Related
Hello everyone. I've a sort of proposal for the developers here, but before I get into that let me first briefly introduce myself:
I'm a communication designer for print, user interface, and illustration that completely advocates everything Android. I've been lurking the Dream development forums here for quite some time, trying to keep up-to-date with the latest ROMs, apps, etc., etc and I fully appreciate everything that goes on here and the endeavors that you devs put yourself through. Amazing stuff, really.
One thing I've noticed is that there are a slew of third-party / beta apps all over these boards, and other places on the internet as well. More often than not, I find myself scouring the cloud just to find a link for these non-market apps, and I usually get referred to them via some obscure site through another site. Despite getting the .apk file or ROM in the end, the process can get to be a bit tedious; especially for incoming users and those new to the Android platform.
My proposal is this: A website with a simple and clean user interface that has direct and succinct navigation with the purpose of consolidating and listing third-party / beta non-market applications into an easy access database. This website database would link these applications and have them be easily downloaded and installed via the Android browser, without having to mount the device.
I've actually come up with a fully-functional concept site, did the branding and everything for it, and also registered a short domain name for quick access while on your G1 or whatever Android device.
Navigate to: http://anda.pk to see what I had in mind, and how the overall layout/concept of the site would work.
I uploaded several .apk files I had backed up as examples for you to see how the database section would function. I also took into account the resolution of most Android phones and made the .apk application database section fit perfectly in the Android browser when in portrait mode right when you the load the site to ensure the best possible user experience when installing these third party apps. When you scroll to the right, you'll see info on what the site is about, and in the footer there are links to the FAQ, the about section, contact, etc.
I had also noted in the about link in the footer that the applications hosted on the download section are in no way accredited to the site, and that credit goes to their rightful developers. My being a communication designer has had the idea of peer collaboration engrained, and as such I give credit it where credit is due.
That said, I hope you guys here and the developers collaborate with me on on this site, possibly help contribute apks, and agree to them being hosted. If anything, I do hope you just embrace the concept, which originally was just going to be a reference for myself and my friends whom I've turned away from the iPhone, S60, and WinMo in favor of Android. I figured since I know the Android community is only going to get bigger, this website concept of mine could be a decent resource to have bookmarked.
Appreciate you reading this wall of text! Do hope to hear some feedback, so let me know what you guys think. Thanks!
Cheers.
I think this is a fabulous idea...automated version control would go over very well -- i.e. yum update
you should post up bits that you need help with and have folks contact you.
also..I love the logo!
question: do you propose a rating system or a review prior to listing type of approach or something new to keep this resource trustworthy?
Been following this on SA and twitter and it's a great idea.
Having the devs here on board would be a fantastic way to get something solid on the go. It's the kind of thing that can really help android become more hackable and useable for the average user...and it just make things easier for the rest of us.
Sounds good to me.
thelilliandivide said:
the applications hosted on the download section are in no way accredited to the site
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Credit and accreditation are different things. To be accredited is to be given credentials or official approval. I think you meant "credited".
Sounds like a GREAT idea.
My opinion: The color scheme hurts. Love the logo.
i like the logo and the idea. I think the site should be more mobile friendly, or even better, an application for android that can work like the official market. I could help with that part if an application is going to be built.
camalot said:
i like the logo and the idea. I think the site should be more mobile friendly, or even better, an application for android that can work like the official market. I could help with that part if an application is going to be built.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i second that.. it should also have update checks if possible
I was going to complain that I didn't like your site layout, but in portrait mode you only see the left side which lists the apps. I like it.
One thing you might have to be leary of is dealing with apps that are considered warez unless your going to spend the time to verify every app that is uploaded or there has to a method in place.
As well there should be some kind of version control in place. You know what works on 1.1 and what works on 1.5. Obviously almost everybody within the next few weeks/months should be on 1.5, but will all the older apps run on 1.5 or does it really matter or does anybody care? The downloader will care.
CBowley said:
Sounds like a GREAT idea.
My opinion: The color scheme hurts. Love the logo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seconded. The text is much too light. A darker charcoal shade would be much better.
If the site gets an apk wrapper (a la FBook) version checking would be rather easy. Set up the directory tree something like this /downloads/WiFiTether/1.2.3.apk and just have the apk compare filenames. If the file names don't match, it needs to install the update.
EDIT: Now following your progress on twitter.
Some solid input. I'll play around with the color scheme and make some changes later this evening once I get back from class. And I actually do plan on making a mobile wrapper eventually, but as it stands as far as the concept layout goes, the site is best used when in portrait mode for easiest functionality. The rest of the site is to be considered supplemental. I do however, have a lot of things I eventually want to integrate; application tags, search, possibility of user uploaded apk files, etc. But for right now, I'm trying to keep the general site as simple as possible to make the workload on my end less stressful (graduating in 2 weeks).
bahnburner said:
If the site gets an apk wrapper (a la FBook) version checking would be rather easy. Set up the directory tree something like this /downloads/WiFiTether/1.2.3.apk and just have the apk compare filenames. If the file names don't match, it needs to install the update.
