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How to make an app?

I'm putting my theming project aside for now and get onto creating an app that I've always wanted to create that I do not see ANYWHERE in the market, forums, android websites, etc.
I've been reading and reading and reading different threads, instructions, etc. But no clue where to start. I've been reading on App Inventor but realized that it is very limited and I have my high doubts that App Inventor will not be able to achieve what I have in mind to make.
I've got the latest SDK and AVD Manager, JDK, Java, and have been using my emulator to test edited APKs. I'm pretty sure I'll be using my emulator to see how my app progress is coming along and see possible FCs and other issues and correct them as well as adding more to the app to make it even better.
But right now I'm stuck at where to begin here. Right when I was about to create this thread, I was making the name of the Title of this thread and was given threads relating to my title name and saw one thread that was sort of mentioning what I'm asking here.
I read the link provided in that thread ( http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/fundamentals.html ) and got some clues but just not enough to get me started here. I just need that push to get me going and eventually push it out to the market and make some money as a side project and learn from that and possibly make more useful apps. I cannot disclose my ideas here because then someone else (who has experience making apps) could take those ideas from me and go make it.
Is anyone willing to work with me here to get me started? I've helped countless people so it would be nice for a change for someone to help me out here.

There are so much Android development books on the market that I suggest to start with one of them. It's the best way to get some knowledge of the design principles used by the Android development framework.
Another method is to start with some examples found on the web. Just search for Android examples or something like that and you get tons of links
Another method is just to create something, get stuck and try to search for a solution (the most pragmatic method )

Yeah I know. That's why I'm constantly researching. I'm seeing some similarities between Java coding and building scripts in IRC (which I used to do, nothing big, just really small stuff). But my main problem is knowing what exactly are the main tools I need. I've had Eclipse for awhile but never used it. It has a lot of stuff in it and I get lost after a couple executions.
I'm just anxious to get started somewhere and get the momentum rolling for starters.

Could someone point me to a good book/ebook ? There are many out there but I'm sure that are some better than others...
If any french-speaker knows one in Voltaire's language, I'm in too. But English is fine...

DannyBiker said:
Could someone point me to a good book/ebook ? There are many out there but I'm sure that are some better than others...
If any french-speaker knows one in Voltaire's language, I'm in too. But English is fine...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, a good book (english) would be great. Can anyone recommend one?

You don't have to buy books but they do contain a lot more info in one book and would be better to have than trying to scour the internet and pull a bunch of infos together and try to put it together to understand step by step on how to get started and everything else.
Here's a link to a lot of android development books:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...pment&sprefix=android+application+development
Here's a link to some more info to getting started that is also useful:
http://developer.android.com/guide/basics/what-is-android.html
You may also need to get a Java coding book to help you put codes together properly and understand what each coding does, and tweaking them to work better.
Here's the link to Java coding for Android stuff for beginners:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_s...x=java+for+dummies&rh=n:283155,k:android+java
I just bought 2 books for Android application development and looking around for a good Java coding for beginners.

mdonova33 said:
Yeah, a good book (english) would be great. Can anyone recommend one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
professional android 2 application development by Reto Meier: http://www.wrox.com/WileyCDA/WroxTi...ication-Development.productCd-0470565527.html
Or, the Busy Coder's guide to android development by Mark L Murphy: http://commonsware.com/Android/
Last one is more written in a "let's get dirty" style. Really like that

TheSwaggeR said:
...
I just bought 2 books for Android application development and looking around for a good Java coding for beginners.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think any java book will do, as long as it covers the principles of object oriented design and the data structures used by Java. You don't need any info about GUI programming in Java because that's all covered by the Android application framework.
The best Java books are the ones written by James Gosling et al, the designers of Java. But that may also be over the top for Android application development. Just some basic Java will do to get you started. The algorithms needed for basic apps aren't that complex.

App Inventor is a great tool to develop your android app. It simplifies the development and the editor is very intuitive.
Check out my blog on App Inventor and AppToMarket and a Workshop
http://Amerkashi.Wordpress.com

How did you learn to code?

