Database Users

So many question, so little time.

Hello all,
I am new to the Android scene and I wanted to find out if there are any good tutorials on app/rom development, what are the programming languages used, etc... I know learning from scratch is probably a long and bumpy road, but it is something I am interested in. I have already rooted and flashed my phone, good times that was. Thank you all for your help.
Th3Cap3

What's your existing programming experience? You could do worse than check out the anddev forums. App development is principally in Java though you can write parts of apps in C or even assembler.

My existing programming consist of very very very basic python, and some web stuff like HTML and CSS, I would basically have to learn how to program the ones you have mentioned from scratch, I have books for most of those though. I will go check out those forums and see what I can dig up Thanks for the info.

I bookmarked that page thank you, I just got a hold of their Eclipse software and all of their beginner tutorials I can't wait to dive into this stuff.

Me too. I know C, but only have a passing acquaintance with Java & Linux; Android I know even less about, not having encountered it till getting my Hero in February. I'm working my way through Thinking in Java (Eckel) to be followed by Professional Android 2 Application Development (Meier).
Even if your grasp of Python is basic it's still a start - you don't have to struggle again with fundamental procedural programming concepts like conditional execution, program flow control & so forth. Plus Python is an OOP language, aiui (I don't know Python) so you have a head start there too
I've installed Java, Eclipse & Android's SDK on this Windows box, but I'm thinking of dual booting Ubuntu as some things just work better in Linux, especially if one wants to cross compile ROMs. Aiui Cygwin, which I already use, can be a little problematic & when one is likely to be asking for help at times, it's useful to be using a similar set up to most devs.

I have been thinking about dual booting again, I just havent had to time to partition my drive and install some sort of linux release, UBuntu is the one I am most familiar with, which isnt very, but its a start.
I am going through those video tutorials from anddev.org right now, it seems to be similar to Python in the way the coding is done, I am excited.
I have also downloaded the Eclipse program, but I have the pulsar version, it seems to be geared more towards mobile development and I have gotten the Android toolkit installed and I have had the Android SDK from when I rooted my Hero (Which is awesome, running the newest Damage Control) good times.
I think I may have a java book on PDF somewhere as well, I will have to go look.

Atm I can't make up my mind between dual boot & Virtual Box, or maybe both, to see if I can wean myself off m$

I have been thinking about the dual boot option a lot since you mentioned it, not sure what to do, I may wait till this quarters class is over so that if something goes missing. it Sony be a big deal
Sent from my HERO200 using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

[Q] IDE similiar to visual studio for app creation?

I'm wanting to get into making apps, I'm fairly decent with java, although c# is my primary language. I'm used to the way that visual studio accentuates my newbish programming by making windows forms and event handling for things like buttons so easy. For example, just double click a button to start coding the event handler. I would love to do this with making android apps, but correct me if I'm wrong, you cant really do it that easily with eclipse. It seems like you have to either manually right the code to the forms such as button placement and size. I know there is a web app called appinventor and while it is noob friendly the fact that it doesn't give source code is very annoying. Any help making this transistion would be greatly appreciated as i would love to start making apps

You could try something called as basic4android.
Link: http://www.basic4ppc.com/

here is the official n basic development link:
http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/
third-party develpoment:
http://www.windev.com/windevmobile/android.html#liste

You could try something called as basic4android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basic4android includes a real WYSIWYG visual designer. The performance of Basic4android applications are similar to the performance of applications created with Eclipse/Java.
Basic4android creates Java code under the cover. You can later work with it though it is usually not recommended.

Try IntelliJ IDEA 10: free IDE for Android development -
blogs.jetbrains.com/idea/2010/10/intellij-idea-10-free-ide-for-android-development/
It's much better than eclipse. Also read stackoverflow.com/questions/239732/things-possible-in-intellij-that-arent-possible-in-eclipse

What language and software uses android for programming?

Hey guys im considering porting/recoding an app from VB.net to work on android, but i havent got a clue what language is used in android, could someone tell me its name or some sort of website with this information?
Finally if someone is experienced in programming apps for android, i would like to chat about a few capabilities of the language.
Thanks in advance!

