i can do it without that hastle in one app, I will LOVE you.
Edit: I tried it out. Mind explaining how to make a beanShell script? on the ECJ it always gives me a security exception even with just -help.
Code:
java.lang.SecurityException
at java.lang.System.setSecurityManager(System.java:610)
at com.t_arn.JavaIDEdroid,.DE.fnCompile(IDE.java:44)
at com.t_arn.JavaIDEdroid.MainActivity.fnCompile(MainActivty.java:167)
at com.t_arn.JavaIDEdroid.MainActivity.tabCompile_btnCompile(MainActivity.java:137)
......
Done in 1305348377 sec.

Please join the JavaIDEdroid support group at http://groups.google.com/group/java-ide-droid and re-post your question there.
I'd like to keep discussions there.
Thanks
Tom

very interesting, ill join the group, i can make the native lib for the aapt.

I would say get gcc working on the device then you can compile anything. You can compile a javavm. A native binary. Etc. If gcc can be compiled and work then all programs most likely can be compiled on the device assuming the proper libs are there to compile against.
Sent from my Incredible using Tapatalk

[Q] Developing on Device

I have programmed in java for quite some time, and am decent at android apps.
However, i have two questions about developing on my device (rooted samsung captivate).
First, how can i get dev tools to run correctly on my phone. I have installed it as stated in "developer.android com/guide/developing/debug-tasks html#additionaldebugging". However, when clicking on Dev Settings it crashed with HARDWARE_TEST security exception. I have read that you need to sign/run it as system.
Is it possible to run it on my rooted captivate? if so how do i install it as system or find the system signature to sign it.
My other question is about programing, compiling, and running android applications from a device. I can take my .apk and unzip it. Then edit any resource files. Then rezip and sign it. However if i want to replace the actual code i need to compile it. I can use an online java compiler but i need to convert it to android format.
I know that dx.bat does this by using dx.jar . I can add dx.jar to the referenced libraries of my app. However i cant figure out what to do past there. Is what i am attempting even possible?
Thanks for your help.

There's a couple threads in this forum from folks like me who want to do this. Perhaps you can help us figure it out
Step one is I think to get an java compiler running on the phone. Then to make a version of DX that can run on the phone to convert the class to .apk

Thanks. in normal java programs you can use "com.sun.tools.javac.Main.compile( new String[] {args} );" found in the "<sdk>/lib/tools.jar" to compile a program. And dx.jar is what is used to covert it to android, however i do not know what to call in it.
We just need to find a way to get these jars to work on android.

[Q] binary in android

alright finally i made up my mind for making android CLI app
now i want to make an app on linux , i can simply write a small CPP program
but what about android (Especially acer iconia)?
how should i begin
what are the tools required?
Thanks in advance

Not sure what your asking for exactly.
But if you have not developer.android.com. is a place you MUST Visit for all things android..

Android doesn't really work with CLI... You'll probably have to go with a GUI, and most apps are written in Java (other languages are somewhat tricky, as you have to use the JNI or IPC to use most android libs)... as mentioned above, you'll get the required tools on developer.android.com. Other than that: Android's libc is fundamentally broken, with many standard functions being unavailable or misbehaving -- a major cause of headaches.

i am talking in general
for example "Busybox"
its written in C/C++
i just wanna know how to compile my own C code for android

Busybox is a bit different, as it's not a user fronting app. For something like that, just cross compile to arm. I believe theres one in the ndk:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/ndk/index.html
You'll need the ndk for user fronting apps with c code as well, btw.
you can use other cross compilers as well:
https://sourcery.mentor.com/sgpp/lite/arm/portal/release324