EDIT: Now following your progress on twitter.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did not know how that version checker worked. Thanks. I'll re-work the apk directory scheme akin to that later tonight for when I do eventually get the wrapper up.
thelilliandivide said:
Did not know how that version checker worked. Thanks. I'll re-work the apk directory scheme akin to that later tonight for when I do eventually get the wrapper up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not necessarily how most version checks work, but that's the simplest method I could think of, and probably one of the easiest to implement.
alapapa said:
I think this is a fabulous idea...automated version control would go over very well -- i.e. yum update
you should post up bits that you need help with and have folks contact you.
also..I love the logo!
question: do you propose a rating system or a review prior to listing type of approach or something new to keep this resource trustworthy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! And I feel I might need some help in the future as far as implementing the features that I want to get working. But I'm not quite sure I understand your question. Are you referring to how I choose which applications get posted onto the site?
i'm a graphic designer and web designer, i'll throw in a helping hand if you want, pm me or whatever.
(think about an android based layout to bring it to the phone like Cough*cydia*cough
very cool and much needed
Xda-dev is great, but there is alot of stuff thats not on the market and they have shown to bow down to the tmobs pressure(ie: tether app) so another place to get apps would be great, and your weppage is beautiful and looks like it would be very finger friendly on the g1, but there is a basic model in linux of repositories(which is about what ur doing) and a simple app to d/l them maybe somebody could just make a market.apk with a modded addy, depending on how much is known about the market and its inner workings... it would be nice to do it as it has been always done....but as I stated above your webdesign is very nice and would work well in the native browser(im heading there now on my g1)
bhang
not a bad idea. I think this is great for all verified apps that are pulled from market...
I really like this idea. Go for it.
Just one (stupid) remark about the logo... it's like it has a big nose and a :-| expression... sorry
apetit said:
I really like this idea. Go for it.
Just one (stupid) remark about the logo... it's like it has a big nose and a :-| expression... sorry
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, I just noticed that actually. Now it's all I see. But yeah, I'm hoping to have a few more apps to upload by the end of next week. Revisions to the site are imminent once I get out of this last class.
I love the idea. One bookmark to check up on all the good non-market apps will be much easier than having several bookmarked threads.
Some applications may benefit from having tags such as [beta], [stable], [experimental], [contains-ads], etc.
As others have mentioned once/if user uploads are implemented an app approval system will be crucial to keep the spam at bay. I can see this really taking off.
im a supporter
zgmf-x322a said:
im a supporter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 this sounds like a great idea, there was something like this for apps for the dash,mda & sda.
It been a couple of weeks since i started the Cyanogen Updater - which made it to market in less than 24 hours. It was on everybody's TODO list and it just took one thread being opened to get it done.
Lets try and pull off another miracle....
LETS GIVE ANDROID REAL OBEX SUPPORT
Thanks to the openOBEX guys we have a command line tool to do the job - but that ain't quite good enough.
The average user doesn't want to have to type - thats barbaric in this day and age (personally i love it, but i am a little bit weird)
We have something to build on - it is already integrated in to cyanogens roms
We have two real options - include the required tools or just make the gui access the tools - either way, it can be done.
Yes, there is already Bluex... But why should we pay for something that the phone should already have???
If you are with me - post here. If you want to be a coder, tester, art-guy or just support us with a few thanks this is where to do it
You can PM me here or email me at [email protected]
Google Code
Bluetooth Stack Development Thread
OpenOBEX Thread
OpenOBEX @ Gitorious
Cyanogen's Experimental Branch
i will hellp you out a little bit with bugfiuxes and so but my primary thing is the updater
im fairly new to the whole android and dont know much but im willing to test. ive been testing CM roms since he started coming out with them.
This should be pretty simple, in theory anyway. All we technically have to do is have something that browses thru the filesystem (think SUFBS), and then when you click a file initiate the shell commands necessary or openobex. For recieving there could be a seperate tab at the bottom that when you switched to it it would open the socket to receive a file.
Art guy - reporting in!
Will lend my support whenever possible. As always, great to see more community oriented efforts like this. Once you guys get the app to a working point, I'll be happy to do some artwork for it like the CM Updater thread. Hopefully we can do this again fast.
great to have you on board again prash
i was hoping u n matt would find this thread
anyone who wants added to the google code administrator list - let me know and it shall be done
GOD bless you ALL!!
im sure when cyanogen sees this HE will bless us
im realloy glad to see another project, especially one as useful as this!
thanks....
all we need is some half-decent coders and we will be all set
it is theoretically very simple....but with time it will become more and more complex with extra features hopefully
Im going to jump right in and be THAT guy ... what is open obex?
