Plz do not comment on this thread.
This thread is just for posting my chapters of C programing in http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=32778306 this thread.
if you wanna comment or ask doubt comment here : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=32756564
Chapter 1
Lets Talk about programs:
So all of us have heard about the words like programming, programs , code , decode, etc etc ..
but we don't know the meaning of it.. so here it goes..
♣What is a program and programming?
-> For computer to work , we need to give some instructions. This instruction is know as CODE. Where in Each line of code instructs the computer to do something. Set of lines of these codes is commonly known as an program. (this was in common words)
As the definition of program says:
->A computer is designed to accept input, process it and generate output. A set of instructions to perform a task is known as a program. Simmilarly, A set of programs together form an Application.
-> Coding The codes above is known as Programming.
Ohk . Cool . Now lets start learning About flowcharts
♣What is FlowChart? Why use it?
->Flow chart is a graphical representation of a program. It is useful when you are working in a team. Lets say you and me are building a project in C language n you want to show me what u are thinking about the program. you would write in C n compile the program and would show me . But i may not understand how the program worked , in other words i may not understand THE FLOW OF THE PROGRAM you made. So for that reason you make a flow chart of your program on a piece of paper, and then i would understand what you made.
AND flowchart is just like a representation of your program, it is nothing to do with programing.. you cannot put the flowchart in some file in pc n compile n run it . its not possible ..
-> Flow charts are help full in developing complex programs . You will realize it as we go further with the tutorial . I bet you will make a flow chart when you are thinking of a program but you wouldnt know how to put that into set of codes. That is when you would need flow charts.
Chapter 2
FlowCharts
Theory
As Flow Chart is a graphical representation of programs, we need symbols which will help us to graphically represent it. so here they are:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Input:
The Input symbol is used when the user has to input something , in other words it denotes that user will input at this point of program.
eg: the program is about multiplying the two numbers, so the program will ask the user to input two numbers to multiply in this box, 2 and 4
Processing:
The Processing symbol is used to show that there will be some processing in the program now.
eg: after the two numbers are accepted, the process of multiplication is shown in this box. 2 * 4
Output:
The result after processing is done, ie after the two numbers are multiplied , the output is given to the user by this symbol.
eg: 2 * 4 = 8
Decision:
Some times , its essential for the program to make decisions, this can be achieved with the use of this symbol
eg: If you want the user to input two numbers two multiply, but both the numbers should be less then 5, here u can check if the user has given input as per that , if yes then the program will execute(do the work) the way u code for yes, if no then you have to code a different set of code or re run the program.
Subroutine:
This is usefull when you have a big program , you can make different flow charts and then add them together.
Flow Lines:
These are the Lines That will decide where your program will go .
Terminator::
It is like a start for each flowchart, and also the end of flowchart. Also known as Entry point of flow chart and Exit point of flochart.
On page connector:
When your program has the decision boxes, and different conditions satisfy in a different way and end up in a place is where you would use On page connector.
Off page connector:
When your program exceeds the page, and you continue it on some other page then we use Off page connector.
Annotation:
It is a type of comments, which you write for other developers if the part/logic of the part of your program is hard.
================================================== ================================================== ================================================== ==================================================
PracticalLets take an example, that a friend of your asks u to make a program on how to make a tea.
n u say ya ok bro, i will make a flow chart n will send it to you.
so here is the flow chart that you would make
So heres the first flow chart .
lets discuss it in detail (remember the red numbers are just so that you know what i am talking about, u need not write it while drawing flowcharts).
1. It is the terminator. It denotes that your program has started
2. It is the annotation, it is just for the reference of the reader. it is as good as an comment.
3. It is an input box, asks the user to input water, sugar , tea leaves and milk
4. It is an processing box, in this box processes takes place, in this case it is boiling the milk.
5. It is an output box, it tells that the tea is prepared.
6. It is an terminator. It denotes that your program has ended.
================================================== ==================================================*
Lets Take another example:
Suppose i ask you to make a flow chart of how do users register them self at Xda-developers.com.
How would u make it?
Something like this:
So , as you can see,
The terminal is starting the program, then the user inputs his details that are neccesary for signing up(in input box). then those details are stored in the xda developers database(in processing box) , and then the output box shows that you are registered sucessfully..
================================================== ==================================================*
So after seeing two flowcharts i guess you got a better understanding of what flowchart is all about..
So the flowcharts start with a start terminal. and ends with stop terminal. And then there are input boxes for taking inputs and processing boxes for processing the input and there is an output box for output.
So far we learned how to use:
1) Terminator
2) Input Box
3) Processing Box
4) Output Box..
Lets Give you guys an Exercise... At the end of this Post i will put it up.
Now before we move on to use the Decision Box i would like to Show you one more simple flow chart (and if you dont understand it , then i guess i am going too fast in my teaching.. lemme know if you dont get it , pm me or mail me )[/I]
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Decision Box
So while in a program sometimes you have to make decisions.
Decisions like if the user input is right or wrong, username is less than 16 character, password is atleast 6 character etc etc.
This is when you use Decision Box in flow chart.
It is used as follows
When the user is signing up in xda-forum . this is the decision box used after the password is accepted.
It checks , "Is the password greater than 6 characters?, if yes then run so and so codes, if no then run so and so codes" The flow line of Yes have different set of codes. The flow line of No have different set of codes.
For eg:
as you can see , in the decision box, if the Username is greater than 16 characters it shows an error and then runs the program again from where the flow line indicates. If the user name is not greadter than 16 characters then it runs the program normally
Exercise::
Draw FlowCharts For the following programs:
1) To Add two numbers.
2) To multiply the numbers
3) Add two numbers which are single digit only and show appropriate error if user inputs a two digit number
(Hint: Use the decision box to check "is number1 < 10" as if the number will be less than 10 then it will be a single digit number , (we exclude the posibility of negative numbers for sake of simplicity , though will teach you to tackle it in the next chapter))4) Add the two numbers and subtract the addition with their product (eg if the user inputs 2 and 3 , then in processing box write (2*3)-(2+3) )
This Fourth one is important , plz do not skip it as we will discuss on it in next chapter.
Do it on a paper or in book.
mail me at [email protected] your scaned copy or a photo of your flowchart if you want to .. i will see each of them
Or Check From The answers Below.
Answers:
1) Answer
2) Answer
3) Answer
4) Answer
Chapter 3
FlowCharts(...Continued)I hope you have done the exercises and have checked the answers and rectified yourself if you were wrong.
Still i would like to discuss the 4th Problem of the Exercise as i Had some purpose for giving that sum.
So when you were doing the flow chart , you would have encountered a problem.
Lets not go to flow chart directly, lets talk on it as if it were a math problem .
Add the two numbers and subtract the addition with their product: (considering the two numbers are 2 and 3)
Code:
Let the two numbers be a and b.
a=2
b=3
a + b = 5
a x b = 6
(a x b) - (a + b) = 1
NOTE:
You know there are variables in maths?? like x = 2 or x= 7 or y = 10 etc etc..
Ever thought why they are called variables??
It is because their values keep on changing in other words "The value of x VARIATE"
Just Keep it in mind, i would ask you to recollect it after done with this 4th Flowchart Problem
Doesnt it seem too long and boring to write(m talking about (a x b) - (a + b) )?
That's where the flowcharts and all the computer programming languages have a plus point . You will realize it in a minute..
See the flow chart:
See the names underlined with red ink. Sum , Product and Answer.
(referring the flowchart with the above mathematical representation)
Here, when a+b is calculated , the answer is stored in "Sum"
ie:
Code:
Sum= a + b
Similarly, when a x b is calculated , the answer is stored in "Product"
ie:
Code:
Product = a x b
When Product(ie a x b) is subtracted to Sum(ie a+b) it is stored in "Answer"
ie:
Code:
Answer = Product - Sum
Recollect the note above, about the variables and read bellow.
What is a Variable?
-> Variable is a vessel that holds a Value . Where as this value is known as constant.
Eg: x , y , z , a , b , c etc etc
What is Constant?
-> Constant is that value that is stored in a Variable.
Eg, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 etc etc
In all the flow chart above,
These were the variables you used:
Number 1
Number 2
Sum
Product
Answer
You can use the Variable Number 1 again and the value of Number 1 in a different flow chart would be different . Hence it is a variable.
But in any flow chart the value of "1" will remain "1" only.. it wont ever be like 1 = 2.
Hope you are getting my point.
This variable is not just for Flow Chart. Learn Any programing , the knowledge of what is variable and constants is necessary , its like the most basic thing .
So to Sum up and give a summary of variables and constants,
A variable is something like a vessel , a vessel that holds the constants. Constants are the values that are stored in vessel which is nothing but a Variable.
We will talk on this later again when we start the c programming.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As in maths , Constants are limited to numbers. For eg , X = 10 , Y = 15 etc etc
But this is not the case with flowchart , In flowchart you can even write a word or a sentence in a variable.
Eg,
Day = " Wednesday"
Month = " October"
Name = " Mihir"
Birthdate = "1st January 0000"
Mobile no = " 123456789"
Pi = "3.148"
Etc etc...
So as you can widely distinguish , variables in FlowCharts are of 2 Types,
1) Character Variable, Eg, Name = "XDA"
2) Numeric Variable(also known as Integer variables , as Integer contains all the numbers ) , Eg, Num = " 12345"
So when you make flow chart you have to Define all the variables you use if they are number? or they are Character?
See the flow chart below to understand how.
As you can see everything is new in this flowchart.
This is the way we represent a program in a better way in flowchart.
Let me explain to you all of its components.
All of which is written in green above, is like a system command sort of a thing.
And all the red color text are variables.
And all of the blue color things are Operators ( mean + , - , x , = etc, we will talk all about operators in next chapter)
System:
START starts the program
NUMERIC defines that the following variables are Integers/numbers and is written always in processing box. (this process is called DECLARATION we will talk about it in a while).
ACCEPT Accepts constants from the user and stores it in the Variable, always written in input box.
DISPLAY Displays the constants stored in the variable.
STOP Stop/terminates the flowchart/program
Meaning of Declaration!
=> When you want to use a variable, lets suppose u want a variable Num1 , Then you first have to tell the computer that:
"Hey bro, i am using a variable named Num1 in my program which is a numeric variable"
which in flowchart is written as :
Code:
[COLOR="SeaGreen"][B]NUMERIC[/B][/COLOR] [B][COLOR="Red"]nNum1[/COLOR][/B]
As you can see that we are talking to the computer and telling that we are using the variable of this name , it is AS good AS a process?
Hence, it is written in a Processing Box.
As you can see i am prefixing all the numeric variables with n , and you might be wondering , what is this crazy guy talking ?
Basically,
All the variables are prefixed to show what type of variable it is when we use them .
meaning, when we use a numeric variable , we prefix it with n, when we use a character variable we prefix it with c
You can name the variable what ever you like , a, b ,c sum , interest , principle,Name, blah blah etc etc.. anything you like cuz when you will write it in flow chart it will be like nSum, nInterest, nPrinciple , cName. So u will know that Sum ,interest & Principle are numeric variables and Name is a Character variable. Hope now you understand whats the use of prefixing n and c in variable name.