Android is Java-ish based.
i would recommend you checking out the program Eclipse.

The main applayer is java based with some xml thrown in. But there is a native development kit that you can compile c c++ and many other languages to run on an android phone. But since java is virtual machine based an app written in java will run on all phones*(some caveats like os version) while the app in ndk will work on only hardware that it was designed for
Also, is Google not working? A simple search for "Android programming language" would answer this question
From something awesome

killersnowman said:
The main applayer is java based with some xml thrown in. But there is a native development kit that you can compile c c++ and many other languages to run on an android phone. But since java is virtual machine based an app written in java will run on all phones*(some caveats like os version) while the app in ndk will work on only hardware that it was designed for
From something awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm, yes there is google but not what im exactly asking, and that makes me ask this:
You talk about c & c++ and other languages compilations to run on android phone, is vb.net a part of that list?
Could you show me a website or something that says more about that dev kit? im basically trying to port my apps from vb 2010 express (windows forms based) to android and if that thing is not possible should i use java to code it all over again?
Thanks in advance!

http://developer.android.com/sdk/ndk/ this is for the ndk but it is not as simple as just compiling your code with the ndk. You will need to rewrite some of it to actuallytie into the android apis
You should really just use the java sdk. You will reach more people and be able to find more help and info
And I stand corrected, while there are projects trying to bring other languages to the ndk it is at this point just C and C++
From something awesome

killersnowman said:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/ndk/ this is for the ndk but it is not as simple as just compiling your code with the ndk. You will need to rewrite some of it to actuallytie into the android apis
You should really just use the java sdk. You will reach more people and be able to find more help and info
And I stand corrected, while there are projects trying to bring other languages to the ndk it is at this point just C and C++
From something awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh well in that case i will need to learn java.... thanks mate, i think its easier to just rewrite the whole thing really i like proper optimizations and ports most of the times lack them.
Thanks for the information thats all i needed.
PS: rep added

if you know vb.net well you'll have no real problem with java.. it just adds brackets and semicolons essentially lol. I learned java in college and then was thrown into the .net framework using c# and i love the .net framework.. its so hard for me to go from using Visual Studios to Eclipse to make an android application because Visual Studios (which im assuming you use, is so powerful).. But yes android is java code behind and html (preferred) GUI. You can make your GUI using java but trust me its terrible!

jr10000 said:
But yes android is java code behind and html (preferred) GUI. You can make your GUI using java but trust me its terrible!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Html? You mean xml?
Also try Intellij instead of Eclipse. Eclipse is way too bloated and IntellJ has some amazing autocomplete features. Its better in my opinion
From something awesome

jr10000 said:
if you know vb.net well you'll have no real problem with java.. it just adds brackets and semicolons essentially lol. I learned java in college and then was thrown into the .net framework using c# and i love the .net framework.. its so hard for me to go from using Visual Studios to Eclipse to make an android application because Visual Studios (which im assuming you use, is so powerful).. But yes android is java code behind and html (preferred) GUI. You can make your GUI using java but trust me its terrible!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what?? i really need a proper GUI ugh... yes im using visual studio, and indeed is amazing, the app i have and i want to port to android is windows form based, the most essential thing i would need about it is the calendar control :\

You can use Javascript+HTML5 (it's complicated to express here but the whole things is pretty much native).
Python aswell, use SL4x or Kivy (Kivy is pretty good but it's still too new).
Sorry, being hate Java too much.

Funnnny said:
You can use Javascript+HTML5 (it's complicated to express here but the whole things is pretty much native).
Python aswell, use SL4x or Kivy (Kivy is pretty good but it's still too new).
Sorry, being hate Java too much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok np, so to doublecheck this: to have an application with graphical interface i will need javascript and html5?