Yes I am asking you!
Your personal experience on how you learned coding!
Feel free to vent, my eyes are wide open
my reason? Why I have a book on coding (for Andriod) and the coding package (Eclipse, Andriod SDK, and SO ON)
but is this enough?
How did you start? What was your motivation?
is it fun!?
Please if anyone replies to it, i'd be very happy

Many moons ago, there was a magazine called BBC Micro User, and in it there were pages and pages of code for games written in BASIC.
Normally the code was wrong in places, which meant you had to debug and therefore learn how it worked rather than just copying it verbatum.
This is of course related to our phones as the BBC B was an ancestor to them (now there's a thought!)

Problems? No problems! You need a small program to make your life easier? Go and read in all forums! Ask questions! Start programing by leaning by doing.

Mizulunaris said:
Yes I am asking you!
Your personal experience on how you learned coding!
Feel free to vent, my eyes are wide open
my reason? Why I have a book on coding (for Andriod) and the coding package (Eclipse, Andriod SDK, and SO ON)
but is this enough?
How did you start? What was your motivation?
is it fun!?
Please if anyone replies to it, i'd be very happy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why did you buy a book to find out about technology?!? That book will be outdated tomorrow...I suggest looking up info on the internet and there's this cool thing that's called google that lets you ask any question you want...check it out.
Hope this helped Mizu Luna!

Thank you all for relpying !
think the book is already out dated XD
It was made when android 2.2 just came out....I figured any info toget me startd would be nice.....
I still haven't gotten into the gist of the forum though.....I still don't know many of the terms and aren't familiar to a lot of things talked about...or where things are placed.....and no formal training to help me.....
I guess I'll read on a bit until I can properly place my feet

I couldn't even tell you how I started, I was like 8 years old and just playing around for the hell of it. Been switching around and trying languages ever since. As for motivation, the only reason I ever write a program is because I need something done... I'll feel like I wish my PC/phone/website did something differently - so I make it do that
Really, the best thing to do is just dive right into it. If you want to start with Android, find a good tutorial that at least has you get an IDE and build environment set up... Then from there just start experimenting with some example code, or apps others have written as you go through more tutorials.
If you want to properly learn how to code though, most would suggest starting with something on a PC rather than diving right into Android dev. Starting with an easy-to-use scripting language or interpreter (like Python) is a good way to start playing around - and then you can move on to other languages such as Java with a solid understanding of how programming languages work.
It's all personal preference though, just find a solid tutorial and stick with it. Try to experiment as you go along, try things with the code, and actually understand what it's telling you.

I started with webpage design and slowly moved into other venues. I became interested in making apps for ideas that I had and started to search google on how to code specific tasks that I wanted in my apps and then mixing it all together and making small changes in the code and watching to see what it did.

[Q] Becoming a dev.

NEWBIE...Im fairly new into the developing world, but I have a solid background in anything computer orrientated. I started with a droid x, rooted it, and have never looked back. I'm taking java classes and learning as much as I can about programming. Any helpfull advice for someone starting a career/lifelong hobby in this feild? Reading a lot of books and blogs, but any other resources would be greatly appreciated.
Thx to all the professional devs out there who make it a fun digital world to cusomize!!!!

http://goo.gl/xB9rK
Lets start by using the search function.
This question gets asked and answered several times per week...
Personally i would skip the books.
I started by an idea in my mind what i wanted my app to do and taught myself through tutorials, stackoverflow, irc and lots of google...
Start something small, maybe an app that plays a single mp3 file.
Now you think, how can i choose different ones -> make a file explorer.
And so on... kinda like reading wikipedia, you start with some topic but end up in another topic far away ;-).
Thats if you want to program apps... there are lots of types of devs.... apps, roms, themes, kernel...
Now don't say you want to learn everything .