OBEX=OBject EXchange=how protocol used when sending via bluetooth ot infrared
Open=open source=anyone can use the code with no copyright issues
OpenOBEX=2+2
This will be VERY interesting to follow, this is definately the only feature missing from android, and with prash doing graphics.... its gonna look good for sure (@ prash, using systemforce3... tried new dark hero, 3 hours later I was back to sf3... love the clock ) back on topic... if the knowledge of the coders here is anything to go by, I recon obex will be done by CM4.0.3
Hello,
i'm a sophomore college student look forward to learn how to code for android.. took two java classes in college.. how or where do i get started to learn the code, and may be i can be useful on the next project?
Click on my name at the bottom of the signature to email me..
kmassada said:
Hello,
i'm a sophomore college student look forward to learn how to code for android.. took two java classes in college.. how or where do i get started to learn the code, and may be i can be useful on the next project?
Click on my name at the bottom of the signature to email me..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's a start on learning
Also in college, computer science major, taken a bunch of programming classes so I'll try and be of some use
garok89 said:
It been a couple of weeks since i started the Cyanogen Updater - which made it to market in less than 24 hours. It was on everybody's TODO list and it just took one thread being opened to get it done.
Lets try and pull off another miracle....
LETS GIVE ANDROID REAL OBEX SUPPORT
Thanks to the openOBEX guys we have a command line tool to do the job - but that ain't quite good enough.
The average user doesn't want to have to type - thats barbaric in this day and age (personally i love it, but i am a little bit weird)
We have something to build on - it is already integrated in to cyanogens roms
We have two real options - include the required tools or just make the gui access the tools - either way, it can be done.
Yes, there is already Bluex... But why should we pay for something that the phone should already have???
If you are with me - post here. If you want to be a coder, tester, art-guy or just support us with a few thanks this is where to do it
You can PM me here or email me at [email protected]
Google Code
Bluetooth Stack Development Thread
OpenOBEX Thread
OpenOBEX @ Gitorious
Cyanogen's Experimental Branch
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a aplication from the market called andrOBEX, and i think that app cover this.
Go to www.androbex.com and see if it is true, or try to work with the author to make it better.
If i'm wrong, count me in to help.
Does openobex support viewing directories and files which someone else is sharing and/or selecting your own directories for others to browse? I havent tried bluex but the description for that doesnt say whether it does or not, I dont know if that is based on openobex anyway though.
Would really like to see the development for this like the cyanogen updater, wish I could do something to help besides test.
i had no idea androbex existed - il look into it
this thread may be redundant....
Androbex doesn't appear to be able to receive files. Getting obexftp or something similar running shouldn't be hard. It just needs to be secure.
cyanogen said:
Androbex doesn't appear to be able to receive files. Getting obexftp or something similar running shouldn't be hard. It just needs to be secure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bluex can recieve with root access.
Hello everyone,
I'm not new to this forum, i have used it for many years now. Yet i have never made any contribution to the community.
I was fiddling with my G1 again when i found out my rom folder was a complete mess filled with update.zip packages, roms i didn't even know i downloaded. So i though, hey lets develop an application to manage all my roms and radio's with a quick button to upload a rom or radio to my g1.
Something like this:
Sorry i could not post a link, it's restricted. My account is still blocked for that. Admin??
I wonder if anyone would be interested in such an application? And if you are interested could you come up with suggestions to make it better/ help me debugging (i'm a student, i don't have a lot of spare time).
If anyone is interested i will seriously think about further developing this app,
it's now in pre-pre-alpha stage or so .
Greetings from holland.
zuenaerox said:
Hello everyone,
I'm not new to this forum, i have used it for many years now. Yet i have never made any contribution to the community.
I was fiddling with my G1 again when i found out my rom folder was a complete mess filled with update.zip packages, roms i didn't even know i downloaded. So i though, hey lets develop an application to manage all my roms and radio's with a quick button to upload a rom or radio to my g1.
Something like this:
Sorry i could not post a link, it's restricted. My account is still blocked for that. Admin??
I wonder if anyone would be interested in such an application? And if you are interested could you come up with suggestions to make it better/ help me debugging (i'm a student, i don't have a lot of spare time).
If anyone is interested i will seriously think about further developing this app,
it's now in pre-pre-alpha stage or so .
Greetings from holland.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, I am not sure if this is in the right section...perhaps putting it under General might be a better option, as it does not have to do specifically with developing a ROM.
Secondly, the idea seems promising. I am not fluent with ADB, but if you can flash roms with it (IE: boot the phone into recovery, and use adb to flash the rom), then yeah, I think it would be a great idea. And again, depending on what ADB can do, haev it control nandroid/bart as well for backing up and restoring. I know ADB has the shell command, so if you can use stdin/stdout to read/write to that shell prompt, it would be feasible.