aman11dhanpat said:
alright finally i made up my mind for making android CLI app
now i want to make an app on linux , i can simply write a small CPP program
but what about android (Especially acer iconia)?
how should i begin
what are the tools required?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, and welcome to the exciting world of Android Development! *insert sparkles*
In the Android world, CLI apps aren't the most popular. Making an app with a GUI would be a much easier starting point to some extent.
What you'll need:
1. A computer with the necessary software installed. This can be a Linux, Mac, or even Windows machine. In the case of a Windows machine, be sure you have the correct drivers installed. With the Linux machine, be sure you have the correct udev rules for the Iconia. Install the Android SDK. Install Eclipse, and the Android plugin.
It sounds like you want to run some native code as well. Use the Android NDK. There's a nice little beginner's guide here. Every good programmer starts with their first Hello, World!
2. Preferably some experience with Java. Almost all Android apps run on the Dalvik VM.
3. Patience. A lot of patience. Compiling takes time.
4. A device to test your code on. Running in an emulator is not good enough. Enable developer debugging on your device in the settings.
Hope this helped a bit.

Thanks alot guys
now i guess i'll be able to make some of my own apps

Java for the command line?

A little background info:
I got SL4A and Py4A and then ran the standalone script to run python from the command line over adb or ssh, but the Android api's wouldn't work. Cause, SL4A server needs to be running and python needs to be able to send info to the server via AP_PORT and AP_HOST with a socket. I don't like the normal "remoting" that is used, ie only the Android APIs gets sent over to android and the rest of python is running on my pc.
What I did to work around was export AP_PORT(54326) and AP_HOST(127.0.0.1) on Androids shell over ADB, then I use "am" to start the server activity from the command line specifying the port(54326), then I started adbd on my phone, and finally I executed python. From python (on the actual device) I imported android and asigned droid = you know the drill, and next (this would usually fail if the previous steps were not done) I did a "droid.makeToast("Hello from Montey!" ) and the toast appeared. The reason for wanting to do it this way is that you dont need to run scripts with Py4A's terminal, the scripts can now be run directly from Android's command line over adb or ssh. It may not appeal to you but it does to me.​
What I want to do:
I want to cherry pick the Java code for the server activity and the facade classes/functions that give python access to the Android api's, and I want to compile them into a form ( I think it would be a dex file) that I could execute from Android's command line and would use shared memory instead of a socket to share data. This way, I would not have to start a gui activity or adbd.​
So how do I go about this, I have the source code, I see how it works and what I need to pick from it, how would I compile this so that is would run on the dalvikvm as a command line app?

I found this amongst a bunch of stuff on dex2jar but all that is the opposite of what I wanted.
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~schfan/blog/blog/2013/09/19/executing-dex-file-in-android/
So I will do hello world as java to dex and see if it works on the cmd-line. If yes, then proceed to try and use Android's api's as a regular Java project (I hate xml, it's a great concept, but it just bugs out my projects, almost gave up Android dev because of xml glitches, but Android is really the only thing worth programming to me at the moment, sensors and all that.), build, if success then to dex.
I will try vanilla at first, with very little mods, then I will switch to ashmem if that works it's much better since I am not expecting to send this data remotely, but it should stay on the phone unless I have a good reason to send it to another machine, I can, and do, always remote to my phone itself.
Then I will try to get the camera to work, I have had the issue that only the interactive facade works with python, I want to use OpenCV and have a go at object recongnition. I will probably translate it all to C/C++ after I see the concepts working with python (purely for performance reasons, my application will have approxamatly 16 milliseconds (or less) to respond to events, so it better tick quick, I m using 60 frames per second model, but I don't need to render anything, I just need to store the data of the objects it detects in a database.).