Lets talk about the above flow chart step wise now(referring the numbers in the image above):
After the program starts,
1. There is a Process box. As you know it declares (recollect, declaration means to tell computer that you are using this variable) the variable, hence it is in the process box. In this box the Variables are declared as Numeric and hence are prefixed with n .
2. There is a Input box. What do we do in input box? we take input , and hence there is a proper word defined for it . Accept , and we then write all the variables that we want the values of , from the user.
3. There is a processing box, It adds the two numbers and then stores the value in the Variable Sum which is numeric ( nSum) (it will be clear when i teach you operators in next chapter)
4. There is a Output box, its purpose is to DISPLAY , hence we write Display and then we write all the variables in the Output box that we want to display.
and the program terminates..
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Dont give up, let the things sink in. It will take time , you will learn! Trust your self
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I would like to advice you to read this again. As you will get a better understanding of it now. And i have added some things in it so dont skip it.
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Input:
The Input symbol is used when the user has to input something , in other words it denotes that user will input at this point of program.
eg: the program is about multiplying the two numbers, so the program will ask the user to input two numbers to multiply in this box, 2 and 4
When you want to accept the values from user , you write it in an Input Box. lets suppose you want to Add two numbers , for that you need Three Variables, One variable for storing The first number, second variable for storing the second number , third variable for storing the value of the addition of two variables. And lets name these variables now, nNum1,nNum2 and nSum. So how will you write it in input box?
This way
"Accept nNum1 and nNum2"
Processing:
The Processing symbol is used to show that there will be some processing in the program now.
eg: after the two numbers are accepted, the process of multiplication is shown in this box. 2 * 4
Two things that can be in processes :
The first process box is above, it is used to declare variable with its type,
lets consider the same above example , then u wud write it
"Numeric nNum1, nNum2 and nNum3"
And then you need to add those numbers? correct so you would add it in another processing box like this:
"nSum = nNum1 + nNum2 "
Output:
The result after processing is done, ie after the two numbers are multiplied , the output is given to the user by this symbol.
eg: 2 * 4 = 8
The main purpose of Output box is to show the output.
See the pic below
As we want to display , so we write "Display" in this box. Suppose you want to display Sum calculated above, you would do it this way:
"Display nSum".
We can also write what ever we want in double inverted comas.
Eg
Code:
Display "Hie this is Mihir"
You can even append a variable after it, the constant stored in that variable will be displayed,
Lets suppose there is a variable nNum , in which the Mobile number of a user is saved and the number is 123456789, then you can display it this way:
Code:
Display "Your Mobile number is" nNum
This will display , Your Mobile number is 123456789
Decision:
Some times , its essential for the program to make decisions, this can be achieved with the use of this symbol
eg: If you want the user to input two numbers two multiply, but both the numbers should be less then 5, here u can check if the user has given input as per that , if yes then the program will execute(do the work) the way u code for yes, if no then you have to code a different set of code or re run the program.
Here checking statement means to check something. Eg nSum < 10 or nSum > 10 , nNum <100 etc etc (as of now it consists only of Single Check statement , like you can just see if its a variable is less that 100 and similar things . You cant compare it with two things like a variable is greater than 50 but is less than 100. As of now i cant. We first have to understand operators, after done with operators , we will come back here and talk about it.)
If you were to check if the nSum is less than 100 you would write:
"Is nSum<100 ?"
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Plz read the output box again i have added something. This is for the users who have read the post yest. And i have edited it just now.
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A flow chart for registration.
i guess you can now understand this flowchart above , and i need not explain it to you.
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Chapter 4
Operators
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Hope the above image , clears your mind about what is variable and constants.. If you still have any confusion about variables and constants then mail me at helpline mail : [email protected] or PM me..
I devote this chapter to Operators..
Operators: The symbols used to make the computer do an operation is know as an operator .
There are various various types of operators:
1)Arithmetical Operators
2)Conditional Operators
3)Relational Operators
1)Arithmetical Operators :
-> Operators used for doing mathematical operations is know as arithmetical operators. This includes the following :
=
+
-
*
/
%
you may be familiar with all the mathematical expressions above, rather than this, one %.
This is not a percentage , its a modulor division operator. Its name is Modulus.
The division operator yields the Quotient as an answer, where as Modulus yields the Remainder as an Answer.
as you can see above,
when you write an expression as 13/2 it will yield an ans 6 . Therefore, 13/2 is 6 or may be 6.5 (calculation in flowchart is not so precise as it is just to understand the flow of the program and not for calculations)
when you write an expression as 13%2 it will yield an ans 1. Therefore, 13%2 is 1.
====================
2)Conditional Operators
Operators that define conditions are known as conditional operators.
They include these
|
&
This | is "OR" operator. It is used when you want to define any conditions like : a<10|a>15. This means either a is less than 10 OR it is greater than 15 , then its yes . (refering to the decision box, cuz thats the only place where you want to put up conditions right?) Only one of the two conditions must be satisfied , in order to make it a YES
If not even one condition is satisfied then it is a NO , n it will run different set of codes .
Image below will help you understand it.
==============================
The second operator is & "AND" operator. This is used when you want conditions like : a>100&a<200. in this , a should be greater than 100 AND a should also be less than 200 , if both the conditions satisfy then only it is a yes, if either of the condition is not satisfied, then its a no.
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3)Relational operators:
->Operators used for relating two variables are known as Relational Operators
They are as follows:
==
<
>
<=
>=
!=
Note: '=' is used to assign the value, eg , a=4, this means a is equal to 4, where as , a==4 , is a relational operator, it checks , IS a is equal to 4?
The two operators == and != are new to you, i explained the first one above,
the second one != is "not equal to", it is used to check , eg , Is a!=4?,if a is not equal to 4 thn its a yes, if a is equal to 4 then its a no.
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A flow chart to check whether the number input by the user is positive or negative?
Try this on your own , n then see the answer below,
You would notice , there is a circle after the processing box..
It is an on page conector. When more than one flow lines are conected to something , then this is used, (i havent used it in any of the above eg of flowcharts, just to teach you bit by bit.)
This is what i used before:
this is what is to be used :
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This was it Small Chapter 4. On operators..
If you have done this much ,then be proud of your self, cuz u have learned half of the basics of C programming
Next chapter it about Subroutine and off page conector. And then we will commence out voyage in C programming
Chapter 5
Subroutines And Off-Page-Connector
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So as you have seen many flow charts above, u have came to an end of learning the flow chart, are are soon going to learn about C programming.
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So lets talk about Subroutine:
What is Subroutine?
-> It is a symbol used in Flow charts to represent the programs clearly.
You will understand it after you see the flow chart bellow.
Lets suppose you were to make a program to add the numbers (we did it before in Chapter 3) , but using subroutine makes it tidy graphical Representation , and also it is easy to understand while reading it. :
As you can see above , the function of adding the two numbers is separated from the flowchart for better representation , this is known as an Modular Approach of Programming.
(not talking just about FlowCharts , i Am talking of C programming language .)
Modular Approach of programming is , to keep the main code in a file , and then the operating codes in a separate file , as you can see above, the main code is separated from the code that adds the numbers.
It is not of a great help when such a small flowchart, but when u have a full calculator in which you would add , subtract , multiply , divide etc etc , this approach would be the best . :good:
NOTE:at the end of the subroutine , we use a terminator with "RETURN" , and not "STOP"
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Lets take another Example.:
You wanted to make a flowchart of a program , a program that adds and subtracts both .
Then it would be represented this way :
(all the three images is one FlowChart Only)
Each image above is like a different page in a book.
So if your flow chart ever exceeds the page in a book or page in any document, then you use the off page Connector.
Lets first talk about subroutine.
As u can see above, the Subroutines add and subtract are separated from the flowchart , you can write it on any page as long as those pages are kept together .
When the page comes to an end, we use a Off-Page-Connector, and then name it what ever we like, and in a new page we make a new Off-Page-Connector with the same name, as you can see a connector with name "A" is on the both page, so the connector "A" on the first page , conects with the conector "A" on the second page , Same way with the connectors named "B"
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One more eg and we are done With Flowcharts
A flowchart , to show a program .
The program takes the marks of the students who gave an entrance exam for College, Subjects are Math,English and French. If in each subject a student scores atleast 35 marks and the average of the 3 subject is atleast 50 marks , Then a selection letter from the college is sent , if not , then a rejection letter is sent. Also count the number of selection letters and rejection letters sent.
Note:I wont explain this flow chart. If you can understand it on your own then you are good to go further with C programming , if you cant then please read the chapters again and try understanding it again and then proceed with programming.
The only new thing in this is :
nSelect = nSelect + 1
Lets suppose nSelect is a variable with a value 0 in it , then you can say
nSelect = nSelect + 1 which means , nSelect = 0 + 1
And then suppose nSelect is 1 then
nSelect = nSelect + 1 means nSelect = 1+1 which comes to two.
You can use such type of statements in programing .
Remember ,
The Right Hand Side of an equation is calculated and then stored in the variable Left Hand Side,
NSelect + 1 is calculated and the ans is stored in nSelect on the Left Hand Side. It works as an counter.
And yeah!! you are done with flowcharts.. We will start with Programming ASAP ..
C Programming Begins!!!
So today we would have started with C programming ,but according to me and my fellow developer friend with whom i discussed of how to teach it to you and decided that we will teach you some extra things. As we are secondarily studying this for learning Android stuff though not only for android , we will try to teach everything about C but we will also try to teach you some extra things that will be helpful while you start with your android development .
So the main things are :
What is Computer?
What is an Operating System?
Where is C usefull in all this?
What is android?
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What is computer?
-> The definition of computer have changed as it has got many changes in it. Years before when computer wasnt invented , the person who used to do calculations was referred as a Computer as he used compute the Mathematical problems. But as the machine was invented to do the calculation , The machine was then named as "Computer".
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What is a Operating System?
=> Years Ago when computer was first invented,
it had a monitor of small size, one full room of chips and stuff (today it fits into a small box and we call it CPU) the name of the room was Central Processing Unit , (the room was the core of the computer , and as you know a room is also called as a Unit) . That room used to get commands from other room where the input from user was taken , and then processed and sent back to the same room for displaying it on Monitor. Hence it was a processing room too. So the room with chips used to Process things , it was the Core thing and hence it is named as Central Processing Unit(CPU).
(If you are interested in all the things I said above, then you must study Computer Architecture , as study of all these stuff is known as Computer Architecture .)
