Database Users

Dev tools and Ide's

Im a c# desktop developer and would like to start messing with mobile application development but i find that .net compact is a bit limited and slow.
What other freeware/open source tools are there ?

I recently found XFlib - it's intended mainly for games and it's still on an early stage of development, but looks really interesting and might probably be used for other kinds of software as well. For compiling it depends on ceGCC - an opensource compiler for ARM CPUs, and for development you can use pretty much any text editor/IDE:
http://www.xflib.net/

you could try this
Meme IDE is now available for download.
Build with a drag and drop editor. Develop complex functions using the unique MemeScript. A language created to make elements simple and cohesive on any platform.
It is currently in beta release and at the moment you can develop for Android and WM. IOS will be included in the full release and Blackberry further down the line.
OH and its FREE
find out more or download and play with it at www.memeapps.com
this is a community based beta release so we want to hear what you have to say about it

ARM launches toolkit for Android

Considering that ARM's chip architecture is found in the vast majority of smartphones today, a new Android development kit issued by the Brits can only be welcome news.
The DS-5 Community Edition kit promises up to 4 times faster application performance than Java code, and differs from Google's own SDK and NDK in that it is optimized for energy efficiency.
Today, ARM announced their new Android development toolkit, Development Studio 5 (DS-5) Community Edition (CE). The free software will let Android developers create applications that can run up to four times faster than Java code on Android. What makes it unique compared to the SDK and NDK development tools is that DS-5 CE will help developers to be more energy efficient in terms of performance.
DS-5 Community Edition’s purpose is to make life easier for Android application developers. The toolkit allows one to see processor information, as well as allowing the development of Java and C/C++ code. It also includes an integrated graphical debugger.
The toolkit features the ARM Streamline Performance Analyzer, which captures information on system performance and makes it easier for developers to see problems in their code and make it more efficient. Support for Streamline can be added with an open source driver from Linaro.
The goal is to help developers create amazing user experiences with their applications. John Carnish, ARM’s executive vice president and general manager, system design division says “ARM DS-5 Community Edition offers developers an easy to use environment for debugging and optimizing C/C++ code. This allows them to take full advantage of ARM processor technology using native code to deliver the performance and functionality that consumers demand.”
More information is available at the DS-5 CE website.

Link for the lazy :
http://www.arm.com/products/tools/software-tools/ds-5/community-edition/index.php

Looks good!
Sent from my GT-I5800 using XDA App

so who r workin on this?

I do not believe that people find out this program to optimize the use of the processors arm this post does not have many visits…

somebody uses east program, improves the duration of the battery….

it will try, I hope that it is not very difficult my knowledge are not very ample

Thank you
it will be helpful.
But I have one question
What is the output of DS-5?

[Q] Getting started with developing games

Hello everybody.
Various game concepts have been springing up in my mind lately and I am starting to think that I should make them a reality: that's one of the reasons why I bought OUYA.
Problem is...
I know absolutely NOTHING about programming, but I am eager to learn. Does anybody know how should I begin (besides of course getting a good Java manual, which I plan to do ASAP)?
Thank you in advance.

Pretty much just learn as much Java as you can and then start with the tutorials on the Android website. I've done very little Android programming though...very little.

There is a couple ways you can go. You can either use java code with the sdk, or C++ using the ndk. Java will be much easier to use, but because it utilizes a garbage collector, you need a slightly higher understanding of how the code works to write fast running code. C++ is more difficult to learn, especially for a beginner, but because you manage memory manually you have complete control over how your game runs. I would recommend starting with java. There is a good book called Beginning Android Game Development which is published by APress, that covers all the basics.

timkd127 said:
There is a couple ways you can go. You can either use java code with the sdk, or C++ using the ndk. Java will be much easier to use, but because it utilizes a garbage collector, you need a slightly higher understanding of how the code works to write fast running code. C++ is more difficult to learn, especially for a beginner, but because you manage memory manually you have complete control over how your game runs. I would recommend starting with java. There is a good book called Beginning Android Game Development which is published by APress, that covers all the basics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Java first. Garbage collection may be something of a crutch, but if you've never touched programming before in your life, you'll want to focus on learning how to just deal with data structures and methods before worrying about memory management.
Of course, that said, you don't want to learn terrible habits in Java either.

Rirere said:
Java first. Garbage collection may be something of a crutch, but if you've never touched programming before in your life, you'll want to focus on learning how to just deal with data structures and methods before worrying about memory management.
Of course, that said, you don't want to learn terrible habits in Java either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed

Thank you everybody! I'm getting the book Timkd127 suggested as soon as I have some spare time

Pkmns said:
Thank you everybody! I'm getting the book Timkd127 suggested as soon as I have some spare time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to help. I did just remember though, that book approaches game dev assuming you already know some java. You might want to familiarize yourself with the language before you spend money on a text.