Edge-Case said:
I found this amongst a bunch of stuff on dex2jar but all that is the opposite of what I wanted.
http://www.cs.duke.edu/~schfan/blog/blog/2013/09/19/executing-dex-file-in-android/
So I will do hello world as java to dex and see if it works on the cmd-line. If yes, then proceed to try and use Android's api's as a regular Java project (I hate xml, it's a great concept, but it just bugs out my projects, almost gave up Android dev because of xml glitches, but Android is really the only thing worth programming to me at the moment, sensors and all that.), build, if success then to dex.
I will try vanilla at first, with very little mods, then I will switch to ashmem if that works it's much better since I am not expecting to send this data remotely, but it should stay on the phone unless I have a good reason to send it to another machine, I can, and do, always remote to my phone itself.
Then I will try to get the camera to work, I have had the issue that only the interactive facade works with python, I want to use OpenCV and have a go at object recongnition. I will probably translate it all to C/C++ after I see the concepts working with python (purely for performance reasons, my application will have approxamatly 16 milliseconds (or less) to respond to events, so it better tick quick, I m using 60 frames per second model, but I don't need to render anything, I just need to store the data of the objects it detects in a database.).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please report if you are successful.
(You can also design UIs in Java. It takes very much time though.)

nikwen said:
Please report if you are successful.
(You can also design UIs in Java. It takes very much time though.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutly. I am using FreeBSD now insead of Linux, that being said their is near zero support for Android development on Unix OS's as of yet, which really makes no ****ing sense, why try hard as hell to use BSD/Apache2 liscenced code only to build it with GNU and GPL style licenced tools? Makes no ****ing sense, as far as I know, some gpl's require byproducts of their code to also be gpl licenced. Anyways... I am building eclipse right now, I downloaded the Android SDK for linux so I try and use the dx executable but it wasn't there and when I attempted to update the sdk, it said "platform-tools" unavailable. So thats that unless it gets ported to FreeBSD. I may be able to do it on my phone though, but please be patient, it may take till tomorrow or later tonight, thank go some-one ported adb to FreeBSD though, well, there is always ssh and sftp.
UpDate:
TerminalIDE has dx, so I can just add that /data/data/com.sparti******/bin directory to my path and I may be able to develope directly on my device, though I here the C/C++ compiler that is there doesn't work properly, maybe it's ok and I wont need what doesn't work.

Edge-Case said:
Absolutly. I am using FreeBSD now insead of Linux, that being said their is near zero support for Android development on Unix OS's as of yet, which really makes no ****ing sense, why try hard as hell to use BSD/Apache2 liscenced code only to build it with GNU and GPL style licenced tools? Makes no ****ing sense, as far as I know, some gpl's require byproducts of their code to also be gpl licenced. Anyways... I am building eclipse right now, I downloaded the Android SDK for linux so I try and use the dx executable but it wasn't there and when I attempted to update the sdk, it said "platform-tools" unavailable. So thats that unless it gets ported to FreeBSD. I may be able to do it on my phone though, but please be patient, it may take till tomorrow or later tonight, thank go some-one ported adb to FreeBSD though, well, there is always ssh and sftp.
UpDate:
TerminalIDE has dx, so I can just add that /data/data/com.sparti******/bin directory to my path and I may be able to develope directly on my device, though I here the C/C++ compiler that is there doesn't work properly, maybe it's ok and I wont need what doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why FreeBSD instead of Linux? (Feeling like these Windows guys who always ask "Why Linux instead of Windows?" :laugh