When this Computer was invented , it was just for the sake of calculation , you can say it was a 2 room huge calculator. And when you start the computer , You just see a black screen , and then you had to write the whole calculator program in a programming language you like (idk what language was used at that time ) and then do the work. The calculator program was very huge and it was very tiring job of writing it everytime you turn on the computer. So then someone invented "something" that stored the things in it. This "something" was named as Memory. As it stored the calculator program, it was kind of a Memory for the Brain(CPU) of the computer, Hence named as Memory. (This memory was very small it wasnt even 1kb ) And then the Calculator Program was written again and then stored to the memory . So everytime you turn on the Computer you dont have to Write the whole calculator program you just have to write some set of codes to go to memory and run that calculator program. Eventually when the need of computers increased from just calculation to many other Office work , like Storing the customer information, making the list of expenses and profits of an company many such applications were made . But still to run any of these application , some set of codes were neccesary and hence it was useless till some extent for normal people. So a new era was started, The era of operating systems. It was like you will have applications for using APPLICATIONS, eg if you want to use calculator in windows operating system, you will go to Start menu and then accesories and then select calculator. This is called GUI, meaning Graphical User Interface. Today we can make a folder by right clicking and selecting "New Folder" this wasnt the scenerio at that point of time , they had some set of commands to create a folder.(even today you can make a folder with this command in Command Prompt "mkdir NewFolder" mkdir meaning make directory , and then "NewFolder" is the name of the folder. If we want to see what folders we have in c drive, we just go to MyComputer and then go to c drive, this wasnt the case at that time, they had to write set of commands to navigate till that directory , and then had another command to List all the files and folders in that place. So everything was based on Commands Given by the User. So an need of Operating System was essential , where in commands were given by user interface(eg right clicking and making a folder is as good as opening command prompt, navigating to the location and then giving commands to make a new folder .) So when all these things are put together and then the need of Commands is decrease for day to day work , this package of software is known as Operating System.
There are different companies making Operating Systems depending upon the hardware capabilities of a Computer. eg, Windows, Linux and Mac(apple).
Note: The Definition of an Operating System is way too big than i explained above, but this is what you should know as of now.
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Where is C usefull in all this?
=> The whole operating System is made in C language. It is a fact that, Windows consists of 13,000 lines of codes where in only 800 lines are not writen in C launguage . Now you can see what is the value of C . (will be writing C rather than C language ) C is widely used in making Operating Systems , Games and Kernels in other electronic Devices.
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What is kernel?
=> A set of codes writen in C language that lets the Software and the Hardware communicate is known as kernel. For eg , if you press the volume Down button (hardware) how does android phone knows that the volume down button was pressed and the he has to lower the volume by a level in the phone?
See the image below:
The Hardware says the kernel that the user wants to lower the volume , the kernel comunicates with Operating System(OS) and tells to lower the volume by one level , and then it displays that the volume is decreased .
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Why C in everything?
=> C is widely used in everything because it is very fast as it is in direct contact with Hardware via kernels. So it is faster than any other programming language. It is not only used in computers. The Food Processor with Timing, the Tv Remote etc everything has C in it.
===================================================
What is Android?
=> Android can be simpt explained by saying "The mobile version of Linux is known as Android"
This was just a chapter for some extra information that would be usefull in your future when you will start doing some work in android or windows, or even when you will try to make some programs in C while you are learning from this tutorial.
Chapter 1 Theory On C prgramming
So basically What is C?
=> C is a programming language developed at AT & T's Bell Laboratories of USA in 1972. It was designed and written by only one person "Dennis Ritchie". In the late seventies C began to replace the other programming languages like PL/I,ALGOL,etc. No one pushed C neither was it 'official' Bell Labs language nor was it advertised by any means. Still C's reputation spread and its pool of users grew. Ritchie seems to have been rather surprised that so many programmers preferred C over the older languages, including FORTRAN. Still it is choosen over the newer languages like PASCAL and APL.
Probbaly , why C seems so popular is because it is reliable, simple and easy to use. Moreover, In an industry where newer languages, tools and technologies emerge and vanish day in and day out, a language that has survived for more than three decades has to be really good.
An opinion that is often heard today is -
"C has already superceded by languages like C++, C# and Java, so why bother to learn C today!!". I seriously beg to differ with this opinion. There are several reasons for this(according to the aurthor of the book "Let Us C"-Yashwant Kanetkar, and i agree with him):
I believer that nobody can learn C++ or Java directly. This is because while learning these languages you have things like Classes , Objects, Inheritance , polymorphism , Templates , etc. and also the elements like loop , if-else, nested if-else, switch,etc. These elements like loop etc should be learned in C , then about objects in C++ and then Exception handling in Java , so it is like a proper flow in the boat of Knowledge. Though this Three-Step learning process may take more time, but at the end of it you will definitely find it worth the trouble.
C++,C# or Java make use of principle called Object Oriented Programming(OOP) to organize the program. This organizing principle has lots of advantages to offer . But eve while using this organizing principle you would still need a good hold over the language elements of C and the basic programming Skill
Though many C++ and Java based tools and frameworks have evoleved over the years the importance of C is still unchanged because knowingly or unknowingly while using these frameworks and tools you would be still required to use the core C language elements -another good reason whu one should learn C before C++ , C# or Java.
Major parts of popular operating system like Windows, UNIX, Linux are still written in C (As we talked on it earlier) This is because even today when it comes to performance (speed of execution Nothing beats c) Moreover, if one is to extend the operating system to work with new devices one needs to write device driver programs. This programs are exclusively written in C (this is what you will do when you will build android kernels after learning C)
Mobile devices like Cellular phones and palmtops have become rage of today. Also, common consumer devices like mirowaveovens , washing machines and digital cameras are getting smarter by the day. This smartness comes from a microprocessor, an operating system and program embedded in this devices. These programs not only have to run fast but also have to work in limited amount of memory. No wonder that such programs are written in C. With these costraints on time and space, C is the language of choice while building such operating system and programs.
You must have seen several professional 3F computer games where the user navigates some object, like say a spaceship and fires bullets at the invaders. The essence of all such games is speed. Needless to say, such games wont become popular if they take a long time to move the spaceship or to fire a bullet . To match the expectations of the player the game has to react fast to the user inputs. This is where C language scores over the other languages. Many popular gaming frameworks have been built using C language
At times one is required to very closely interact with the hardware devices. Since C provides several languages elements that make this interaction feasible without compromising the performance, it is the preferred choice of the programmer.
I hope that these are very convincing reasons why you should adopt C as the first and the very important step in your quest for learning programming languages.
================================================================================
Getting Started with CCommunicating with a computer involces speaking the language the computer understands , which immediately rules out English as the language of communication with computer. However, there is a close analogy between learning English language and learning C language. The best method to learn English is to first learn the alphabets used in the language , then learn to combine these alphabets to form words, which , in turn, are combined to form sentences and sentences are combined to form paragraphs. Learning C is similar and easier . Instead of straight-away learning how to write programs , we must first know what alphabets, number and special symbols are used in C , then how using them,constants, variables and keywords are constructed and finally, how are these combined to form an instruction. It is illustrated below:
=========================================================================
C Character SetA character denotes any alphabet, digit or special symbol used to represent information. The Valid aplphabets, numbers and special symbols allowed in C are :
We would talk about what are variables,constants and keywords and set up the programming environment and also make our first prorgram with its flowchart
CHAPTER 2
I can bet you will relate most of the things with C programming , from flowcharts.
When you run an application , it first reserves the memory required for it to run . Lets suppose you are playing a game on computer, "pinball", this game will first reserve the memory locations in the RAM or storage. And then only THE PINBALL game can access those memory locations. The image below depicts is properly.
as you can see above , memory is made up of cells, each cell has its address (0x111 to 0x142 are the adresses, dont worry about the numbers like 0x111 n stuff i just wrote it to show you , the real memory locations are like 2031576,2031577,2031578,2031579 and so on. We will see it in real when we go further down with the chapters )
Lets say your computer has a memory from 0x000 to 0x999, and then you open the pinball game , the pinball game needs 32memory cells, and it started getting cells from 0x111 and then reserved till 0x142 so that it can run smoothly , and lets suppose you open another app in backgroud , lets say you opened Calculator, and also suppose Calculator needs 50 cells of memory , then it willl start from 0x143 to 0x193.
These cells are nothing but Bytes.
1Gigabyte = 1000Mega Byte
1MegaByte= 1000 Killobyte
1Kilobyte = 1000 byte
This is what we know right? its wrong
1Gigabyte = 1024 Mega Byte
1MegaByte= 1024 Killobyte
1Kilobyte = 1024 byte
What is 1 byte equal to??
1byte = 8bits
NOTE: Google this "1 byte = how many bits"
You will see this at the start , as you can see it works like a converter, just goof around with it have a lil fun n learn mean while.
This was just off topic things, but keep these things in mind while learning C , this is like the general knowledge required for learning C , so now we are starting with Real C programming.
===================================================================================
So now what is variables?
Various Definitions:
Code:
"A variable is the name for a place in the computer's memory where you store some data."
"A variable is a way of referring to a memory location used in a computer program. "
Lets not go into theory again , lets talk about a program in which you want to add two numbers.
First of all you want to accept 2 numbers from users , add them and then store it to another variable?
Lets say you accept two numbers 'x' and 'y' from the user , you cant just write x + y, right? cuz x + y what? you will have to use one more variable 'z' and then store the value sum of 'x' and 'y' in it. ie z=x+y
so now here the three variable 'x' , 'y' and 'z' are variables, agreed?
so these variables WILL be stored in memory?
Each of them will use their own memory cells? or to be precise each one of the variable will use a BYTE from memory?
lets say the three memory locations used are 0x200,0x201,0x202
So you can conclude that the NICKNAMES of the memory location 0x200,0x201,0x202 , are 'x' , 'y' and 'z' respectively.
which in other words means the variable 'x' is reffering to 0x200 , so what ever you store in variable x is gonna be stored in the memory cell with address 0x200 and the same with 'y' and 'z' . so the above definitions are true, If you may read it again , you will understand better . Still you dont know what is DATA in this right? we will talk about it in a while.
What are constants?
The value of a variable is constant.
lets talk about the above program again , the variable x, y and z.
The user inputs the number 2 and 4,
so x = 2 , y = 4 and as these numbers are supposed to add and the answer is stored in z , so z=6.
now the value of x will change from program to program , if i make another program , i can use variable x and it may have a different value.
But the VALUE of value of variable , (2, is the value of x) this will never change, 2 will remain 2 , it wont ever mean 3, like 2=3 or something.
Hence it is a constant. This constant is stored in memory. The image below depicts is clearly.
============================================================================
Lets get in actoin?
So lets download the compiler now.
So the compiler we gonna use is DJGPP, it it like command line GCC (GNU C Compiler) , we will write program in notepad++, and then save it and then open up command prompt and then compile it from there and then we will get an .exe file .(dont worry if you arent getting it, everything will be taught )
Links:
DJGPP
Notepad++
How to download things?
For DJGPP:
select these fields:
The selection of Operating system may change according to your OS. If on Windows 7/vista select windows XP in that os section.
then click on tell me which files to download .
then download each of the zip file .
NOTE : If you are on linux then you have gcc compilers already, google it how to use it.
For notepad++:
go to the link above , then click on download button on left botom panel:
then:
.