timkd127 said:
Glad to help. I did just remember though, that book approaches game dev assuming you already know some java. You might want to familiarize yourself with the language before you spend money on a text.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's my concern for the OP. Most resources I've seen for learning Android development assume some Java knowledge and most Java resources assume some basic level of knowledge about programming in general. In this case the OP is claiming to have none of that.
The good news is there are many paths available, the bad news is there are many paths available
Most paths fall into one of two categories:
1) Very high level - Flash and Unity are the two best examples for Ouya that I can think of off the top of my head. While both allow you to get into the code both also provide ways to build some things without getting much into code. Great for getting up and going but a lot of times you can end up finding yourself limited by your tools when you take this kind of approach. Personally I'm not a huge fan. In general you tend to develop skills that are specific to the engine/platform you're working with rather than general skills. The low barrier to entry can be attractive - but the frustration of making your square ideas fit into the round holes provided by your tools can be an issue down the road.
2) Very low level - Grab a text editor and start coding some java is more or less what this breaks down to. But even this path there are several libraries you can use to help yourself along and you can even get lower level and dive into the NDK to write native code in C++. The steep learning curve can scare a lot of people away from this path - but you tend to build more general skills that are easy to re-apply with other tools and scenarios.
I cover my thoughts on some of this specific to Ouya better in my thread on OuyaForums where I'm following my own progress on building some simple games for Ouya: http://ouyaforum.com/showthread.php?4074-Baby-steps
Even though it's more intimidating I personally strongly suggest taking approach 2 before looking into things like Unity and GameMaker - develop your fundamentals then look into tools that can help you leverage them into bigger and bigger ideas.
Whichever path you take at some point you're going to need to know how to code. If you're starting with absolutely no knowledge about coding then it's going to be a bit harder. For example the Android Game Development book (Which I'm currently reading and finding very good - it's also written by the author of libGDX which is the library I'm using to speed development.) assumes a basic knowledge of Java and suggests "Thinking in Java" which is available free on-line (for older versions but they're just fine) to bring people up to speed with Java. I'm also reading that (actually reading that more than the android game development book right now) to brush up on my Java basics. But at the start of that book the author makes it clear that he assumes a basic background in some other programming language! Apparently the printed versions of that book come with a CD including a multimedia course covering programming basics. Phew! That's a lot of books to get through!
They aren't great but one set of tutorials that is aimed at the complete and utter noob are the Kilobolt tutorials that were actually started here on XDA before moving to the authors own site here: http://www.kilobolt.com/tutorials.html
I'm not completely in agreement with the approach those tutorials take or with all of their examples...but they are the best I've seen for someone starting with absolutely no programming knowledge looking to get into Android and by extension Ouya development.
If I was just starting out the advice I'd like someone to give me would probably be:
1) Start with the Kilobolt tutorials.
2) Once you're through Unit 1 start reading Thinking in Java
3) Once you're through TIJ or Unit 3 add in Android Game Development
4) Once you think you're ready for AGD start looking into libGDX
5) Build a SIMPLE game. Play some old atari 2600 games and try to replicate one.
6) Make that simple game fancier - add some modern touches like better graphics and sound, a high score list, achievements, power ups....
7) Let your dreams take over.
One other source you may want to look into as a total beginner is Udacity...I saw their Java course a few weeks ago and signed up for it but haven't been following it because it's more beginner oriented than I was looking for and...well it's incomplete. One of my big beefs with the Kilobolt tutorials was I started following them last year - and the update rate on them quickly dropped so low I forgot about them. Now that they're complete that isn't an issue. But I wasn't about to dive into another incomplete learning resource so when I saw that Udacity's Java intro wasn't complete I didn't even watch more than the intro video. But it's probably worth checking out here: https://www.udacity.com/course/cs046