Thanks & more
Thanks for being the first to reply! And also for the info. I've done a little programming, vb and java, but am more interested in the rom/kernal side of things. Seen the vid before! Awesome!
I tried searching the site for what I'm looking for but unsuccesfull, figured the best way to get forward in this site, and get specific info, was to post a thread in one of the only places I could. Reread the rules and newbie posts, and figured out the reasons but they dont bother meat all.
Guess I'm looking more of an answer to this question, from everyone who replies:
How did u get to where u are now? (be it app dev, device help, other software dev)
Again thx for the help! P.S. what software do u use to program? And which os is preferred, linux, windows, mac?
I'm learning linux as fast as I can and wouldn't mind help there either if its out there.
Sent from my Xoom. Via whatever the heck I want!

I started with knowledge in C++,C,SystemC and some script languages from university + plus some knowledge about programming in general.
We had to use java in the university but i never properly learned it (just couldnt be bothered). I knew the ideas behind it and some concepts.
I actually only started learning java after i had written the exams (one which was about java but thank god didn't require actual working code in the exam ).
This was winter 2010.
So after i no longer had to learn it, i wanted to learn it and started out pretty basic.
Used google alot tried the basic tutorials, i.e. button doing something and so on.
After that got boring i was looking for an app with an actual purpose.
I made a voice recording app, did some bounty requests, wrote a control app for a modification from another xda member and some other stuff, cba to list it all now .
I use the android sdk + eclipse. Currently on windows 7, but that doesn't really matter. I've got a laptop with linux and a virtual machine with it too. It just that i also play video games for which windows is somewhat required and so i'm programming on it too. But it doesn't really matter. Eclipse and android sdk don't really differ on the OSs.
For compiling kernels, you might need linux, but maybe its possible under windows too... (cygwin)... don't really know ;-)
The thing is, you don't need to read 5 books, have 2 degrees in X to start.
Let's take custom ROMs.
No one actually builds those things from scratch.
90% of them are just other ROMs(custom or stock) that have been modified to some extend.
Download a ROM, unpack it, swap some files, change some scripts/configs, maybe recolor some things, add some extra apps, maybe a different kernel.
Repack it and XING you made a custom ROM.. now just flash it and see if it works, if it doesn't... well try again
Trial&Error...
You will get more knowledge about what you can change and what can be done with the time.
There is a custom ROM tutorial thread somewhere on xda, just search for it.
I'm going to write a little bit on my next app now

[Q] Learning coding

I'm looking to learn how to code, mainly because its something that has always interested me but I have never done. I have no experience in it at all. I'm looking for a book that can set me up with the very basics in java (or is it better to start off with a different language?) and hopefully I can move on from there.
If anyone knows of any good books that could help me I would greatly appreciate a link to it.
Thankyou.

http://goo.gl/xB9rK
Why does no one use the search before opening another thread?
Ohnoez
http://www.google.com/cse?q=learn+c...ub-2900107662879704:fs7umqefhnf&ie=ISO-8859-1
Wut?
http://www.google.com/cse?q=learn+d...ub-2900107662879704:fs7umqefhnf&ie=ISO-8859-1
I seriously could not find an answer to your question by using the search function.
http://www.google.com/cse?q=learn+p...ub-2900107662879704:fs7umqefhnf&ie=ISO-8859-1

So even on sophisticated websites like this there are still childish idiots like yourself on them. Yes you're probably right in that I should have searched before creating a new thread, however obviously I didn't think of that.
Maybe next time you should try and show maybe at least an inch of maturity when posting. Oh and for someone who would like me to donate to them and buy/download their apps you're not going the right way about it.
I dont know if that because you joined before me or have more posts than I do, this makes you think you have some superiority over me or new members, but it doesn't and remember with every new member is potentially another donation to you for your work. So if you want to carry on alienating these member towards you then carry on but if you don't then you might want to re-think your mentality towards them, because personally I wont be donating or ever downloading any of you apps.
With that said, thankyou for the links.