===========================================================
Put the downloaded files from DJGPP in a folder named DJGPP.
now open the note pad plus plus exe and install it ..
then copy the DJGPP folder to C drive:
now open notepad++
and then write the name of the files in that DJGPP folder in the notepad++ (write unzip32 and then the file name):
and then save it as DJGPP.bat (dont forget to write .bat in that DJGPP folder..
if you have done the downlaod the way i have said and you have 8 files in the folder then copy this and paste in notepad :
Code:
unzip32 bnu2211b
unzip32 djdev203
unzip32 faq230b
unzip32 gcc472b
unzip32 mak3791b
unzip32 pakk023b
unzip32 rhid15ab
unzip32 txi412b
now go to DJGPP folder and open this DJGPP.bat file.. it will extract things for you..
now go to start menu , right click on my computer then click on properties:
now follow the instructions in the screen shots below(in some screen shots i have show the PATH in note pad, its jst to show you the path in bigger font. you need not write it on notepad):
click on advanced system properties, for windows xp users, you will have a box opened like the image below , click on advanced tab , for vista users IDK i never used Windows vista goof arround with it you will find what to do..
click on environment variables
click on path and then click on EDIT .
Note that in the path , there should be a ':' semicolon , then write c:/djgpp/bin;%PATH% , then click on ok.
now click on new
write these things in the Variable name and variable value , click on ok , then again ok then again ok. and you will be done..
now we have set up our Compiler .
Now lets write our first C program, just to check whether the compiler is running or not.
copy this and paste it in notepad++ ,
Code:
#include<stdio.h>
void main()
{
printf("Hello XDA!!!");
}
now save it with the name hello.c , dont forget to write ".c" at the end.
now open command prompt ,
write
Code:
cd desktop
then write
Code:
gcc hello.c
then write
Code:
a
if you got something like this then you are done.. if you got a error like Gcc is not an internal comand or something.. you messed it up , try the steps above from setting the environment variables.. and still you fail then you mail me at [email protected]
NOTE: Dont worry , we were just checking if its working or no , m gona teach you to use command prompt soon trust me , the boring part is over now. Its all the fun now :good:
Chapter 5 - Part II
Integer and float conversions
In last tutorial you learnt about the operators used in C programming. Now we will see about how to use them effectively, i am making this tutorial by writing it because it has some tables which will take time for you to understand, and for that its better to write it than to show it in video.
So in order to effectively develop C programs, it will be necessary to understand the rules that are used for the implicit conversion of floating point(means a float variable) and integer values in C. These are mentioned below : (read them carefully , remember float variable, floating point and real variable , all mean one and the same thing)
An arithmetic operation between an integer and integer will always yield an integer result.
Eg. 2*2=4
An operation between real and real will always yield a real result.
Eg, 2.000000 * 2.000000 = 4.000000
Point to remember: : Float variable has 6 digits after the decimal , so if you write ,
Code:
#include<stdio.h>
main()
{
float a;
a=10;
print("%f",a);
}
then it will print 10.000000 as float value has 6 digits of precision..
An operation between an integer and real will always yield a real result.
eg, 6/2.0 = 3.000000 , you see that 6 is integer , 2.0 is real and they are divided, the 6 gets promoted to real value (6.000000) and then 6.000000 is divided with 2.000000 and the answer is 3.000000
Lets list all the operators we know so far:
+ (Addition operator)
- (Subtracting operator)
* (Multiplying operator)
/ (Dividing operator)
% (Modulus)
= (Assignment operator)
== (Equality operator)
Lets suppose you were to write a expresion like this:
Code:
x=2*3+4;
Now there are two possibilities in this ,
The compiler can first multiply:
Code:
2*3
and then add 4 to it.
OR
The compiler can first add:
Code:
3+4
and then multiply it by 2.
These two possibilities can create confusions while making programs, hence to solve these, C has something known as "Operators Precedence".
See the Image Below :
As you can see, that the */% have more precedence then the + -, hence , When there is a expression like:
Code:
x=2*3+4;
First multiplication is carried out , and then it is added. and then it is assigned(the assignment operator has last precedence) to the variable in left.
NOTE: The =! is NOT EQUAL to operator and is used when you compare it. will be explained in following chapters with examples.
===========================================================================================================
In addition to these operators, there are more operators, which we will see as we need them further, and will be explained as we encounter them.,
Chapter 6 (DECISION!! DECISION!! DECISION!!)
Chapter 6
If you have a calculator which will just ADD the two numbers, then calculator will be pretty useless , wont it?
Hence,There is something in the calculator that decides whether to add or subtract or multiply the two or more numbers provided by the users. This is when we need decision control.
The C language too must be able to perform different sets of actions depending on the circumstances. Actually, this is what makes C popular and very widely usable.
C has three decision making instruction(Reminder:a line of code is instruction)
If Statement
If-Else Statement
Switch
The if StatementLike most languages, C uses the keyword(if you forgot what is keywords check out the FAQ) if to implement the decision control instruction. The syntax(look FAQ) of if statement looks like this:
Code:
if(condition)
{
[B][I]code[/I][/B];
}
where the CODE is the instructions that you want to run.
And if the CONDITION is true then the CODE is executed.
The keyword if tells the compiler that what follows the keyword if in the ( ) "parenthesis" is the condition. If this condition is true then the CODE in the pair of { } "braces" is executed. if the condition is not true then the statement is not executed, in fact the program skips it.
How to evaluate if the condition is true or false?
With the help of relational operators.(will be taught in the second part of chapter 5, when it will be updated for now just remember that the operators used for relating is known as relational operators Eg. == , !=, < , > , <= , >=.
== is to compare the right hand side with the left hand side and != means not equal and others are simple. Will be taught in detail in Chapter 5 part 2 i will link you as soon as that chapter is done by my friend.)
Lets try a program now:
Code:
//This is a coment
//A program for demonstration of [B][I]if[/I][/B]
#include<stdio.h>
main()
{
int number;
printf("Please enter a number with less than 100\n");
scanf("%d",&number);
if(number<100)
{
printf("What a good student you are!!");
}
}
NOTE:
Never put semi colon after if statement Like this
Code:
if(a<10);
printf("A is less than 10!");
As the program will think that you terminated the if statement after checking the condition , it will think of it this way
Code:
if(a<10)
{
}
printf("A is less than 10!!");
So no matter what the value of a is , it will always print A is less than 10.
A flowchart for the above program to make things clear:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another Eg:
If your bill is above 10$ in McDonald's then you get 5% discount, if not then no discount.
(try making a flowchart your self , and then see the C program below)
Code:
#include<stdio.h>
main()
{
float billamount;
[COLOR="Green"]/*float data type because bill can be in decimal. eg 10.40$*/[/COLOR]
int discount;
[COLOR="Green"]/*discount will remain 10% only*/[/COLOR]
float totalamount;
[COLOR="Green"]/*the amount after deducting the discount from the bill we will store the value in the "totalamount" variable*/[/COLOR]
printf("Enter your bill amount in Dollars\n");
scanf("%f",&billamount);
if(billamount>=10)
{
discount=5; //If billamount will be more than or equal to 10$ then we will give discount of 5%
}
totalamount=[COLOR="RoyalBlue"]billamount[/COLOR]-[COLOR="Red"]billamount*discount/100[/COLOR];
[COLOR="Green"]/*here [COLOR="red"]billamount*discount/100[/COLOR] is to calculate the percentage and then subtract it with the real [COLOR="RoyalBlue"]billamount[/COLOR]*/[/COLOR]
printf("The total amount is : %f",totalamount);
}
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The If Else Statement
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The if -Else statement is the real thing, the if statement was derived from it. Will explain you how and why at the end of the If-Else discussion .
The Syntax(syntax means general form )of the IF-ELSE statement is.
Code:
if(CONDITION)
{
CODE If true;
}
else
{
CODE if the CONDITION is false;
}
Lets go through it Step by step:
The CONDITION is evaluated
The CODE IF TRUE will run if the CONDITION is TRUE
if the condition is false then the CODE IF THE CONDITION IS FALSE will run.
Lets see a example
Code:
/*A program to add or subtract the numbers*/
#include<stdio.h>
main()
{
int a,b,c; /*a and b for accepting number for user and c for storing the addition or subtraction*/
char op;
printf("Hello, Please enter your operation (Addition or Subtraction only)?\n");
scanf("%d%c%d",&a,&op,&b);
if(op=='+')
{
c=a+b;
}
else
{
c=a-b;
}
printf("The answer is : %d",c);
}
Some examples tested in the program.
Found it complicated? The lets simplify:
scanf("%d%c%d",&a,&op,&b);
The %d will accept the first integer and save it in a
The %c will accept the Operator(+ or - ) and save it in op
The %d will accept the second integer and save it in b
Then the If will check if the op=='+', if it is + then it will add and store the answer in the variable c. It will skip the ELSE .
If op is not + then it will skip the if and the codes in the Else will run, meaning it will skip the codes in the if and then subtract the two integers and then store the value in variable c.
After this the printf functions prints the variable c, which is the answer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revising Stuffs
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me brush up your basics again:
%d is for integers
%c is for characters
%f is for floats
Defining: To tell the computer you want a variable of int/float/char type is called as defining a variable.
Eg.
char a;
int b;
float c;
Initializing: To give a value to a variable is known as initializing a variable.
Eg.
char a;
a='Z';
int b;
b=2;
float c;
c=3.000000; (decimal is not neccesary while initializing, but when you will print a float variable , you will see the decimals)
CAN ALSO BE INITIALIZED THIS WAY:
char a='Z';
int b=2;
float c=3.000000;
Note: To initialize a char type of variable, you use ' ' single inverted commas, Eg. char a = 'Z';. This is what we have used in the if condition in the above example , if(op=='+');
When we write only the variable name like, (supposing int x = 10
printf("%d",x);
We will get 10 as output , that is the value of the varaible.
But when we write a variable name with ampersand(&), (supposing int x is located at 25834 on the memory)
printf("%d",&x);
We will get 25834 as output, as the &(ampersand) is a operator that tells the program to related the variable's address rather than its value.
Now you know why we write
scanf("%d",&a);
Rather than:
scanf("%d",a);
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Switch
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When we have to make only two decisions depending upon only TWO possibilities then we use If-Else.
Eg,
If the numbers are even then add them and if not , then subtract them
If the user is male then he have to pay 25.5% as tax from his income and if not male then 25.0% tax from her income
If a number less than 10 then multiply it by 100, if it is not less than 10 then divide it by 100, Etc.
But what if you want to make various decisions depending on various possibilities
Eg,
If the number is less than 10, then add 10. If the number is greater than 20 then subtract 10, if the number is 0 then add 20.
If the character entered by user is 'a' then print A, if 'b' then B,if 'c' then C, if'd' then D, if 'e' then E , Etc.
This is when you use switch case.