But that is forcing every user to go ahead and keep a db of the ROMs they download...perhaps using an external host to manage the images (keep a listing, changelogs, etc) of the individual roms would be an idea...then you can have the application pull roms directly from that repo. This, of course, would require you to manage the remote repository and keep it up to date.
Thats my $0.02
jmhecker said:
First off, I am not sure if this is in the right section...perhaps putting it under General might be a better option, as it does not have to do specifically with developing a ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is ANDROID Development, not ROM Development.
My $0.02.
Bavilo said:
This is ANDROID Development, not ROM Development.
My $0.02.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats why I said "I'm not sure"...I stand corrected though.
If we want to get technical, this is Htc Dream (G1) Android Development. If we want to be nitpicky this should be in Android development unless it is only for the Dream (G1) and will not work for any other Android phone, which I doubt. But who's being nitpicky anyway?
JAguirre1231 said:
If we want to get technical, this is Htc Dream (G1) Android Development. If we want to be nitpicky this should be in Android development unless it is only for the Dream (G1) and will not work for any other Android phone, which I doubt. But who's being nitpicky anyway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, I love the last line of your signature...classic
I just know that the mods and certain 'Senior Members' like to trash talk about threads in the wrong section, rather than simply stating that it would be more appropriate elsewhere. I was just trying to stop the bashing before it started, heh.
This thread is getting sidetracked though. I do think that the idea is a good one, whether it be strictly for G1, or across the board for all Android devices.
Sorry...
Sorry for posting this in the wrong section, i thought it should be in this section becouse it involves rom's.
Putting up a rom repo, would involve PHP and Mysql(a large one, saving all roms and radio's).
I would be very interested starting this project. I could use some help however. I don't mind building such a repo, but the content should be community managed.
I think android is going to be the mobile future so building such a repo would pay off since we're getting more and more rom's. Ill experiment with php and mysql tonight. I don't have a host, i run it locally.
Maybe someone with mysql/ bandwith to spare?
greetings
zuenaerox said:
Sorry for posting this in the wrong section, i thought it should be in this section becouse it involves rom's.
Putting up a rom repo, would involve PHP and Mysql(a large one, saving all roms and radio's).
I would be very interested starting this project. I could use some help however. I don't mind building such a repo, but the content should be community managed.
I think android is going to be the mobile future so building such a repo would pay off since we're getting more and more rom's. Ill experiment with php and mysql tonight. I don't have a host, i run it locally.
Maybe someone with mysql/ bandwith to spare?
greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It wouldn't necessarily have to be done with MySQL/SQLite/etc...XML would work just as well, but can be a bit more tricky to manage. SQL probably would be the better option now that I think about it.
This idea would have 2 parts to it then, correct? The backend (database hosted online somewhere), and the frontend for the user desktop.
As far as the bandwidth required, there are plenty of places on the net that are geared towards hosting of open source projects...perhaps you could use one of their offerings.
The idea first involved a client managed application only. However the idea in the other post about a web based repo liked me better . Ill try to develop a simple web application to add rom's,track changes. I will try to put a test application online tomorrow.
I hope this repo will be used and managed. I like this forum very much and the community could not live without it. This repo would absolutely be and addition to xda!
Using the repo, you could view all available rom's, installation instructions, track changes.
Check the thread tomorrow. Ill try to upload an example
Have a nice day
zuenaerox said:
The idea first involved a client managed application only. However the idea in the other post about a web based repo liked me better . Ill try to develop a simple web application to add rom's,track changes. I will try to put a test application online tomorrow.
I hope this repo will be used and managed. I like this forum very much and the community could not live without it. This repo would absolutely be and addition to xda!
Using the repo, you could view all available rom's, installation instructions, track changes.
Check the thread tomorrow. Ill try to upload an example
Have a nice day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think anything is better than what we have now: Threads scattered all over the place with new ROMs getting posted. We need something more centralized.
bro you look like a fake maxisma .. hahahhaha .. sorry had to point that out
@georgegreco86
Well thank you for your kind reply...
@jmhecker
I've put together a quick php,mysql script on a temporary host. It's not possible to add roms. But you can view rom information in an organized way.
This is just an example of what is possible. Never mind the layout.
Its just a quick preview.
androidrepo.zxq.net/index.php
Greetings
Great idea!!!
im not a developer, but im a flashaholic he he, cant wait for this info....
zuenaerox said:
@georgegreco86
Well thank you for your kind reply...
@jmhecker
I've put together a quick php,mysql script on a temporary host. It's not possible to add roms. But you can view rom information in an organized way.
This is just an example of what is possible. Never mind the layout.