SxcKieranGrr said:
So even on sophisticated websites like this there are still childish idiots like yourself on them. Yes you're probably right in that I should have searched before creating a new thread, however obviously I didn't think of that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you are seeing is my lack of understanding for people creating new threads with topics that have been covered a hundredtimes over.
I'm merely calling you out for your obvious mistake of not using the search.
You made the mistake, deal with it.
childish idiots like yourself
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. May i call you lazy idiot?
SxcKieranGrr said:
Maybe next time you should try and show maybe at least an inch of maturity when posting. Oh and for someone who would like me to donate to them and buy/download their apps you're not going the right way about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want anything from you.
You want something from this forum, more exactly from its members.
You want an answer.
You did not pay anything for the knowledge available for free here, neither the time a member puts up to help you out.
What you could do is show some courtesy by using the search function to not waste the time of people who are willing to help out.
I dont know if that because you joined before me or have more posts than I do, this makes you think you have some superiority over me or new members, but it doesn't and remember with every new member is potentially another donation to you for your work. So if you want to carry on alienating these member towards you then carry on but if you don't then you might want to re-think your mentality towards them, because personally I wont be donating or ever downloading any of you apps.
With that said, thankyou for the links.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both my join date and post count are indirectly related to this.
It just means that i have seen too many threads like this, which could have been avoid by a few seconds of search.
What is more astonishing is that i still browse the question and answer forums to help people out.
Yeah maybe some people won't get the answer they wanted to hear, but hey you got your answer.

Im confused now, from looking around it looks like python is the most basic of languages but if i was to start with a dummy book for that, would it actually help me achieve learning java? I dont want to get the wrong book and be completely lost because I havent learnt the complete basics.
It seems like everyone says different things and I cant get a clear answer of where to start.
@Dark3n I'm not going to sit here and argue, you have your view I have mine let's leave it at that. If you would like to help me (which somehow i doubt) that would be great, thanks.

SxcKieranGrr said:
Im confused now, from looking around it looks like python is the most basic of languages but if i was to start with a dummy book for that, would it actually help me achieve learning java? I dont want to get the wrong book and be completely lost because I havent learnt the complete basics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most basic language would be machinecode (ASSEMBLER).
But beleive me that it is really painfull to write and learn.
Python is a nice language to write in, no doubt.
But you should think about what you want to do with your programming skills?
Something Android related?
Then you should look at C for linux kernels and the lower levels of android.
or
Java for Apps and the higher levels of the android os.
If you want to learn java there is no advantage in learning python first, besides that you can program in python and java.

I would like eventually to create an app for android, which is obviously done in java but if i got even the most basic of java books would i still be lost?

Edit: I just remembered there was a thread similar to this one where i already had a lengthy discussion about this topic.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1179816
SxcKieranGrr said:
I would like eventually to create an app for android, which is obviously done in java but if i got even the most basic of java books would i still be lost?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not totally lost, you will learn about variables, if statements, loops, classes etc. those things are all still valid when writing apps. Those somewhat remain valid through most of the programming languages.
But basic java does not cover connecting your java code with the android user interface or making use of any android feature (rotate display, sensors, telefon,gps,etc.).
But seriously you don't need a book. Of course you can get one if you really want to. I would probably search the amazon bestseller list for something on android programming (for dummies) which does not require previous programming knowledge.
You can also just jump into it, google for "android hello world tutorial" or something like that.
But the official hello world tutorial should do.
Should make you able to write your very first app pretty quick. It's only a "Hello World" app, but hey thats where everyone starts out.

Aside from the programming itself, knowledge of Linux and *nix orientated operating systems would be useful. Terminal commands and such will prove invaluable if you take application development to a professional level in the future.
C and Java are obviously what's mainly involved in Android. But if you want something simple to begin with look at HTML and CSS (which are basically just translation matrixs not languages).