The Syntax of switch case is as follows:
Code:
[COLOR="DarkGreen"]Switch[/COLOR](CASE NUMBER)
[COLOR="DarkGreen"]Case [/COLOR]NUMBER 1:
{
CODES HERE;
}
[COLOR="DarkGreen"]Case [/COLOR]NUMBER 2:
{
CODES HERE;
}
[COLOR="DarkGreen"]Case [/COLOR]NUMBER 3:
{
CODES HERE;
}
[COLOR="DarkGreen"]Case [/COLOR]NUMBER 4:
{
CODES HERE;
}
Default:
{
CODES HERE;
}
Post Under Construction
Related
With the help of the peeps here, i got my little program working on the WinMo (touch screen) platform. Now im working on converting it into the Smartphone (non-touchscreen) platform. Seems with each medium im go, its more and more restrictive :|
anyway. I have a combobox on the screen. I has a few numbered values used to generate a random number. On the windows and winmo verson, i can just select the number from the drop down combobox, and it will generate a random number based on the selected item..
However in the Smartphone version, despite having the combobox and dispite selecting a number from it, when i hit the generate button (ie the enter button) it brings up a window with all the values in the combo box, asking me to select one from it. One when i pick one and hit "Done" does it process.
How can i get it to pull from the combobox list and Not bring up the extra screen?
Also, When the program first starts, despite me defining a default index, there is no number displayed in the combobox when it first starts up. And ideas on how to fix this?
Thanks in advance.
Good fun isn't it?
When you move from PPC to Smartphone some of the .NET objects dissappear and others behave completely differently.
OK lets do these one at a time. The Enter/Action key causes the ComboBox to display its list of contents, as a new window. It is coded into the object itself. To bypass it, you have to trick it into thinking it has already been dealt with. On the KeyDown event of the ComboBox add
Code:
private void comboBox1_KeyDown(object sender, KeyEventArgs e)
{
if (e.KeyCode == System.Windows.Forms.Keys.Enter)
{
e.Handled = true;
}
}
Voila!
The enter key is ignored and nothing happens. Add any processing code here to deal with the selected item if required, as the control itself will never see that the 'Enter' key has been pressed.
To get the box to display its value when your application starts, use :
Code:
private void Form1_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
comboBox1.SelectedIndex = 0;
}
It doesn't actually change anything as it zero to start with, but it will trigger the ComboBox to redraw itself as it thinks it has changed.
Good luck.
The "comboBox1.SelectedIndex = 0;" ive tried already, didn't seem to help. Ill try the other when i get a moment..
I should also mention ( thought i did before, sorry) that im working with VB (for school) tho converting that code to vb shouldn't be too hard
OK I'll code it up in VB and post it. But it will have to wait until I can get to a suitable machine on which to do it. Monday onwards....... Watch this space.
Here it is. VS 2005. (2008 will update it). Both problems mentioned in the original post are corrected. All the extra lines of code added by VS for the KeyDown event have been removed.
Hi,
I'm now developing an Rubik cube timer, and there is an problem, and that is how to compare two times, becouse I'm looking for top time, so if second time is better than first time, program display second time. Problem is that time is saved as String, becouse in silverlight code:
Code:
<TextBlock FontFamily="Verdana" FontSize="30" FontStretch="Normal" Height="37" Margin="262,192,146,0" Name="bestMin" Text="00" VerticalAlignment="Top" Foreground="Wheat" />
is bestMin saved as String and it has value 00, and i dont know how to compare two Strings.
I know that this question must be under developing forum, but i cant post in developers forum becouse im new.
P.S. Sorry, but my english is bad
If you're storing the time as a numeric field (rather than as a datetime string) you can simply parse the integer back out of the string (I believe the int.TryParse() function is what you want here) and then compare that to the other integer that you already have.
Does this answer your question? It *is* also possible to compare Strings directly, but I don't recommend doing so here - you get weird behavior like "1000000" < "9"
Thanks that was very helpfull, now i need to find out average of 10 times, how can i do that.
To the first question:
.Net features a timespan class - use it for all calculations! That's what it's for. How do you store the time? Take a look at the IsolatedStorageSettings to save a setting - just pass the timespan and you'll get it right as timespan back - without the need to convert anything...
Second question:
You can simply sum up all timespans and divide them by the number of timespans or simply use the average function...
e.g.
Code:
List<TimeSpan> spans = new List<TimeSpan>();
TimeSpan average = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(spans.Average(ts => ts.TotalSeconds));
Visibility change
How to change visibility of an object (textblock, listbox, ...) in c#
Code:
myControl.Visibility = System.Windows.Visibility.Collapsed;
P.S. I believe you should read C#/SL book or google first for that kind of very basic questions instead of asking xda gurus
sensboston said:
P.S. I believe you should read C#/SL book or google first for that kind of very basic questions instead of asking xda gurus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would be like asking to God for a BigMac. However check online for a C# book.
I recommend C# 4.0 by O'Reilly.
I use my7rom on my Omnia 7.
Is there anyway to link a contacts adress to Nokia Drive instead of Maps (stock wp7 app). It would be much more practical if Nokia Drive opened a navigation session instead.
Anyone up for the challenge? A reg-tweak perhaps?
// Manneman
Skickat från Windows Phone 7.8
There's two parts here. The first is identifying the correct "filetype" or URI scheme that is used for navigation. That shouldn't be too hard; a little digging in HKCU should reveal it. We already know about ones like callto: and http: and I'm actually (slowly) working on an app to allow people to easily change them. The second part is finding the correct command to load that address or route in the Nokia Maps app. If the app supports pinning routes or destinations to Start, this is probably possible. If not, it may not be possible in the app. Most apps aren't designed to accept command-line parameters, so even if you make them the default handler for a given filetype or URI scheme, they ignore the value you send them and just start as though launched from Start.
GoodDayToDie said:
If the app supports pinning routes or destinations to Start, this is probably possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nokia Drive supports pinning to start so it should be possible. Unfortunately I can't tell you exact command line parameters 'cause my Lumia 900 still "in jail"
Let me see if I have a copy of the Nokia Drive XAP handy. I'll need to decompile it to figure out the correct parameters for launching it with the intent of navigating to a specific location. Note also that this might not be possible directly - for example, the app might store a list of locations internally, and the tiles only provide an index into that list rather than providing the location directly - but that just requires another layer of indirection.
In that case, you create an app that gets registered as the navigation handler, and in response to a navigation request, it writes the requested location into the Nokia Drive app and then chain-launches Nokia Drive with the index of the newly written location. That's just an example of one way that this might go wrong, but overall, the odds are actually pretty good. Obviously, all of this will require, at a minimum, write access to the HKCR hive in the registry.
Ah, guys! You are so kind helping me out. I´m really certain alot of members in the WP7 section would love for this to work!
// Manneman
GoodDayToDie said:
I'll need to decompile it to figure out the correct parameters for launching it with the intent of navigating to a specific location
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GoodDayToDie, you may try much simpler solution. Just create assembly (dll) to show startup parameters in message box, and replace main Nokia Drive dll (but pin some location first).
That's actually harder than it sounds; even if the app is sideloaded (which would mean I already have the DLL) my fake would have to mimic the internal structure of the real app to a degree (namespaces, class names, default actions, etc.). That's not hard, but decompiling .NET is pretty trivial too.
AFAIR, Nokia Drive is obfuscated (but I'm not 100% sure). Also, you don't need to duplicate all names and structures; just a stuff mentioned in WMAppManifest (I hope so). BTW, I forgot: I still have unlocked handset; if I'll found time, will try today later.
Update: tried but without of luck What I did:
- installed Nokia Drive first;
- downloaded map and pinned current location;
- created fake app with same app guid and namespace name ("Drive"), and performed app update (that operation completely override whole solution but NokiaDrive tile still pinned to the start screen);
- tried a few different page names (_default.xaml, QuickStartPage.xaml, DestinationPickerPage.xaml, FavoritesPage.xaml) with code
Code:
protected override void OnNavigatedTo(System.Windows.Navigation.NavigationEventArgs e)
{
MessageBox.Show("Hello from fake dll");
if (e.NavigationMode == System.Windows.Navigation.NavigationMode.New)
{
string[] keys = NavigationContext.QueryString.Keys.ToArray();
string[] values = NavigationContext.QueryString.Values.ToArray();
string param = "";
for (int i = 0; i < keys.Length; i++)
{
param += keys[i] + " -> " + values[i] + "\n";
}
MessageBox.Show("parameters: " + param);
}
}
But result always the same: app doesn't start from the pinned tile
Update 2: Finally, I did it
The trick is:
- do the same as I've described above (you should have pinned tile from ND);
- add following code to the start page:
Code:
public MainPage()
{
InitializeComponent();
var appTile = ShellTile.ActiveTiles.Last();
if (appTile != null)
{
//MessageBox.Show(appTile.NavigationUri.OriginalString);
EmailComposeTask emailTask = new EmailComposeTask();
emailTask.Subject = "NokiaDrive pinned parameters";
emailTask.Body = appTile.NavigationUri.OriginalString;
try
{
emailTask.Show();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Error", MessageBoxButton.OK);
}
}
}
- run app as usual (not from tile);
We allset - all params are sent to our email (I'm too lazy to manually copy all stuff )
Here we are (start parameters; bold values are changed for privacy reason ):
/_default?destination.name=200 SomeName Street&destination.latitude=49.5255378801376&destination.longitude=-72.4296837244183&destination.address.street=SomeName Street&destination.address.houseno=200&destination.address.district=&destination.address.county=&destination.address.city=SomeCity&destination.address.state=&destination.address.country=USA&destination.address.postcode=05720&destination.hashCode=371767793destination.address.statecode=MA&pinnedFrom=Favorites
P.S. Just found: Navigon also has ability to pin address to the start tile So, if you find the way to modify map protocol (or how it calls), it will be a really nice hack! BTW, could you remind me: do we have ability to launch assembly by GUID (on the full-/policy-unlocked phones)? If "yes", it's possible to write a real nice "proxy" app to handle map requests
I don't know about launching assemblies directly, but it's certainly possible to launch apps by GUID. It doesn't even require anything more than dev-unlock in fact (although of course you can only launch apps that you could launch anyhow). So yes, a proxy app is totally possible. That's actually what I'm working on (started as a project to make a Kindle ebook file loader, that would pur .mobi/.prc file in the Kindle app's folder and then launch the app).
GoodDayToDie, could you please, take a look to the registry, for default map protocol handler and figure out how to change that stuff? I'm pretty busy these days (and probably will be extremely busy couple of next months) but we can cooperate and create this app...
I'll investigate, but you're not the only one busy. If you've noticed a lack of software from me recently, it's due to the nex job I got some months back; I love it, but it leaves me with a lot less time for phone hacking if I want to still have a life outside of that.
With that said, this actually ties into the work I'm already doing with things like filetype handling and default browser switching. I can send you my HKCRlib, at a minimum; it's a library that simplifies interacting with HKCR, including creating backups of important values when they change, and reverting the backups.
GoodDayToDie, truly, I'm not much interested (personally) in that hack 'cause I can't use it for my Lumia 900. So it's only for the community needs but because of lack of time, I believe, we may put it on hold.