TheWarKeeper said:
ok np, so to doublecheck this: to have an application with graphical interface i will need javascript and html5?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know why people spread extremely non standard practices to people getting started...
No you dont need javascript or html5.
Android has a ui layout system based in xml. Its just there to arrange objects that you can access from the java code. So a little xml and java is all you need
From something awesome

TheWarKeeper said:
ok np, so to doublecheck this: to have an application with graphical interface i will need javascript and html5?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The right way to do GUI is with Java, with the official SDK from Google.
Some non-standard way to do this is with Javascript (just a GUI wrapper from Javascript to Java) and Python (again wrapper to Python).
You can choose which way you want, many people I know didn't like Java, and they choose to use a web application, and then they want to embed this to a native Android application, so they go with Titanium Mobile or some others framework like that. It's not as good as Java, but it's some other way to start with your application (Web app first and then Native app)

Funnnny said:
The right way to do GUI is with Java, with the official SDK from Google.
Some non-standard way to do this is with Javascript (just a GUI wrapper from Javascript to Java) and Python (again wrapper to Python).
You can choose which way you want, many people I know didn't like Java, and they choose to use a web application, and then they want to embed this to a native Android application, so they go with Titanium Mobile or some others framework like that. It's not as good as Java, but it's some other way to start with your application (Web app first and then Native app)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i feel like i should probably stick with java, i want it to be quick and fast and have alot of stuff to code, the program should run in background so it must not affect performance at all, will use timers with a basic code ticking every second while on background and thats it really

TheWarKeeper said:
i feel like i should probably stick with java, i want it to be quick and fast and have alot of stuff to code, the program should run in background so it must not affect performance at all, will use timers with a basic code ticking every second while on background and thats it really
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then use java bro, it's an awesome programming language, I don't know why some people don't like it, each programmer should learn to get used to each language.
Anyway, for likes.. colors
Cheers, D4.

D4rKn3sSyS said:
Then use java bro, it's an awesome programming language, I don't know why some people don't like it, each programmer should learn to get used to each language.
Anyway, for likes.. colors
Cheers, D4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well ive been learning vb and i will admit that im still on intermediate level, even though i know all the basic stuff such as messing with its own functions, etc i still havent used any of the apis for it, the main problem with programming is that if u learn a language you would waste your time learning that one or else if u go learn to many languages you will end up not knowing none of them at all.
Ill see if i can mess with java, some people say syntax is a bit similar to c & c++
EDIT: btw, im not saying i dont find java good, a programming language that will basically run on any machine independently of the OS makes the language itself possibly the best and most versatile around.

I'm learning Android and I use Java and XML. I'm still a beginner though.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

I am just curious, software like Titanium Backup, or Angry Birds, which programming language do they use? Could this stuff be programmed with Eclipse in Java?

killersnowman said:
Html? You mean xml?
Also try Intellij instead of Eclipse. Eclipse is way too bloated and IntellJ has some amazing autocomplete features. Its better in my opinion
From something awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, do you know how to use intellij idea fire Android development?
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[IDE] Using IntelliJ IDEA for Android development

When starting with Android development most people start so by using Eclipse, so did I. Unfortunately for me this was a quite frustrating experience no matter if I developed on Windows or Linux. I often had troubles launching projects after some changes and was forced to rebuild the whole workspace (which takes a while esp. if you included a couple library projects). So after a while I decided to switch to IDEA which is a lot more satisfying. I never had any issues with broken projects and everything just builds so much faster.
One big difference (and it seems many people have troubles with it) is IDEA's handling of library projects. Unfortunately I think this is done in a very logical way, as each "project" is handled as a model. Means you create a project ("My app"), add a module for your main app project, and add new modules for each library project you would add. For each modules you can set the dependencies and say on which modules it depends.
In the newest version (12) Jetbrains also added an Android UI designer, which was one of the features not available before.
If you are curious you can download and install IDEA from their website, or when you are using Ubuntu you can simply download it from Software center.
http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/
And here's a nice article given a quick introduction:
http://www.itwriting.com/blog/7083-intellij-idea-the-best-ide-for-programming-android.html

IDEA rocks, +1. It makes my little Arch box work like a real PC at times

i use idea too,just feel good
Sent from my Nexus 4

What about the on-the-fly analysis performed by IDEA during development? Does it detect many bugs?
Have you never used this functionality?