Its just a quick preview.
androidrepo.zxq.net/index.php
Greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The one thing to think about with this is when you allw people to add/update/delete their roms. You will have to have some sort of permission system in place that would prevent UserA from deleting a ROM that was created and uploaded by UserB.
Also, this creates another login/password that the rom creators need to remember.
Yeah i thougt about that, unfortunatly we live in a world where you can't trust people. So yes i need to build an user auth system
This was just preview
I'm going to bed now, ill be working on it tomorrow
have a nice day
I like to help
well I am just putting a new linux server online in the next day or so
toss one of my google adds on the page and you can host it there
and as space requirements grow I can add more np
it would at ther very least get it hosted so you guys can get it off the ground
by the way I have been lurking around here for months
some of the stuff you guys have done is truely sweet my phone
will never be the say again unless rogers has its way
Hello guys,
I've been working very hard on the repo and i'm glad to announce that the admin part is allmost fully finished!!
@Broncosis
Thank you for your reply!!!!
i hope your host can run php, and mysql. I use the mysql to upload foto's and roms are saved to the server harddisk. Will this be possible?
Thanks in advance for helping get this project off the ground !!
greetings
zuenaerox said:
Hello guys,
I've been working very hard on the repo and i'm glad to announce that the admin part is allmost fully finished!!
@Broncosis
Thank you for your reply!!!!
i hope your host can run php, and mysql. I use the mysql to upload foto's and roms are saved to the server harddisk. Will this be possible?
Thanks in advance for helping get this project off the ground !!
greetings
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I may make a suggestion: When you are working on the frontend (what the users (not devs) will see, code it using proper XHTML standards, and utilize classes from within your CSS. The reason I say that is I would be willing to make a desktop application that would scrape your webpage at load, and obtain the ROM categories, rom information, download links, etc, and the user would then be able to simply choose a ROM from the application, which in turn would download it, and create a nandroid backup of the phone, move the ROM over, and flash it, without any user interaction. (thats assuming I can work out a few of the troubles I am running into with ADB and Fastboot)
zuenaerox said:
Hello everyone,
I'm not new to this forum, i have used it for many years now. Yet i have never made any contribution to the community.
I was fiddling with my G1 again when i found out my rom folder was a complete mess filled with update.zip packages, roms i didn't even know i downloaded. So i though, hey lets develop an application to manage all my roms and radio's with a quick button to upload a rom or radio to my g1.
Something like this:
Sorry i could not post a link, it's restricted. My account is still blocked for that. Admin??
I wonder if anyone would be interested in such an application? And if you are interested could you come up with suggestions to make it better/ help me debugging (i'm a student, i don't have a lot of spare time).
If anyone is interested i will seriously think about further developing this app,
it's now in pre-pre-alpha stage or so .
Greetings from holland.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may want to partner with the guy who built Droid Explorer. This sounds like a natural extension to that tool (if it's not already baked in). I know you can push things like APKs to the phone from Droid Explorer.
maxawesome said:
You may want to partner with the guy who built Droid Explorer. This sounds like a natural extension to that tool (if it's not already baked in). I know you can push things like APKs to the phone from Droid Explorer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do we know who it was that created Droid Explorer? I would love to be able to improve upon what he has already done.
Hi all,
I have a concept for a single update application that would be driven from the AndroidSPIN release database so all developers could use it for ROM, Themes, Applications and anything releases to devices.
If you wouldn't mind taking a couple of minutes to read this post, I would greatly appreciate it.
http://www.androidspin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=260&t=226
I'd really love to get a group together to collaborate and either help design this and/or write an application and back end to do it.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks
Simon
Sounds like an awesome idea, I'd love to help any way I can, but I dont fit in any of the needed positions for the post. Looking forward to see what develops though
Fantastic idea!
I only ever use XDA so god knows what I'm missing out on elsewhere and to be honest after searching the word android on google and trawling through one crap site after another becomes tiresome so hence the 'XDA only' policy.
Sorry I can't offer any programming skills but you have my support on this project whole heartedly, not that it counts for much I know buh MeH!
Hope you can get this off the ground.
As I mentioned to Simon already, I was thinking about building an update application for my ROM. I love the idea of having an on-phone ROM database, update capability, something that can easily be used by any developer in the community.
Some initial thoughts on functionality:
- Browse ROMs
- Download ROMs to SD Card
- Monitor specific ROMs for updates
- Monitor currently running ROM for updates
I'm willing to lend a hand on the Android side of things, but this will be a large undertaking and we will also need some people to contribute to the UI, server side of things, etc.
I do iPhone UI design for applications now (I don't have an iPhone, but most of my contracts and clients are iPhone based), but let me know and I can whip up anything you guys need UI related.
Send me a PM and I can get the ball rolling on how the functionality can be laid out as well.