DeviateDefiant said:
Aside from the programming itself, knowledge of Linux and *nix orientated operating systems would be useful. Terminal commands and such will prove invaluable if you take application development to a professional level in the future.
C and Java are obviously what's mainly involved in Android. But if you want something simple to begin with look at HTML and CSS (which are basically just translation matrixs not languages).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTML and CSS knowledge would help a bit with the android user interface, but not with the actual code of the apps/programs themself.
I would advise the OP not to start with HTML and CSS if he wants to get into the programming buissness.
Unless you are going to make webpages HTML and CSS takes you pretty far of the track.

HTML and CSS knowledge would help a bit with the android user interface, but not with the actual code of the apps/programs themself.
I would advise the OP not to start with HTML and CSS if he wants to get into the programming buissness.
Unless you are going to make webpages HTML and CSS takes you pretty far of the track.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTML and CSS, are two useful skills to have regardless. As you mention for interfacing, and also for the ability to work with Web Apps in the future. For myself learning Javascript and PHP has certainly helped with getting into Java/C.
Certainly HTML/CSS aren't related to learning Java and C but it's a good entrance point to coding in general. Although you yourself may see it as sidetracking, it can help some not to jump in at the deep end.
I wish the OP the best of luck.

Hey dar3n, I had posted a similar thread as well, minus all the attitude, but I agree it does get posted alot, after talking to u and searching around a bit. Why dont u get someone to make a sticky post in one of the newbie rooms, or the q&a. Start a sticky discussion and I bet half these posts dissapear.lol

Fresh To App Development. Looking For Advice And Opinions

I have just started looking around and researching a bit on what exactly goes into app development and since I am an Android lover, clearly looking to develop Android apps. I am typically pretty good at picking this stuff up, but would like some advice and opinions on where to start. I've looked up some stuff and installed Eclipse along with AndroidSDK because that seemed like a popular choice (sound about right?). I'm not 100% certain on what I'd be developing to begin with, something basic to start would seem logical, and then move on to more advanced projects. Any suggestions? I'm willing to put the work in, but where to start? Some of the how to's I've seen are somewhat dated, even if only a year old I'm looking to start with current firmware. As far as frameworks go, are they typically a better idea to start with or should I build something myself from scratch if I'm really looking to get into this? Also, feel free to redirect me if this would fit in better under a different topic but I think it works here. Any other dev programs I should look into installing? I'm running Windows 8 and think most if not all programs should run correctly on it. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

p
Don't have any programing skill please advice me more on apps and more to use

First you have to learn Java then it will be easier for you to choose what you have to do!
Sent from my V8110 using XDA Premium App

OP, you've got the right attitude so with a bit of effort in digging up answers to the basic questions you'll soon figure out what you need to do. There's no need to learn Java before creating an Android project, learning both concurrently is fine, although you'll be faced with two (kinda vertical) learning curves, but it is most definitely possible.
You've got the right software for a start, but I wouldn't worry about guides being out of date - using APIs from the older SDK versions is fine. It's hard to recommend a path without knowing your goals, but starting out depends on how much coding experience you have, and your goals. For instance, making a Hello World app in an Android activity that prints out text might be a start, then figuring out how to specify the UI (add buttons for interactivity etc), separation of concerns, et al. Or if you're interested in games, start out by drawing rectangles on screen, moving them, creating Pong.
If you're making vanilla Android apps i'd stay away from frameworks initially until you figure out the raw basics - but this probably doesn't apply for games, in which case you probably wanna pick up LibGDX or something and read a ton of blog and StackOverflow posts until you get something on the screen.
Half the trick is figuring out how to Google the right questions - if you're finding decent StackOverflow answers, you're on the right track.