nikwen said:
Why FreeBSD instead of Linux? (Feeling like these Windows guys who always ask "Why Linux instead of Windows?" :laugh
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because I like little devils.
I rebooted to Linux, just now Figure better not torture myself just yet.
Update:
Code:
[email protected]:~/Projects/Java-stuff/drd-hello-cmdln$ adb shell ANDROID\_DATA=/sdcard dalvikvm -cp /sdcard/HelloWorld.zip HelloWorld
Hello World!
hmmm, but I shelled in with adb and realized I need to do some more studying...
This is just a bit of me fiddling around with the HelloWorld.zip and the resulting cache...
Code:
[email protected]:/data/local/mi/dalvik-cache # ll
-rwxr-xr-x root sdcard_rw 1768 2013-11-23 14:52 [email protected]@classes.dex
[email protected] <
./[email protected]@classes.dex[1]: dey: not found
./[email protected]@classes.dex[2]: syntax error: '�' unexpected
[email protected] <
Dalvik VM unable to locate class '[email protected]/[email protected]/dex'
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: [email protected]/[email protected]/dex
at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: Didn't find class "[email protected]@classes.dex" on path: .
at dalvik.system.BaseDexClassLoader.findClass(BaseDexClassLoader.java:65)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:501)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:461)
... 1 more
1|[email protected]:/data/local/mi/dalvik-cache # dalvikvm ./[email protected]>
Dalvik VM unable to locate class '//[email protected]/[email protected]/dex'
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: //[email protected]/[email protected]/dex
at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: Didn't find class "[email protected]@classes.dex" on path: .
at dalvik.system.BaseDexClassLoader.findClass(BaseDexClassLoader.java:65)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:501)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:461)
... 1 more
1|[email protected]:/data/local/mi/dalvik-cache # cd /sdcard/
[email protected]:/sdcard # dalvikvm ./HelloWorld.zip
Dalvik VM unable to locate class '//HelloWorld/zip'
java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: //HelloWorld/zip
at dalvik.system.NativeStart.main(Native Method)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: Didn't find class "..HelloWorld.zip" on path: .
at dalvik.system.BaseDexClassLoader.findClass(BaseDexClassLoader.java:65)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:501)
at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:461)
... 1 more
I am more or less after an executable that can serve the Android API and be ran from the command-line in the background...
perhaps JNI and NDK is what I need....i dunno...
Maybe at that point, python itself might be able to be modified to access the API via JNI?
Update:
Perhaps, I need to try this without changing the default DATA variable, perhaps then the cached thing will be in the path and executable. If the cached thing is executable and functions as expected, eg echos "Hello World", then maybe I can create a symbolic link to the cached executable.... ( I am just shooting blind here ).
Update:
I tried TerminalIDE's method for compiling the java code and running it on the command line, it works just fine. So now I will try to use that method to convert the facade rpc server into a command line application, I am thinking that I will write a shell script that calls it in the right way with the right flags and just name it facaded or something and put that in /system/xbin/ . For now it will still need to use sockets and adbd, because using ashmem in a service requires it to be noted as a line of code in the service manger's source and then baked into the rom.

Help in moving from Eclipse ADT to Android Studios

I had been working on Eclipse ADT but due to the errors and nuisances of the 23.0 update I have decided to move to Android Studio. The problem is, importing projects to Android Studio and getting used to it is turning out to be a bigger problem. Please try to help me on any of the below mentioned problems and questions:
How do i properly import projects from eclipse?
the projects were made with target API 19 and min sdk 8. I have followed all proper steps given by google and searched on Stackoverflow too. When I direct import, no matter what I do, (replace, not replace jar dependencies etc) the projects imported always have errors, like support library defines min sdk version L etc. When I don't, the app crashes. Can you tell me the exact proper procedure for import? the apps were up and running by Eclipse, no problem with them​
What is Gradle exaclty? What is Maven?
I know the answers are on wiki but they are too complex for a rookie coder. Can someone explain in simple language?​
How are support libraries handled in Android studios?
In eclipse you just copy over the .jar file and add it to build path. How do I manage support in Android Studio?​
Image 1 : import with jar replacement, giving error.
image 2: import without jar replacement, looks fine. Though I haven't added the activity element of ActionTab.activity to AndroidManifest.xml
image 3: the imported project's ActionTab activity after I added its activity element to AndroidManifest.xml All hell breaks lose.
I have spent past 2 days trying to figure this thing out, but I got no luck.
Please help me if you have the answers. Images are attached with this post.

Android
Android Studio is a new Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA. It provides new features and improvements over Eclipse ADT and will be the official Android IDE once it's ready. On top of the capabilities you expect from IntelliJ, Android Studio offers:
Flexible Gradle-based build system.
Build variants and multiple APK generation.
Expanded template support for Google Services and various device types.
Rich layout editor with support for theme editing.
Lint tools to catch performance, usability, version compatibility, and other problems.
ProGuard and app-signing capabilities.
Built-in support for Google Cloud Platform, making it easy to integrate Google Cloud Messaging and App Engine.