Even tho I know I wouldnt be able to help out with this. I know I would love to test this out if you needed it.
Its a great idea!!!
I know a teeny bit of Java, and I'm working on becoming an Android developer, so if anything needs doing on the Android side of things, I'm willing to contribute.
Although I may not know as much as some others, I'm definitely a fast learner. I have a few books on Android development I'm reading through right now.
michinohatoresu said:
I know a teeny bit of Java, and I'm working on becoming an Android developer, so if anything needs doing on the Android side of things, I'm willing to contribute.
Although I may not know as much as some others, I'm definitely a fast learner. I have a few books on Android development I'm reading through right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, we can reuse a lot of code from Cyanogen updater.
akirah said:
Well, we can reuse a lot of code from Cyanogen updater.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, of course.
If anything else needs doing, however, I volunteer what spare time I have.
akirah said:
Well, we can reuse a lot of code from Cyanogen updater.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be easily done, would require quite a lot of laborious work ripping out all the stuff you wouldn't need though.
I would take a look at this but unfortunately I have another Android project on at the moment which is taking all my development spare time.
@SimonNWalker What sort of backend having you got going? REST? SOAP?
Ups wrong theread
not that it matters (since i kept the source 100% open)....
you have my blessing to tear the cmupdater to shreds if it will give us a unified solution to all our ROM cravings
firefart has done a good job of keeping the code pretty clean so there shouldnt be too many issues with grabbing it
and the new code for the screenshots for themes could probably be used to the advantage of this project with ease
I'm not really interested in a rom updater, but a market replacement with an "upgrade all" feature (à la apt-get / yum) drawing from multiple repositories would be most exciting.
The Cyanogen updater could be used, it just needs some modifications. Stuff like sub-sections and update all
Would probably need a new method to keep track of the updates aswell, I don't think json would be sufficient for a lot of applications and updates. Unless somebody could make some kind of script to automate the process when it gets uploaded.
willmav5000 said:
Would probably need a new method to keep track of the updates aswell, I don't think json would be sufficient for a lot of applications and updates. Unless somebody could make some kind of script to automate the process when it gets uploaded.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only other method I would consider, besides JSON, is an advanced and well thought out web-based form that the developer is forced to complete upon uploading a ROM. This would place more burden on the server, but should be relatively easy to attach the provided ROM information to the rom database.
Think: Check boxes for firmware compatibilities, check boxes for device compatibilities, version number, change log, etc.
Maybe something a little like this?
Wow this would be/ is gonna be awsome!
I would suggest also that you can backup your sd card settings (and maybe also sms...) to an ftp server (or some other server you can install on your pc) from this app...
like (incremential) backup>partition>wipe>install update>boot>getbackupback
problem is to get the server adress back after wipe. maybe stored in web database and encrypted with phone imei number? or uploaded as google
whatever...
or just not wiping that single adress
just saying ^^
willmav5000 said:
Would probably need a new method to keep track of the updates aswell, I don't think json would be sufficient for a lot of applications and updates. Unless somebody could make some kind of script to automate the process when it gets uploaded.
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Click to collapse
JSON is just a file format. The CM Updater works via a static JSON file that gets updated manually. The way I'd design this (which is what I asked a couple of posts back) is a dynamic web service (probably REST based) which delivered JSON dynamically. Wouldn't be too difficult at all.
As SimonWalker said he's using PHP + MySQL I'm guessing that's already being done.
@garok89: CM Updater is completely open-source therefore blessings are not needed to use the source. Really don't understand all the "credit" crap here on XDA.
senab said:
@garok89: CM Updater is completely open-source therefore blessings are not needed to use the source. Really don't understand all the "credit" crap here on XDA.
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Click to collapse
I know it is open and I don't need to give my blessing for people to use the source. I did so because a lot of people don't feel comfortable using other peoples code without permission, regardless of whether or not its 100% open source.
And as for the 'credit crap'... I don't see you asking for your name to be removed from the 'about' section of the app
I am not asking for any credit
Anyway, lets not get off topic...
Guys, before this becomes Android Open Alliance, the sequel (you all remember how that went), I think we better set up a way to work together first and then toss in the speculative stuff later.
How about starting simple; set up a wave?
DIRECT SMALI TO JAVA CONVERTER(This is a work-in-progress. Hop in if you can help!)
Welcome guys!
This project is born because there isn't any reliable way to convert a bunch of smali files into something you can really import into eclipse and compile away. I've lost a few projects in a recent 1 TB HDD crash and man, it wasn't pretty to see I couldn't even get them back with JD-GUI or something. I've done the same with a few .NET projects of mine, so why can't I on Android? you can, but sometimes the tools (JD-GUI or JAD) go nuts and attempting to fix them just gives you a headache so...