Hello guys,
I know there are multiple guides like this one on the forums, but I guessed: Why should one just have tutorials in Batch and C#? I can program in VB, why not share it?
First: This guide will contain some code out of my own program (Universal Android Toolkit) but only the free stuff
So, I guess I'll start off.
Prerequisites:What will you need?
Microsoft Visual Studio (2008, 2010 or 2012) for Windows Desktop. I'll provide links.
A computer with at least 1GB RAM, a P4 @ 2.8GHz, 128MB Graphics chip/card, some basic knowledge of ADB commands (You'll learn them here, I guess...)
A cup of coffee or whatever your favorite warm beverage is.
Oh, and some decent music would be good.
Setting things up:As I've already done this a while back, I cannot provide screenshots, but I'll do my best to explain things.
First, download Visual Studio 2012 for Windows Desktop and open the installer.
It should look somewhat like this, just with a big 'START' button at the bottom.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Once you have installed that, it is advisory, that you download the .Net framework 3.5, 4.0 and 4.5
.Net 3.5 (Includes 2.0, 3.0 and 3.5 SP1
.Net 4.0
.Net 4.5
Once you have installed those, you should bookmark this page and restart your computer.
Then, move to the next step.
Creating a New Project:Open up Visual Studio. You will be welcomed by a screen, which looks somewhat like this:
Click on 'New Project...'
You will then see this type of screen:
Select 'Windows Forms Application' and give it a name. You may name it whatever you want. You can also change the location it should be stored in. I'll change the name to Android One-Click Tutorial and I'll leave the default location as it is.
Once you have done that, hit OK and wait for the project to load up.
One-Click, Here we Come!:
Once the project has loaded, you will see a screen like this (Depending on which version of VS you are using..)
You may name the form however you want. I'll name it the same as the project.
Once you have given it a name, you'll want to resize the form to the desired size and give it an icon.
Please excuse the weird highlights, I'm using my old laptop, because my computer broke and my mouse died with it.
Then debug the program, to make sure it is how you want it to be.
If it's OK for you, then let's get to downloading all the ADB-Stuff.
Download the ADT bundle from here and then download the platform-tools.
You might want another cup of coffee for this. Sadly, I can't drink anything warm or with caffeine, because I had an operation to my mouth yesterday (Friday the 07th of June 2013) so feel free to drink one on me
Once it is done downloading, extract the archive to your computer. I'll just put it in my Documents folder.
Once everything is extracted, move to the sdk\platform-tools folder. Make sure that the files 'adb.exe', 'AdbWinApi.dll', 'AdbWinUsbApi.dll' and 'fastboot.exe' are present. If they are, go back to Visual Studio and go to the properties of the project (Project ->> <Project Name> properties) and move to 'Resources'. Change the resource type from Strings to Files.
Then, add the four files from above to the resources.
Once all that is done, we can start coding.
So go ahead and double-click on the form, so that the code file shows up.
It'll look like this:
Type in the following over Public Class Form1:
Code:
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult
Now, as this program is supposedly going to be used by others, probably people without knowledge of coding, and therefore people without ADB, etc., we want the program to look for our files and copy them if necessary.
We want to do this right at the beginning of the program, so we'll do it the Form1 Load Event.
Type the following code:
Code:
If Not Directory.Exists("ADB") Then
Directory.CreateDirectory("ADB")
Else
If Not File.Exists("ADB\adb.exe") Then
File.WriteAllBytes("ADB\adb.exe", My.Resources.adb)
End If
If Not File.Exists("ADB\AdbWinApi.dll") Then
File.WriteAllBytes("ADB\AdbWinApi.dll", My.Resources.AdbWinApi)
End If
If Not File.Exists("ADB\AdbWinUsbApi.dll") Then
File.WriteAllBytes("ADB\AdbWinUsbApi.dll", My.Resources.AdbWinUsbApi)
End If
If Not File.Exists("ADB\fastboot.exe") Then
File.WriteAllBytes("ADB\fastboot.exe", My.Resources.fastboot)
End If
End If
The code folder should now look something like this:
Ok. So now debug the program and check in the project's \bin folder for a folder named ADB and check if all the files were created accordingly.
If your folder looks like mine: You've done a great job! So you can already give yourself a pat on the back!
Now, to move on to the next step:
Adding Buttons and Commands:
Move back to the designer and add a few buttons like I've done. The buttons I've created will:
Back up the device
Restore the device
Install an app
Push a file
Now, we want to create four more forms. One for the backup, one for the restore, one for the install app and one for pushing a file.
Hit CTRL+SHIFT+A to add new items.
You can name the forms however you want.
I created some with pretty self-explaining names:
Now, double-click on each button in Form1 to create a new code block in the code file.
Once you have done that, copy the following codes into each code block.
Button1_Click
Code:
Backup.Show()
Me.Hide()
Button2_Click
Code:
Restore.Show()
Me.Hide()
Button3_Click
Code:
Install.Show()
Me.Hide()
Button4_Click
Code:
Push.Show()
Me.Hide()
Now open up the Backup form. We'll start here. You can close the Form1-files.
Start designing the form as you wish. Here's how I've done it:
If you're using the same design as me, you might want to use the same code.
NOTE: I rarely use the .Net components in the Toolbox. Only for static operations. For things like dialog boxes, I use pure code.
This is working code. I have debugged and tested!
Code:
Imports System.IO
Public Class Backup
Private Sub Backup_Load(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.Load
TextBox2.Text = "Backup_From_" & Date.Now.ToShortTimeString
If Not Directory.Exists(TextBox1.Text) Then
Directory.CreateDirectory(TextBox1.Text)
End If
End Sub
Private Sub Backup_FormClosing(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.FormClosing
Form1.Show()
End Sub
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim FolderBrowse As New FolderBrowserDialog
FolderBrowse.Description = "Select the destination of where you wish your backup to be saved to." _
& "Note: Please do not choose locations with spaces in the directories. These may cause errors!"
FolderBrowse.ShowNewFolderButton = True
Dim DialogRes As DialogResult = FolderBrowse.ShowDialog
If DialogRes = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
TextBox1.Text = FolderBrowse.SelectedPath
End If
End Sub
Private Sub Button2_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
Shell("""ADB\adb.exe"" backup -f" & TextBox1.Text & "\" & TextBox2.Text & "-apk -system -full -all", AppWinStyle.NormalFocus, True, 30000)
End Sub
End Class
Once you have that done, move to the next form. This, in my case, is Restore.
To keep the thread clear, I'll carry on in post #2.
Ok, now let's get on with Restore.
Open up the file, and again, design it as you want.
If you're using the same design as me, it is advisory, that you use the same code.
Here is the code I used:
Code:
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim OpenFile As New OpenFileDialog
OpenFile.InitialDirectory = My.Computer.FileSystem.SpecialDirectories.Desktop
OpenFile.Multiselect = False
OpenFile.Filter = "AB (Android Backups)|*.ab"
OpenFile.SupportMultiDottedExtensions = False
OpenFile.Title = "Select the Android Backup (*.ab) file to restore your device from..."
Dim DialogRes As DialogResult = OpenFile.ShowDialog()
If DialogRes = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
TextBox1.Text = OpenFile.FileName
End If
End Sub
Private Sub Button2_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button2.Click
Shell("""ADB\adb.exe"" restore " & TextBox1.Text, AppWinStyle.NormalFocus, True, 30000)
End Sub
Private Sub Restore_FormClosing(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.FormClosing
Form1.Show()
End Sub
And now we're ready to move to the third form. As usual; if you're using the same design as me, you'll want to use the same code as me.
I'd like to note: I'll explain all the code in post #3.
The third form (Install an App) will be a bit different than the others. Here, we'll give the user the opportunity to select an entire folder which contains .apk files and then with a mouse-click, the app will install the desired APK.
Note the ListBox, That is where all the APKs will be listed. (Hence the name 'ListBox'.)
I have pulled some APKs from my phone and have put them in a folder (C:\APKs). We will use this folder to list all the available APKs in the listbox.
But before we do that, here is the code for the form. Again, nothing is imported here.
Code:
Private Sub Install_FormClosing(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.FormClosing
Form1.Show()
End Sub
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim FolderBrowse As New FolderBrowserDialog
FolderBrowse.Description = "Select the folder containing your APK files."
FolderBrowse.RootFolder = Environment.SpecialFolder.DesktopDirectory
FolderBrowse.ShowNewFolderButton = False
Dim DialogRes As DialogResult = FolderBrowse.ShowDialog()
If DialogRes = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
For Each Item As String In My.Computer.FileSystem.GetFiles(FolderBrowse.SelectedPath)
ListBox1.Items.Add(Item)
Next
End If
End Sub
Private Sub ListBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles ListBox1.SelectedIndexChanged
Shell("""ADB\adb.exe"" install " & ListBox1.SelectedItem.ToString, AppWinStyle.NormalFocus, True, 30000)
End Sub
And here are some pictures of the code in action:
FolderBrowserDialog (FolderBrowse):
The list of apps (ListBox):
Ok. We're almost done with our One-Click utility!
We've only got one more form and we'll do that in a dash! Then I'll get to explaining what everything means. Though most of it is pretty much self-explanatory, I'd rather go over it.
Move on to the last form, and the same rules apply.
This form will be using the same method as the Install form - Using a ListBox to display files.
Here is the code:
Code:
Private Sub Push_FormClosing(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles MyBase.FormClosing
Form1.Show()
End Sub
Private Sub Button1_Click(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles Button1.Click
Dim FolderBrowse As New FolderBrowserDialog
FolderBrowse.Description = "Select the folder containing the file/s you want to push to the device..."
FolderBrowse.ShowNewFolderButton = False
FolderBrowse.RootFolder = Environment.SpecialFolder.DesktopDirectory
Dim DialogRes As DialogResult = FolderBrowse.ShowDialog()
If DialogRes = Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK Then
For Each Item As String In My.Computer.FileSystem.GetFiles(FolderBrowse.SelectedPath)
ListBox1.Items.Add(Item)
Next
End If
End Sub
Private Sub ListBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(sender As Object, e As EventArgs) Handles ListBox1.SelectedIndexChanged
Shell("""ADB\adb.exe"" push " & ListBox1.SelectedItem & " " & TextBox1.Text, AppWinStyle.NormalFocus, True, 30000)
End Sub
Cool! We've got our first One-Click-Utility done in Visual Basic.Net! This is pretty awesome, don't you think? I may have to re-do this thread, but for the moment it'll do, I guess.
Move down to the third post, to read all about what what piece of code does.
What Does What Piece of Code Mean and do?
In this post, I'll go over what which piece of code does. The practical thing about Visual Basic, is that it uses a lot of words used in the English language. That means: If you can speak English fluently, you can code in Visual Basic quite decently.
But nevertheless, I'll go over each bit, and that bit by bit. Of course, if you have questions, I'm happy to answer.
What does 'Imports' Mean and do?
Imports
In Visual Basic, as in pretty much every other programming language, has references it uses to communicate to the OS (Operating System).