Nobody uses this feature of IDEA?

I've only had a brief play with it so far - updated the Android SDK and loaded 1 project from GitHub, but it compiles like lightning compared to Eclipse. Thanks for letting us know about this - it's much appreciated

So how does it handle multi-module projects? The advantage of Eclipse/Qt Creator is you can keep multiple projects open at once plus the plugin integration with Maven and Git.
I briefly tried out IntelliJ a couple months back and immediately stepped away when it failed multi-module requirement for me.
More speed than molasses Eclipse would be nice, though the Windows version runs tolerably on fast i5 and SSD.
If it supports .webp on the UI designer (unlike Eclipse), then I'll be all over it!

IntelliJ IDEA has no workspace concept like Eclipse, but its project can have multiple modules: http://www.jetbrains.com/idea/documentation/migration_faq.html .

I'm a total noob/beginner when it comes to programming - never really been into it. That said, I've recently been giving it a go using Eclipse - creating my own Android app. I've just installed IDEA and find it far better to use then Eclipse. Really loving it actually.

I never got into Eclipse. The only Eclipse project I tried using was IBM's Lotus version of OpenOffice. The thing was huge, bloated with Eclipse libraries.
Netbeans is my preferred IDE (also good for C++ and others) but it, unfortunately, falls short for Android.
Intellij worked first try. Glad to see a forum for this on XDA!

Really happy this gets some attention, I've switched from Eclipse to IDEA a while ago and I can't go back.
IDEA is just so smart and works so nice!
I think the best part of IntelliJ is that when you are programming you do it in one environment, from IntelliJ I can see Jira stories, commit svn/git and everything else I do while programming, without switching to 5 different applications
I hope more and more people will switch to IntelliJ, thanks for this thread!

Isn't anyone here bothered by the slow compile times compared to Eclipse? I'm working on a relatively large project, and each time anything is modified it seems to rebuild from scratch. Eclipse in comparision is able to launch the app with the new changes almost instantly.
I love IntelliJ when it comes to it's editor and project management, but in the end it takes about 20s to get my changes on the screen. I'm probably saving some time not having to bother with corrupted workspaces and such though.

I have been using it for more than a year now, haven't looked back at eclipse again.

One thing that bugs me about all of these options is that they don't work on Android itself. Not a big deal for me yet, but I see it becoming more important as we start to see Android devices with bigger screens and keyboards.
I know that AIDE is a decent IDE that runs on Android, but it only runs on Android and it doesn't compare with Eclipse or IntelliJ (yet).
I heard that the current version of Eclipse (4.2) enables some degree of GUI independence, and the next version (due in June) enforces that. That would be a good step forward, but still mostly a theoretical one.
If JetBrain were to undertake the rather large task of making IntelliJ work on Android, as well as existing desktop platforms, they would certainly get my $.
I wonder - is the new Gradle based build system compatible with Android itself?
I found the new-ish GAE Endpoints service to be quite interesting in that part of the build process (code generation) happens on the server as a service. This strikes me as very Googly and I wonder whether Google will provide Android build as a service sometime in the near to medium future. That would certainly help move us towards a platform independent future, though I guess AIDE has shown that it is not the build system, but the IDE, that is holding us back from developing on Android.

I've been using IntelliJ since just after I started Android development (2+ years ago). I had tried Eclipse before that, and besides the excellent feature set, always found the editor to be lacking in many ways (still no virtual space). So when starting with Android development I just hated it because I had to do it in Eclipse. No offense to the people who use and love it, I'm sure that it is a great IDE, it just does not suit me at all.
When I discovered IntellJ, I immediately felt comfortable within the IDE. This made me enjoy the coding that much more which, to me, beats out any feature that an IDE can ever have. IntelliJ has some shortcomings, but overall I find it an exceptional IDE for Android development. It can be a tad sluggish in large projects, but not to the point of annoyance. It is also insanely stable, and I have NEVER in 2 years of working with it had a single crash - just brilliant.
Also, having been using it over an extended period, I can safely say that they excellent developers at JetBrains have constantly been improving on the Android support within the IDE. Feature wise, I think that IntellJ is definitely almost on par with Eclipse, and they have done this without any official support from Google (as far as I know). If Google would take notice of IntelliJ and provide support (I'm thinking ADT) that would just make it even better - here's hoping.
I would highly recommend anyone attempting android development to give IntellJ a go - the Community Edition is free. Especially developers coming from Visual Studio

Thanks, tried it, but I prefer Eclipse.
I'm a new programmer (now learning), and it seems better for me now.