jhitesma said:
That's my concern for the OP. Most resources I've seen for learning Android development assume some Java knowledge and most Java resources assume some basic level of knowledge about programming in general. In this case the OP is claiming to have none of that.
The good news is there are many paths available, the bad news is there are many paths available
Most paths fall into one of two categories:
1) Very high level - Flash and Unity are the two best examples for Ouya that I can think of off the top of my head. While both allow you to get into the code both also provide ways to build some things without getting much into code. Great for getting up and going but a lot of times you can end up finding yourself limited by your tools when you take this kind of approach. Personally I'm not a huge fan. In general you tend to develop skills that are specific to the engine/platform you're working with rather than general skills. The low barrier to entry can be attractive - but the frustration of making your square ideas fit into the round holes provided by your tools can be an issue down the road.
2) Very low level - Grab a text editor and start coding some java is more or less what this breaks down to. But even this path there are several libraries you can use to help yourself along and you can even get lower level and dive into the NDK to write native code in C++. The steep learning curve can scare a lot of people away from this path - but you tend to build more general skills that are easy to re-apply with other tools and scenarios.
I cover my thoughts on some of this specific to Ouya better in my thread on OuyaForums where I'm following my own progress on building some simple games for Ouya: http://ouyaforum.com/showthread.php?4074-Baby-steps
Even though it's more intimidating I personally strongly suggest taking approach 2 before looking into things like Unity and GameMaker - develop your fundamentals then look into tools that can help you leverage them into bigger and bigger ideas.
Whichever path you take at some point you're going to need to know how to code. If you're starting with absolutely no knowledge about coding then it's going to be a bit harder. For example the Android Game Development book (Which I'm currently reading and finding very good - it's also written by the author of libGDX which is the library I'm using to speed development.) assumes a basic knowledge of Java and suggests "Thinking in Java" which is available free on-line (for older versions but they're just fine) to bring people up to speed with Java. I'm also reading that (actually reading that more than the android game development book right now) to brush up on my Java basics. But at the start of that book the author makes it clear that he assumes a basic background in some other programming language! Apparently the printed versions of that book come with a CD including a multimedia course covering programming basics. Phew! That's a lot of books to get through!
They aren't great but one set of tutorials that is aimed at the complete and utter noob are the Kilobolt tutorials that were actually started here on XDA before moving to the authors own site here: http://www.kilobolt.com/tutorials.html
I'm not completely in agreement with the approach those tutorials take or with all of their examples...but they are the best I've seen for someone starting with absolutely no programming knowledge looking to get into Android and by extension Ouya development.
If I was just starting out the advice I'd like someone to give me would probably be:
1) Start with the Kilobolt tutorials.
2) Once you're through Unit 1 start reading Thinking in Java
3) Once you're through TIJ or Unit 3 add in Android Game Development
4) Once you think you're ready for AGD start looking into libGDX
5) Build a SIMPLE game. Play some old atari 2600 games and try to replicate one.
6) Make that simple game fancier - add some modern touches like better graphics and sound, a high score list, achievements, power ups....
7) Let your dreams take over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for all this info! I'll probably dive in the Kilobolt tutorials as soon as I have some free time, then I'll start thinking about which way to take later (I don't know whether all this is more frightening or exciting )

jhitesma that's a very informative and helpful post. Nice.

C# programming - anyone use Xamarin?

Has anyone used Xamarin to build their android apps? I have been programming using C# for sometime now but have never used it to build anything for android.
They have tons of free libraries, but as for licensing, I am skeptical in purchasing. Anyone like or dislike Xamarin? If you do or do not, can you explain why? Thanks a bundle!

Haven't used it but you have to think whether it's worth the price. The advantage is you can write in C# and share code between Android/iOS. However the UI is still platform-specific, so it has to be implemented twice. A free alternative is to use C++ for shared code (Android: via NDK, iOS: compiles directly), but that definitely needs more initial setup effort than buying Xamarin's product.

Here is an informed opinion
There is a gaming studio that used Xamarin to port their WP stuff to Android and iOS, and they're quite happy with how it turned out.
Do a search for "FourBros Studios, Cross-Platform Game Development with Xamarin and MonoGame". I can't post a direct link because of forum rules here.
Of course games are entirely different beasts than regular apps (for example, UI-wise), so not everything may apply to your situation.

I've plaid with Xamarin... and its a good system.. but Is it worth $300 to not learn java?
Cross platform development tools have their place, but IMHO unless you have a large project and NEED a cross platform development tool you are hurting yourself by not going native.
Just my .000002c

Java is so similar to C# I would think you'd be fine just going native - in terms of syntax they're virtually identical. I do kind of miss the var keyword though lol
I agree with LostByte - there's no real point to going cross platform unless you really need it. Don't stay with C# just because it's what you know! Use what's most appropriate for the app

IDK: Eclipse or Gamemaker Studio

Ok, im new in android development, used gamemaker studio for couple of hours, used eclipse for very short time, and basic4android little bit more than the eclipse.
so what are the differences in these programs. could i make a game in eclipse alone (no need gamemaker studio and basic4android)?

Yes you can make a game, or any app for that matter, in eclipse.
Eclipse is an IDE (Integrated Development Environment) which helps the user during coding sessions with auto-assist features, corrections, color-highlighting, auto-formatting, amongst many many more features.
What Game maker is (from my understanding anyhow) is a more graphically oriented IDE. It does more "coding" for you behind the scenes, whereas in eclipse, you're basically writing in a very sophisticated version of notepad.
I develop using eclipse, and have been since I started almost 4 years ago. Since Android Studio has emerged, I tend to play around with that a bit.
My suggestion for you if you are looking to develop strictly for android is Android Studio here : http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing/studio.html
The android developers website has plenty of useful tutorials, guides, references, and troubleshooting.
Hope this gets you started in the right direction. Good luck, and happy coding!
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thanks for recommending me the android studio, since i will be ONLY making apps for android.

hell911 said:
thanks for recommending me the android studio, since i will be ONLY making apps for android.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Android Studio is highly recommended but may be a little more complicated when getting into advanced projects (external libraries, gradle, etc...). But if you are just starting out, it has a lot of helpful features and tooltips that may help your understanding a bit. Another downfall is that Android Studio is still in fairly early development, which may present bugs from time to time.
Eclipse is also highly recommended, as it is a very solid build. It is not designed strictly for Android, so it is not as helpful with all of it's features.
Either way, stay motivated and believe you can do it. That's what really matters.
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