But, although referenced data is there, it is not entirely available to each form. So you must import that data to the form, where it is needed.
You can imagine 'Import' as if you were importing freight from another country - With the only difference, that you're importing data.
If you're familiar with C++, #includes <stdio.h> is the same as if you were using Imports System.IO in Visual Basic.
If, Else, ElseIf and End If
What will be explained here, is the If-Statement. Every programming and scripting language has an If-Statement - Even if it is used with a different name.
Basically, what an If-Statement does, is check whether specific criteria is met by a clause you typed.
For example:
Code:
If File.Exists("C:\HelloWorld.vb") Then
MessageBox.Show("The file exists!")
Else
MessageBox.Show("The file doesn't exist!")
End If
This piece of code checks if a specific file exists.
If it exists, it will throw a message box saying that the file exists. Else, it will throw a message box saying it doesn't exist. Make sense?
But then we have ElseIf.
Using ElseIf can make the code more precise.
For example: Imagine you have a form with a text box, and you want to determine whether that text box contains, say http:// or ftp://, you'd type something like this:
Code:
Dim Text As String = TextBox1.Text (We'll get to Dim in a moment)
If Text.Contains("http://") Then
MessageBox.Show("The text box contains http://")
ElseIf text.Contains("ftp://") Then
MessageBox.Show("The text box contains ftp://")
Else
MessageBoz.Show("The text box doesn't contain http:// or ftp://")
End If
End If basically just terminates the If-Statement. I don't have an example for this in C++, but I guess you guys are smart enough to get what I mean
What does Dim mean?
This is probably the easiest thing to explain, in this entire tutorial: All Dim does and means, is Declare. It declares a variable with a type.
I think in C++, you'd write something like
Code:
int a = 16;
Where the equivalent in VB is:
Code:
Dim a As Integer = 16
Sure, it's a bit more to write, but the code is easier to understand. Which is all VB is about: Easy coding.
For Each X As String In... Whaa?
Well, here we've gotten to a stage, which I only learned a few months ago, and I've been programming in Visual Basic for five years, now.
Basically, For Each is kind of like an If-Statement. It searches for specific criteria. If that criteria is met, the code will be executed.
I'll use an example from the program written above:
Code:
For Each Item As String In My.Computer.FileSystem.GetFiles("C:\Windows")
This searches for files (FileSystem.GetFiles("") ) and returns these to a variable (Item) as a string value.
Code:
Next
The Next statement tells the computer to move to the next piece of code.
And last but not least:
Shell? But wait.. I know that from somewhere, don't I?
Yup, you do! Shell is just a command prompt or terminal (Whatever you prefer). All it does, is it executes commands as the computer's shell and it gets a bit more low-level as other commands.
For example:
Code:
Shell("")
This would execute a simple program, without any command line arguments (Command Line Args).
Code:
Shell("""adb.exe"" install")
This would execute a specific file (In this case adb.exe) and would add a command line arg. Which gives you more flexibility and it allows you to interact with the shell-executable.
But the Shell Function can do more than that. It is also still a part of the program, which means it can still tell the program what to do.
For example:
Code:
Shell("""ADB\adb.exe"" install " & ListBox1.SelectedItem.ToString, AppWinStyle.NormalFocus, True, 30000)
This piece of code executes adb.exe, with a command line arg, but adds to the shell (CMD) window.
AppWinStyle: This determines how the CMD window is shown. In this example, we used NormalFocus, which puts the CMD window in the foreground and focuses on it. So the user can immediately interact with it, if necessary.
Where True is: True or False determine whether the program should wait until the shell operation is completed, before moving on to the next step of code. And ultimately, this is also what the integer (Whole number) behind it is for. The number (Must be an integer!) determines how long the program should wait until the program should execute the next line of code, in milliseconds.
And that was that, I guess.
If you feel I've missed something out, or you don't understand something, fell free to let me know and I'll it it to the list.
I'll add the project to my GitHub, so you can all download it.
Once I have the time, I'll re-design the posts, but at the moment, I think it'll do
(Mods: If you think I should, I'll do it right away! )
Downloads:
Download the source code (And pre-compiled binary) from my GitHub.
https://github.com/Beatsleigher/OneClickUtil
This is licensed under the GPL3.0, so feel free to do with it as you wish
I probably won't add to this project, but that should stop you!
Happy developing!
--- Reserved #4 ---
mfastboot.exe flash partition gpt.bin mfastboot.exe flash motoboot motoboot.img mfastboot.exe flash logo logo.bin mfastboot.exe flash boot boot.img mfastboot.exe flash recovery recovery.img mfastboot.exe flash system system.img_sparsechunk.0 mfastboot.exe flash system system.img_sparsechunk.1 mfastboot.exe flash system system.img_sparsechunk.2 mfastboot.exe flash modem NON-HLOS.bin mfastboot.exe erase modemst1 mfastboot.exe erase modemst2 mfastboot.exe flash fsg fsg.mbn mfastboot.exe erase cache mfastboot.exe erase userdata pause mfastboot.exe reboot
---------- Post added at 01:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:48 PM ----------
Plz help me to execute above codes on a button press event
I know how to add mfastboot.exe
Quite useful thanks
coldflid said:
Quite useful thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome
I'm thinking of doing something similar for Java. Should keep people occupied
Looking forward to it
ADB Bruteforcer
I have made a Android Debugging Bridge 0000 to 9999 bruteforcer,
With this I will make a nice interface for it,
When I'm done, I will upload it somewhere at XDA.
Thanks 4 ur upload!
This just one of the great wonders. Nice Job .. Greeting from Mawcot Inc
dear @Beatsleigher first of all i wold like to thanks you for such a nice guide
i have some questions please answer it
1st. how to use multiple adb commands with one button
for example ( adb kill-server , adb start-server )
2nd how to print information to a textbox or label
for example if i want to see the connected adb devices and i use (adb devices ) so i want to print connected devices into a text box
thanks
zameer_yus said:
dear @Beatsleigher first of all i wold like to thanks you for such a nice guide
i have some questions please answer it
1st. how to use multiple adb commands with one button
for example ( adb kill-server , adb start-server )
2nd how to print information to a textbox or label
for example if i want to see the connected adb devices and i use (adb devices ) so i want to print connected devices into a text box
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a pretty old thread to resurrect. I only saw your reply by chance.
I'm not an active member of this community anymore, just as with all tech-related things.
Those are rudimentary questions. If you're interested in programming, you should read up on some tutorials.
Everything you need to find the answers to those questions is written on MSDN.
Furthermore, the information provided in this thread is outdated. I recommend you check out @regaw_leinad's AndroidLib or my JDroidLib The documentation for both of these libraries can be found on my website.
Good luck with programming. Just don't read these tutorials and documentations and go from there.
Depending on which language you want to use, read the maintainer's website (e.g.: MSDN, or Oracle's JavaDoc) and read their tutorials. They'll teach you the basics, best practises, dos and donts, and more.
NOTE: I will not be providing support for this tutorial any longer. I have since moved on, and don't see any value in helping people make their lives more complicated than necessary. There are plenty libraries out there which allow you to do much more than I showed in this tutorial, and are easier for beginners, as they show you the best-practises of the language anyway.
Author: Apriorit (Research and Reverse Engineering Team)
Permanent link: www(dot)apriorit(dot)com/dev-blog/76-reversing-of-mobile-phones-insertions
Once we faced the need to investigate how Samsung cellular phones work; we required some information from them, which is not documented (and will never be, for sure). So this article is about interesting points our reverser had met while working with Samsung cellular phones firmware.
Reversing of Insertions for ARM-based Mobile Phones
I have managed to research insertions of all Samsung' generations, including CDMA (except for the smartphones only). In every Samsung phone the ARM-compatible processor with a set of ARM7TDMI commands is used. Insertions are built on the basis of three OS: RTCX, RTK, Nucleus, and compiled on different compilers. I have seen insertions compiled on ADS (SDT) and IAR.
On forums people call Samsung's generations in different way: somebody divides them into Gumi/Suvon (2 cities in Korea), others give code names - "Sysol", "Agere", "VLSI", "Conexant" and "Ancient". I have come to a conclusion that it's more correctly to divide them according to the phone processor.
Processor Models
OM6357 (aka Sysol) E100, E700, E720, E800, E820, S50x, X100, X460, X60x
M46 (aka Conexant) A100, A110, A200, A300, A400, M100, T208
SkyWorks (aka Conexant) C100, C108, C110, P510, P518
ONE-C (aka VLSI) R2XX, Nxxx, Txxx(except for T208)
Trident (aka Agere) Dxxx, Qxxx, Sxxx(except for S50x), Vxxx, C200, E105, E310, E400, E600, E710, E810, X105, X400, X42x, X450 etc.
MSMxxxx all CDMA
Hope, I haven't made any mistakes in this list. )
According to the list, insertions within the same generation are very similar and, to be honest, sometimes they are twins at all (with extremely slight changes). For example, in X100 there are obvious traces of E100/E700/X600 - why then there is a code for working with the second display, camera and IRDA, which it didn't have in a whole life?
Naturally, OS is the same for the whole generation:
OM6357 - RTK
M46 - RTCX OSE
SkyWorks - RTCX OSE
ONE-C - RTK
Trident - Nucleus
MSMxxxx - don't know exactly, it might be any OS from Qualcomm. It's just clear that they are collected to ADS/SDT.
If you are going to investigate the low level, then SDK from corresponding OS will be to the point. Another helpful thing is the symbolical information, which can be met in some insertions archives. Sometimes you can come across the insertions with .lst, .sym, .map, .out files, containing the information, extremely useful in researches. In particular, such files occur in almost all C100, S500 insertions. When talking about the other models, the situation is worse and you have to content yourself with symbols signatures, made for insertion of the same generation. For example, for M46 I have managed to find just one insertion with symbols and it was from A110. But signatures made from it perfectly lie down on A200, A300 etc.
Interpretation of the symbolical information
MAP format
.map files contain the information on modules included in the insertion and look like
Code:
Base Size Type RO? Name
0 20 CODE RO AAA_vectors from object file obj/isr.o
20 38e8 CODE RO C$$code from object file../../src/t9latin.o
3908 30 CODE RO C$$code from object file obj/mmi_date.o
3938 5a4 CODE RO C$$code from object file hw_slow.o
3edc 874 CODE RO C$$code from object file rtkgo.o
etc.
where
Base - displacement in an insertion file.
Size - length.
Type - region type.
RO? - region access type.
Name - original file name, part of which was included in the insertion
How all this can be interpreted? For example, this way: starting with displacement 20, there is a block of the code (CODE) 38e8 length - it's an access to Read Only block. The fact that block has CODE attribute is far from being means that the WHOLE area is filled with a code. Actually, it is a code plus data, just as if the block has DATA type it does not mean that it is necessary to make it all by data in IDA.
Without the names/symbols file this information can be used only for determination of insertion code size (i.e. to not get into the graphics). Therefore, we will better examine SYM format.