Being a smali modder for quite some time, I managed to realize that the entire smali code, if analyzed correctly, it can be converted back to java. We mentally do it when we make smali mods, all I'm attempting to do is to automate the process and make it easier for everyone. Also, it would be really useful to be able to recompile a few Jars and APKs in order to fix device bugs (which is also another reason why I'm working on this).
Some of you would say there is already JD-GUI and JAD, but they're not a real true 1:1 conversion and also most of the times they're not compile-able. Also, There's JEB Android Decompiler but no way I'm gonna pay such a price for something I've been doing mentally and that I can automate with a script made in about a week or a few months. The tool could be great, but the price is too high and my own country's restrictions don't allow me to buy it even if I ever get the money.
The idea here, is to make an app that can translate Smali to Java, directly. Of course, it requires a bit of analysis. It needs to analyze the class directives, the methods and their prologue (parameters, declaration, etc), class annotations and method instructions. So far, I've managed to develop most of the analyzer with a few basic instructions set up for demo purposes.
Of course, I know it needs a bit more work: some variables/instructions don't appear, types are incomplete or missing, etc. But that's why I'm here: I can work on this alone, but, first, it wouldn't be fair. Also, I'm human and by default I have bugs, so I might skip something and make the code go bogus and stuff. And finally, I'd like to request the help of the community. I made this project to see if there's enough attention and contribution from the smart people here, and if there is, I'm gonna give it all to make this project do what it says, 100% error-free.
Note: IT NEEDS .NET FRAMEWORK 3.5. Yeah, and VS 2012. I assume you can make it work with VS2010 or I can make a version soon if there's enough interest, or heck, even Mono as long as it has Linq (I make heavy use of it). The idea is to make a good, open-source parser you can compile even on an arduino with Mono and it will work. But for now, this will have to do. It is my own code and I decided to share it to see if there's interest. If there's enough, I'll do everything I can to provide the tools needed for you guys to help me make this project a reality.
Also, it seems it works with SharpDevelop, so you can compile it under Linux too!
How to contribute:
Source code (active Github): https://github.com/darkguy2008/smali2java
IRC Channel: #smali2java in irc.freenode.net . You can also join us in development chit-chat through web IRC client here.
Fork away!
Well, hoping to attract the attention of you hackers 'round here
- DARKGuy
XDA:DevDB Information
Smali2Java, a Tool/Utility for the Android General
Contributors
darkguy2008
Version Information
Status: Testing
Created 2013-12-31
Last Updated 2014-01-04
Reserved
Thanks for your effort. May I request a small readme or setup guide as I'm generally a Linux user trying this out on my Windows machine?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
This is great, really interested in this, and is the project open source?
robcore said:
Thanks for your effort. May I request a small readme or setup guide as I'm generally a Linux user trying this out on my Windows machine?
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello!
Oh, sure, here's a small resume but if you need more help don't hesitate to ask
First you need to install Visual Studio 2010 or Visual Studio 2012, I don't know if the express editions work, but they should. Then, if you use VS2010, you need to install the 4.5 .NET Targeting Pack for VS2010 which you can find on the MS website. If you install VS2012, it comes with it preinstalled.
Then, I assume you can double-click the .csproj (project file) and it'll open inside a blank solution that will ask you to save before you can compile it (press F5 to build & run). Also, make sure to edit Program.cs and modify it where it says to edit and put the absolute path of a smali file of your choice (for example, C:\users\you\desktop\someclass.smali). There's no need to put double-backslashes due to the "@" before the string literal.
Also, I think it could also work with .NET 3.5 or 4.0, but I didn't test it as I was hesitant to make something that I could publish on here. Over the next few days I'll keep working on it and keep you guys updated
ricky310711 said:
This is great, really interested in this, and is the project open source?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your interest! I'm glad and yes! you can download the whole source code and binary from the Download section here in the black top bar over the first post. That's the idea open-source and easy to understand!
darkguy2008 said:
Thanks for your interest! I'm glad and yes! you can download the whole source code and binary from the Download section here in the black top bar over the first post. That's the idea open-source and easy to understand!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks will definately check it out when I get home!
Thanks so much, trying it now!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk
Alright, I finally learned how to use GitHub (it wasn't that hard... yet, lol), so here's a link for you all to try (it's in the main post, too): https://github.com/darkguy2008/smali2java
Also, I modified the code a bit... removed the whole switch/case stuff for each instruction and changed it to functions. Also, SmaliVM is now the main class where the translation to Java happens. I've also made a "buffer system" because, in smali, you need to process a lot of lines to create one Java line, so every smali line adds up stuff to the buffer (if needed) and it "flushes" on each .line directive. So far, so good.