DubelBoom said:
Thanks, tried it, but I prefer Eclipse.
I'm a new programmer (now learning), and it seems better for me now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think this is an important point. Try all the options available, and make a choice based on what you prefer.
I'm just glad that at this point Android has at least two very capable IDEs to provide that choice.

I really cant figure out how to get IDEA to see my install of the android SDK. It looks like their setup tutorial assumes default locations for jdk and android-sdk on windows. How do you setup paths if android-sdk is somewhere else? (using a mac)
Also, second link on the first post seems to be dead right now.

truehybridx said:
I really cant figure out how to get IDEA to see my install of the android SDK. It looks like their setup tutorial assumes default locations for jdk and android-sdk on windows. How do you setup paths if android-sdk is somewhere else? (using a mac)
Also, second link on the first post seems to be dead right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check my answer here: http://stackoverflow.com/a/16485929/104891 .

I am on my second attempt at using IDEA for Android dev and I am stuck at the same point as last time, and its the only thing that Eclipse has going for it: I want to create a new Android app, min SDK 8, target SDK 17 (or whatever). This is fairly easy in Eclipse and I can go though the wizard for a new project, choose my settings, even the app icon and end up with the bare outline of my app that has the ICS style (ie an ActionBar & Holo theme)... can I hell do this is IDEA. I know that there is something I am/am not doing that is causing this but I have followed tutorials for adding support libs and even had a go at ActionBarSherlock.
I think this is where a lot of users are scared off of IDEA - I think its interface and usability is better than Eclipse, hell, the GUI editor for the layout XML files is better in IDEA than in Eclipse! (Eclipse freaked out on me several times trying to put static, non moving buttons at the bottom of the screen with a vertical scrollview above them, IDEA, sure, no problem!).
If they could sort the basics out, like getting the wizards included and even if they could allow you to add in various other frameworks (ABS, ViewPager etc) then they would have a winner.
On that matter, anyone got a tutorial on setting up a new project in IDEA the same as Eclipse with Holo theme?
Thanks

Help Developing An App

Morning all,
I have never created an app, but decided to look into it late last year. I began work on an app around September 2014, did a little work every weekend, and haven't really touched anything since November.
I have experience with HTML, CSS etc (I can write them). I can also have a basic understanding of other codes such as PHP, JavaScript, Java, C etc - basically, enough that I could take some code and edit it to suite.
I was hoping that creating an app would a) help grow my current business and b) give me a new challenge to learn new code.
Anyway, I'm really stuck on what to do. I downloaded Eclipse at home, but my laptop is on it's last legs. I have been creating the app at the office, using Adobe Flash Builder 4.7. I read a few tutorials, and downloaded some sample apps to learn from (as part of some of the tutorials). However, none of them have what I want.
My App Idea
So, enough waffling on, I'll try and explain my app without giving away what I want to do.
Basically, the app will be one where users can enter an error code, and press search. The result would be a page showing the description of the error code, and then what the solution is to fix it. There is then potential to add a "buy this part from" link which will suggest suppliers to visit.
So, as an example, let's say a user got a Blue Screen error code on their PC of "ABC1234". They would enter that code into my app, and the result would say something like:
Code: ABC1234
Description: RAM Error - overheating
Fix/Solution: Replace RAM
What I Have So Far
Other than a couple of test files that I've been learning with, I don't have anything solid in terms of an app. What I do have though is an Excel file with 889 error codes and what each code means.
What I Need
So, I guess what I need is either:
some help/guidance on how to create an app that in it's simplest form is a home page with a search box, and then 889 pages in the background that return depending on the searched error code.
or, someone willing to help me develop such an app