SYM Format
.sym files are the mines of information. They look like:
Code:
Symbol Table
AAA_vectors$$Base 000000
AAA_vectors$$Limit 000020
VectorMap$$Base 1006a3c
VectorMap$$Limit 1006a60
isr$$Base 12774c
isr$$Limit 127bb0
gl_MaskIT 1000078
Rtk_RegionCount 100564c
rtk_WorthItSched 10056a0
Rtk11_Schedule 11f5c8
etc.
It is a little bit easier here, because the name-address correspondence exists. But as for the addresses, there are some secrets - a set of names exists, containing $ sign and having the special status. Symbols with $$Base at the end indicate the beginning of virtual address space area, $$Limit indicates the end. I.e. here we have the information on segments. It is possible to make a memory map of these segments and see how the parts of binary code are being thrown to different addresses. Building memory map should be started with such symbols:
Code:
Image$$RO$$Base 000000
Image$$RO$$Limit 1afef4
Image$$RW$$Base 1000000
Image$$RW$$Limit 107dad4
Image$$ZI$$Base 1006a60
Image$$ZI$$Limit 107dad4
RO - Read Only, indicates code addresses.
RW - Read/Write i.e. it is RAM.
ZI - Zero Initialized. RAM, which is being stuffed with zero values when mobile phone is turned on.
Thus segments can be easily created on these addresses. Now we look further:
Code:
AAA_vectors$$Base 000000
AAA_vectors$$Limit 000020
C$$code$$Base 000020
C$$code$$Limit 127310
C$$code$$__call_via$$Base 127310
C$$code$$__call_via$$Limit 127320
Example$$Base 127320
Example$$Limit 127324
HAL_boot$$Base 127324
HAL_boot$$Limit 12735c
RtkCode$$Base 12735c
RtkCode$$Limit 127408
SysSupportCode$$Base 127408
SysSupportCode$$Limit 12744c
boot$$Base 12744c
boot$$Limit 127654
clib$$Base 127654
clib$$Limit 12774c
isr$$Base 12774c
isr$$Limit 127bb0
C$$constdata$$Base 127bb0
C$$constdata$$Limit 1afef4
C$$data$$Base 1000000
C$$data$$Limit 1005a38
Stacks$$Base 1005a38
Stacks$$Limit 1006a3c
VectorMap$$Base 1006a3c
VectorMap$$Limit 1006a60
C$$zidata$$Base 1006a60
C$$zidata$$Limit 107dad4
In this interesting way they go one after another. If you wish, it is possible to divide them into segments to corresponding addresses, but this is merely a logic division. Moreover, in .sym file these lines are scattered badly. And more sooner or later a question appears: why the code size is 1afef4, if length of insertion file is 1b6950? Where to put the rest 6a60 byte? We look again on the initial memory map:
Code:
Image$$RW$$Base 1000000
Image$$RW$$Limit 107dad4
Image$$ZI$$Base 1006a60
Image$$ZI$$Limit 107dad4
RAM ends on 107dad4 address, block 1006a60-107dad4 is zero initialized, hence there is a question: what does initialize the 1000000-1006a60 block, which size is exactly 6a60? Absolutely right, those odd bytes. If analyse the OS start code, then in the RAM initialization procedure you will find the same copying.
In the newer insertions there is a chance to come across the next inscriptions:
Code:
Load$$IRAM$$Base 639a74
Image$$IRAM$$Base 2010000
Image$$IRAM$$Length 0015a4
They should be understood this way: data of 15a4 length are being loaded from 639a74 file displacement to the 2010000 address.
We continue the analysis of symbols with the $ sign:
x$litpool$ - Literal Pool, pieces of the data from functions. At the end of many functions indexes, lines, constants are placed, and x$litpool$ specifies the beginning of such constants.
x$litpool_e$ - Literal Pool end.
$T is merely for debugger. Indicates the addresses where the PC register change take place. So, at these addresses transition commands BL/BEQ/B/BX etc. are placed.
$$- addresses where there is a change of ARM/THUMB state.
There are also C$$code symbols, but I haven't found what it is.
Other names without $ sign are the names for constants and functions. They can be freely used.
If the archive with an insertion contains both MAP and SYM, it is an ideal variant - when you set a name taken from SYM it is possible to check up whether it lays in the code area by using data from MAP. If yes, we may freely indicate it as code not being afraid, that code/data will be determined in IDA incorrectly.
LST Format
It's a real paradise for a reverser, in these files lays all at once. They consist of five parts:
Image Symbol Table - symbols... their meaning I have not understood yet
Local Symbols - everything is clear from the name
Global Symbols - .sym file analogue.
Memory Map of the image - memory map! All at once!
Image component sizes - .map file analogue
The information is so detailed, that even the processor mode for each function is specified.
OUT Format
Have met it only in the Nucleus-based insertions. Here can be tlink.out and tsymb.out files:
tsymb.out - ordinary SYM
think.out - MAP file to which almost useless linker information is added.
Now when we are armed with the symbolical information we can load the insertion in IDA.
What to do if there are no symbols at all
"When there is no toothbrush at hand..." Yes, we take IDA, emulating debuggerand brains in the hands. IDA is "must have". The emulating debugger for ARM, called Trace32, can be taken here.
First of all, we load the insertion in IDA to 0 address. I.e. the whole insertion is being loaded to default addresses. Then look what is on 0 address.
Code:
BOOT:00000000 B ResetHandler
BOOT:00000004 B loc_3B4
BOOT:00000008 B loc_410
BOOT:0000000C B loc_42C
BOOT:00000010 B loc_488
etc.
The code in any case begins with 0 address. In all Samsungs and, as I guess, not only in Samsungs an insertion begins with the interruption vectors. These are eight B commands in ARM state, i.e. 8 vectors. 0 address is a vector of null interruption or insertion start/restart. This zero interruption simply starts the mobile phone and thus handler leads to the system loader:
Code:
BOOT:00000048 ResetHandler; CODE XREF: BOOT:loc_0 _ j
BOOT:00000048 MRS R0,CPSR
BOOT:0000004C BIC R0,R0,#0x1F
BOOT:00000050 ORR R0,R0,#0x13
BOOT:00000054 ORR R0,R0,#0xC0
BOOT:00000058 MSR CPSR_cxsf,R0
BOOT:0000005C LDR R3,=(InitialHWConfig+1)
BOOT:00000060 MOV LR,PC
BOOT:00000064 BX R3
If the jump from zero address goes to the non-existent address it means that the rest part of the code is mapped to some other addresses. It's easy to determine to which exactly. For example, we have such beginning:
Code:
BOOT:00000000 B 0x4003CE
And there is no code on the 4003CE address. We look on 3CE displacement and see an ARM-code. It means the rest part of insertion is displaced on 0x400000. So we have to copy piece of insertion with interruption handlers, load them to zero address and then load an insertion from 400000 address. Now our code is in the right place. We go further. It is necessary to find out where are the RAM and area of input/output ports. The ports are usually either in the end (addresses from about e0000000 and higher) or in the beginning of the memory (up to 0x200000), depending on where the insertion is being loaded. There can be several RAM areas. First of all, we see ports initialization:
Code:
BOOT:00000588 MOV R1,#1
BOOT:0000058A LDR R0,=0xE0006000
BOOT:0000058C LSL R1,R1,#0x1B
BOOT:0000058E STR R1,[R0]
BOOT:00000590 STR R1,[R0,#0x10]
BOOT:00000592 STR R1,[R0,#0x20]
BOOT:00000594 LDR R1,=loc_20102
BOOT:00000596 LDR R0,=0xE0003040
BOOT:00000598 STR R1,[R0, #4]
BOOT:0000059A LDR R1,=0x20003
BOOT:0000059C STR R1,[R0, #8]
BOOT:0000059E LDR R0,=0xE0003000
BOOT:000005A0 MOV R1,#0xC
BOOT:000005A2 STR R1,[R0,#0x24]
I.e. since around E0000000 there is an area of input/output ports. Its size doesn't exceed the size of segment and therefore it's possible to create a segment of 0x10000 size. Now we go further. In any insertion there are RAM area which is initialized by zero values and the area which is filled by initial settings which are taken from an insertion. We are looking for copy cycles, so we need the debugger.
Here we see copying:
Code:
BOOT:000000D4 LDR R0,=0x63B018
BOOT:000000D8 LDR R1,=0x1000000
BOOT:000000DC LDR R3,=0x1045B38
BOOT:000000E0 CMP R1,R3
BOOT:000000E4 BEQ loc_F8
BOOT:000000E8
BOOT:000000E8 loc_E8; CODE XREF: BOOT:000000F4 _ j
BOOT:000000E8 CMP R1,R3
BOOT:000000EC LDRCC R2,[R0],#4
BOOT:000000F0 STRCC R2,[R1],#4
BOOT:000000F4 BCC loc_E8
The block is being copied from 63B018 address to 1000000 address of insertion. The length is 45B38.
This is the first RAM area. Now we look for the second one, whose zero initialization should be nearby:
Code:
BOOT:000000F8 LDR R1,=0x11ED9E4
BOOT:000000FC MOV R2,#0
BOOT:00000100 CMP R3,R1
BOOT:00000104
BOOT:00000104 loc_104; BOOT:00000108 _ j
BOOT:00000104
BOOT:00000104 STRCC R2,[R3],#4
BOOT:00000108 BCC loc_100
Indeed, there is a stuffing with zero values in the area from 1045B38 to 11ED9E4, so here we have the second part. If there are any areas, then there will certainly be zero or copy initialization. Other memory pieces can be found only analytically, but we have got the basis already.
The further research depends on the presence of symbols/signatures. If yes, then everything comes to looking for the necessary function in the names list. What to do if not? First of all, it is necessary to determine approximate code bounds and, if possible, to find functions in the code. The most primitive and effective way is to search for a push command with which 60 % of insertion code begins. Insertion code usually consists of Thumb code on 90 %, so we should look for B5 byte (push) and try to define it as the code in IDA. Insertion code usually takes less than 50 % of the whole size, the rest part is for graphics and language resources. Else I can say that very often at the end of the code there are copyrights lines, a kind of "Samsung corp. 199x-200x ARM ADS 1.2".
Some code has been revealed, around 20% were harmed by IDA itself, because it often can't cope with THUMB/ARM transition. And now we have to take anything left lying around loose, i.e. what had been left by programmers. And what they had left? Trace and Assert. And any trace and assert doesn't go without sprintf/printf. We have to find it. It's easy - we should just look for the "%s" line. We need that which obviously contains a pattern of the error message. With xref we find where this line is used and it will be exactly sprintf, followed by Trace or Assert. Now, with basing on the error messages, we can name the functions. I.e. walking with xref to the Trace/Assert function, we can find output of more than half of mistakes. Further functions naming is possible by searching the following words:
Code:
Bad
Fail
Incorrect
Invalid
Error
Memory
File
Null
No
Critical
Abnormal
etc.
This way we will find some more error output functions. Thus we will gradually gain the information, not being based on anything except for the insertion.