Fork away and I'm eager to see your pull requests!
darkguy2008 said:
Alright, I finally learned how to use GitHub (it wasn't that hard... yet, lol), so here's a link for you all to try (it's in the main post, too): https://github.com/darkguy2008/smali2java
Also, I modified the code a bit... removed the whole switch/case stuff for each instruction and changed it to functions. Also, SmaliVM is now the main class where the translation to Java happens. I've also made a "buffer system" because, in smali, you need to process a lot of lines to create one Java line, so every smali line adds up stuff to the buffer (if needed) and it "flushes" on each .line directive. So far, so good.
Fork away and I'm eager to see your pull requests!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
404 not found?
ricky310711 said:
404 not found?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoops, sorry, fixed! stupid reply box, it ate the "va" in my "java" lol.
It's also corrected in the main post
Very interesting, i can't find a word to say! Congrats man and thanks very much!
http://www.xda-developers.com/andro...onverter-makes-smali-more-developer-friendly/
Good luck with your project
yashade2001 said:
Very interesting, i can't find a word to say! Congrats man and thanks very much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the support! I'm glad you're interested! any kind of help is welcome
eagleeyetom said:
http://www.xda-developers.com/andro...onverter-makes-smali-more-developer-friendly/
Good luck with your project
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh wow! this is great!! thank you very much!! :laugh::victory: these kind of things really give a lot of motivation to keep projects going! :good: love the review, hehe
I had so much trouble with small files before. I don't really work with them much now. Wish that this was there to help me. Keep it up!
Excellent work man! Confirmed working with SharpDevelop + .NET 4.0 too, 3.5 is not possible since some namespaces used are not available prior to 4.0.
Btw there seems to be a bug in SmaliLine.cs, line 135 where the value 0 supposed to be 1, otherwise keep getting index out of bound error.
Code:
if (sWords.Length < [B][COLOR="Red"]1[/COLOR][/B])
Also i did some modification to the main function, so there is no need to recompile everytime, now i can simply run in in command prompt or with batch file.
Code:
if (args.Length == 0)
{
Console.WriteLine("ERROR: No Input File!");
Environment.Exit(1);
}
String sFile = args[0];
Really hope to see this project get more usable soon. Good Luck!
thehacka1 said:
I had so much trouble with small files before. I don't really work with them much now. Wish that this was there to help me. Keep it up!
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Click to collapse
Me too haha, smali files are a headache... they're kinda easy to understand, but man aren't they harder to read? thanks for the support!
codelover said:
Excellent work man! Confirmed working with SharpDevelop + .NET 4.0 too, 3.5 is not possible since some namespaces used are not available prior to 4.0.
Btw i did some modification to the main function, so there is no need to recompile everytime, now i can simply run in in command prompt or with batch file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey man, thanks a lot! It's awesome to know it works cross-platform now don't worry, I just pushed a few commits and lowered the framework version, I assume you can test with 3.5 now.
Also, thanks for the code, I just pushed it to the main repo. I actually refactored a few things, hopefully it's easier to understand and handle now. Also, it now works in a buffer-like way so with some work, it will be able to handle lots of smali instructions in a single Java line as it should be
very interested with this project.. hope it will be a simple to use..
This is awesome! I've been working with MIUI for quite some time now, and their utter lack of source code is both frustrating and difficult to work with. Porting eventually works, but for my current ROM, theirs is based on 4.2.2, where the US version went from 4.1.2 to 4.3. So, it works, but it's still not 100%. I'm going to get set up for this and see what I can do with actual source for some of the screwed frameworks.
As I haven't even downloaded anything yet...how crazy difficult would it be to do a whole .jar or .apk...or ROM using this?
petrukgrinder said:
very interested with this project.. hope it will be a simple to use..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the support! that's one of the main objectives: it should be
digitalhigh said:
This is awesome! I've been working with MIUI for quite some time now, and their utter lack of source code is both frustrating and difficult to work with. Porting eventually works, but for my current ROM, theirs is based on 4.2.2, where the US version went from 4.1.2 to 4.3. So, it works, but it's still not 100%. I'm going to get set up for this and see what I can do with actual source for some of the screwed frameworks.
As I haven't even downloaded anything yet...how crazy difficult would it be to do a whole .jar or .apk...or ROM using this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah man I feel your pain, I also have the same issue with my ZTE device. Of course the main idea is to be able to get back code from your own APKs-JARs but if it works for fixing bugs or allowing more ports on other devices, awesome.
For now the app isn't even usable, it's a bunch of code which tries to translate maybe two or three smali instructions to java but it's not ready for even a small APK. I assume that the fire test should be trying to convert a whole jar file or two, but it could take maybe a few months for it to do that, depending on how much work the project gets from the community.
hello im also tried to do something like this converter but im stack at "if for etc" also i found this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2430413 is very good .
i tried to to talk with developer to help him but no answer yet