Imnice777 said:
I have just started looking around and researching a bit on what exactly goes into app development and since I am an Android lover, clearly looking to develop Android apps. I am typically pretty good at picking this stuff up, but would like some advice and opinions on where to start. I've looked up some stuff and installed Eclipse along with AndroidSDK because that seemed like a popular choice (sound about right?). I'm not 100% certain on what I'd be developing to begin with, something basic to start would seem logical, and then move on to more advanced projects. Any suggestions? I'm willing to put the work in, but where to start? Some of the how to's I've seen are somewhat dated, even if only a year old I'm looking to start with current firmware. As far as frameworks go, are they typically a better idea to start with or should I build something myself from scratch if I'm really looking to get into this? Also, feel free to redirect me if this would fit in better under a different topic but I think it works here. Any other dev programs I should look into installing? I'm running Windows 8 and think most if not all programs should run correctly on it. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know that you're interested in Android Development.
Since you say that you have No programming experience..I suggest you go like this ...
Start with a simple basic language, like C (to know how programming generally happens)
Move on to an Object Oriented Programming Language,like C++ (to know about the concepts of Objects,Methods etc)
Start with the basics of Java
Head on to https://developer.android.com/ and read about Android App Dev Basics
Download the Android SDK from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html and install it
Choose your favorite IDE, Eclipse or Android Studio
Start with a basic app
And Experiment !!! ANd Enjoy !! :fingers-crossed: :fingers-crossed:
I wish you All The Best !! :good: :good: :laugh:
I hope to see your first app soon ! :fingers-crossed:

I have been using teamtreehouse.com and it has been amazing. Its a paid service but for only $25 a month it has been worth it. It not only shows you from 0 skills to launched app. It also has the business side and other programs. I highly recommend it at least for 1 month so you can get started.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

I recommend you to start learning Java and not learning C/C++. Java is easy-to-learn language and you don't have to know anything about object programming, you can program in Java without that too (but please only for learning).
It won't take long time until you understand methods and so on and you can start with object oriented programing.

Imnice777 said:
I have just started looking around and researching a bit on what exactly goes into app development and since I am an Android lover, clearly looking to develop Android apps. I am typically pretty good at picking this stuff up, but would like some advice and opinions on where to start. I've looked up some stuff and installed Eclipse along with AndroidSDK because that seemed like a popular choice (sound about right?). I'm not 100% certain on what I'd be developing to begin with, something basic to start would seem logical, and then move on to more advanced projects. Any suggestions? I'm willing to put the work in, but where to start? Some of the how to's I've seen are somewhat dated, even if only a year old I'm looking to start with current firmware. As far as frameworks go, are they typically a better idea to start with or should I build something myself from scratch if I'm really looking to get into this? Also, feel free to redirect me if this would fit in better under a different topic but I think it works here. Any other dev programs I should look into installing? I'm running Windows 8 and think most if not all programs should run correctly on it. Any help/advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Participates in following communities as well, from there you can extract some ideas to work on
https://sellanapp.com/
http://www.newappidea.com/

niranjan94 said:
Good to know that you're interested in Android Development.
Since you say that you have No programming experience..I suggest you go like this ...
Start with a simple basic language, like C (to know how programming generally happens)
Move on to an Object Oriented Programming Language,like C++ (to know about the concepts of Objects,Methods etc)
Start with the basics of Java
Head on to https://developer.android.com/ and read about Android App Dev Basics
Download the Android SDK from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html and install it
Choose your favorite IDE, Eclipse or Android Studio
Start with a basic app
And Experiment !!! ANd Enjoy !! :fingers-crossed: :fingers-crossed:
I wish you All The Best !! :good: :good: :laugh:
I hope to see your first app soon ! :fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm I think C might be a bit advanced for this guy to start off with I would say what i say to anyone wanting to get into programming is start off with python then move on to something like C# with .NET and then move to java or go straight from python to java, Java was my first language everything you said was right but i don't think throwing this guy in the deep end is a good way to get him excited about programming.

Failed to load JNI shared library
I've programmed some with Java and recently started app development with Eclipse. I ran into trouble with "git". I thought I'd blown the environment setup, so I removed Eclipse and installed the "bundle" as suggested in a Jan 2014 thread. When I tried to start Eclipse, the subject message popped up, along with "C:\Users\Anne\AndroidDev\adt-bundle-windows-x86_64-20140321\eclipse\jre\bin\client\jvm.dll"
Is this a problem with PATH or ? I'm running Windows 7 - 64bit.
Thanks.