Firstly, download Android Studio - Don't use eclipse anymore
Secondly, here is a tut on using an older version of Android Studio
Have a go, see how you end up. Let us know, if you're really needing help, ask here again

Thanks,
I'll have to try that once I get home as the IT Administrator at work has to vet everything that gets installed.

minooch said:
Firstly, download Android Studio - Don't use eclipse anymore
Secondly, here is a tut on using an older version of Android Studio
Have a go, see how you end up. Let us know, if you're really needing help, ask here again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi sir! Is Android Studio is better than Eclipse?

john.reyes.jmr said:
Hi sir! Is Android Studio is better than Eclipse?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.

john.reyes.jmr said:
Hi sir! Is Android Studio is better than Eclipse?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jonny said:
Yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^
The only way to say it

Jonny said:
Yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks sir but do we have a highly compressed Android Studio? 800mb+ is such a big file to download.

Like minooch said, install an IDE, understand how it works and then try some tuts on Internet to learn how Android works. What you want to do isn't really hard, you'll manage quickly to do it but you will be prouder if you do all by yourself.
Some hints : Don't go coding directly, try to organize your project (data structure, classes, methods) before starting to code. On a small project, it's not as important but if you start doing things well now, you'll thank yourself in the future

minooch said:
Firstly, download Android Studio - Don't use eclipse anymore
Secondly, here is a tut on using an older version of Android Studio
Have a go, see how you end up. Let us know, if you're really needing help, ask here again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are the requirements for this app to run on my PC ,jdk?i have installed jre but didn't worked help me ....

Randomly Set said:
Morning all,
I have never created an app, but decided to look into it late last year. I began work on an app around September 2014, did a little work every weekend, and haven't really touched anything since November.
I have experience with HTML, CSS etc (I can write them). I can also have a basic understanding of other codes such as PHP, JavaScript, Java, C etc - basically, enough that I could take some code and edit it to suite.
I was hoping that creating an app would a) help grow my current business and b) give me a new challenge to learn new code.
Anyway, I'm really stuck on what to do. I downloaded Eclipse at home, but my laptop is on it's last legs. I have been creating the app at the office, using Adobe Flash Builder 4.7. I read a few tutorials, and downloaded some sample apps to learn from (as part of some of the tutorials). However, none of them have what I want.
My App Idea
So, enough waffling on, I'll try and explain my app without giving away what I want to do.
Basically, the app will be one where users can enter an error code, and press search. The result would be a page showing the description of the error code, and then what the solution is to fix it. There is then potential to add a "buy this part from" link which will suggest suppliers to visit.
So, as an example, let's say a user got a Blue Screen error code on their PC of "ABC1234". They would enter that code into my app, and the result would say something like:
Code: ABC1234
Description: RAM Error - overheating
Fix/Solution: Replace RAM
What I Have So Far
Other than a couple of test files that I've been learning with, I don't have anything solid in terms of an app. What I do have though is an Excel file with 889 error codes and what each code means.
What I Need
So, I guess what I need is either:
some help/guidance on how to create an app that in it's simplest form is a home page with a search box, and then 889 pages in the background that return depending on the searched error code.
or, someone willing to help me develop such an app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello.. You just cannot make a app like for such kind of work. You have to make make a website server for the same and then make a app for it. I know a technique for such kinda work.Web crawling us your answer. If you could setup a website for that then I can make a app for that easily within two days. Inbox for any further information or quote back
**********Hit thanks if I helped you***********

Shreyseviltwin said:
Hello.. You just cannot make a app like for such kind of work. You have to make make a website server for the same and then make a app for it. I know a technique for such kinda work.Web crawling us your answer. If you could setup a website for that then I can make a app for that easily within two days. Inbox for any further information or quote back
**********Hit thanks if I helped you***********
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
What would be involved in creating an app?

pranavraut033 said:
What are the requirements for this app to run on my PC ,jdk?i have installed jre but didn't worked help me ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need the JDK. Please read the instructions on the download page. Under the section 'Requirements'