[Tut] Android one-click utils in VB.Net

[Tut] Android one-click utils in VB.Net - Android General

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.
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"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
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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.

Related

VB.net How to change images in an imagebox with code?

As the title suggests, I use Visual Basic and was wondering how to change what image is shown in an imagebox through code?
Most of the suggestions google found me only work with the normal .net framework, not the compact version >.<
Any ideas anyone?

The following code will change it.
Code:
pictureBox1.Image = new Bitmap("\\windows\\bt_tran.bmp");
I only code in C#, but in this case the code is almost identical for VB and C#
VB: Use single slashes in the pathname, and drop the C# end of line character ';'
Insert your pathname in the function.
Note that the 'Image' property is itself an 'Image' object, you can't just stuff a path to your file in it, as you do when it is created in design mode. The path is a string, the object types won't match, and the compiler will throw it out. You have to create a new image from the pathname first and pass it that instead.
The pathname must exist on the emulator or on your device, or it will throw an error. Don't make the mistake of referring to a file on your PC, your device can't see it.

Cheers
You have no idea how helpful you are lol

[GUIDE] How To Install and Use Android SDK

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*If you find this Guide Thread helpful, feel free to hit the "thanks" button below!
What is Android SDK?
Everyone wants to program on Android; unfortunately, not everyone knows quite how to get started with their development environment. Google has put out both the Android SDK and the Android ADT in order to help developers integrate Android into their dev environment as well as facilitate more Android development. In this guide, we’ll take a look at how to set up a development environment for Android so you can start creating projects. Android SDK and Android ADT are essentials that you will need to include in your Android Developer Toolbox for use with many things, and can be a very powerful set of components from the simple, to the complicated. When it comes to Android modding, most novice users are confused or left wondering by reference over reference to a certain “adb”. This is specially true when you are looking up something on modding your device, or root it in particular. ADB is the wonder toy of Android and everyone seems to love it, so lets have a look at understanding what it is and why you need it, and how you can get it.
What is ADT?
ADT (Android Developer Tools) is a plugin for Eclipse that provides a suite of tools that are integrated with the Eclipse IDE. It offers you access to many features that help you develop Android applications quickly. ADT provides GUI access to many of the command line SDK tools as well as a UI design tool for rapid prototyping, designing, and building of your application's user interface. Because ADT is a plugin for Eclipse, you get the functionality of a well-established IDE, along with Android-specific features that are bundled with ADT. The following describes important features of Eclipse and ADT:
Integrated Android project creation, building, packaging, installation, and debugging
ADT integrates many development workflow tasks into Eclipse, making it easy for you to rapidly develop and test your Android applications.
SDK Tools integration
Many of the SDK tools are integrated into Eclipse's menus, perspectives, or as a part of background processes ran by ADT.
Java programming language and XML editors
The Java programming language editor contains common IDE features such as compile time syntax checking, auto-completion, and integrated documentation for the Android framework APIs. ADT also provides custom XML editors that let you edit Android-specific XML files in a form-based UI. A graphical layout editor lets you design user interfaces with a drag and drop interface.
Integrated documentation for Android framework APIs
You can access documentation by hovering over classes, methods, or variables.
What is ADB?
ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge. It comes as a part of the standard Android SDK, which you can grab here in this guide. Basically, it provides a terminal-based interface for interacting with your phone’s file system. Since Android platform is based on Linux, command-line is sometimes the only way to obtain and manipulate root access often required to perform certain advanced operations on your device using root access. While these things can be done directly on the device itself using some terminal emulator, it will be rather difficult to execute complex commands on such a small screen. ADB provides the bridge between your machine and your computer.
Preface: Dev Environment Notes:
Just a general rule to reduce headaches, if you're serious about Android development, your development machine should primarily be a development machine, as installation of other various programs may clutter it up and produce unexpected errors or other bizarre happenings. While this is rare, it’s not uncommon, and an exclusive development machine is recommended. If an extra machine is not available, a virtual machine used as a development machine works very well also. If this isn't an option either, you can always install Ubuntu 12.04 on your Windows PC and select whichever operating system you'd like at boot/reboot. The latter is my setup, since I run Windows 7 primarily, and Ubuntu for selected other functions -namely Android SDK. It's all your preference here, but keep in mind that if you start getting too deep in the rabbit hole with your Android development, you may want to consider a dedicated dev machine, or re-partition your Ubuntu setup to allow for more capabilities within it.
Step 1: Install the JDK
Most of you probably have the Java JRE installed, but Android requires the JDK “Java Development Kit” to compile Java programs. The JDK is available on Oracle’s Java webpage. Install the version of the JDK appropriate for your OS; the Java EE 6 bundle is recommended, but you can install any bundle you like so long as it contains the JDK.
(Getting started on Ubuntu, see THIS PAGE)
Getting started on Windows:
Your download package is an executable file that starts an installer. The installer checks your machine for required tools, such as the proper Java SE Development Kit (JDK) and installs it if necessary. The installer then saves the Android SDK Tools into a default location (or you can specify the location). Make a note of the name and location of the SDK directory on your system—you will need to refer to the SDK directory later, when setting up the ADT plugin and when using the SDK tools from the command line. Once the tools are installed, the installer offers to start the Android SDK Manager. Start it and continue with the installation guide by clicking the Next link on the right. The Android SDK requires JDK version 5 or version 6. If you already have one of those installed, skip to the next step. In particular, Mac OS X comes with the JDK version 5 already installed, and many Linux distributions include a JDK. If the JDK is not installed, go to http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads and you'll see a list of Java products to download.
Linux users: Many Linux distributions come with an open source variant of the JDK, like OpenJDK or IcedTea. While you may be tempted to use these in support of open-source or for whatever reason, for maximum compatibility install the official Oracle JDK. You may choose to ignore this warning, but you may end up encountering obscure, strange errors because of it; if you do, most likely it’s some minor difference in the two JDKs.
Step 2: Install Your IDE of Choice
You can by all means code straight up in Emacs or Vi; if you prefer doing that, this guide is not for you. For the rest of us, install a Java IDE; Eclipse is recommended as it is the IDE that the Android developers use and the IDE with official plugin support from Google. The rest of this guide will assume Eclipse is the IDE you’re using, but NetBeans has Android plugin support for it as well. When you download Eclipse, make sure to download Eclipse Classic or Eclipse for Java EE developers; there are quite a few flavors of Eclipse for download on their page, and you don’t want to end up with the C++ or PHP versions of Eclipse.
Obtain Eclipse
These alternatives may be available to obtain a copy of Eclipse for installation:
Download a current stable build of Eclipse from the Eclipse Web Site; note that the installation file is large (over 120 MB)
For the recommended package to download and install, click the link Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers on the Eclipse Packages page. For the reason why this is the recommendation, see the following bullets:
There are a number of downloadable packages available, each a different "flavor" of Eclipse, which can be compared and contrasted from the Compared Eclipse Packages page. The recommended Eclipse package is the Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers. This recommendation is made for those who develop in other languages / on other platforms as well, for the following reasons:
The "slimmer" Eclipse IDE for Java Developers lacks data tools, testing support, and parts of the Web Standard Tookit useful to all Java web application developers
The Eclipse Classic seems like it ought to be "slimmer" but in fact it is a larger download than the JEE package. Downloading and installing this package, then picking and choosing among additional packages described on the Eclipse Classic page is a viable alternative, but requires each developer to spend time researching the contents and utility of the multiple options.
Install Eclipse
There is no installer (executable program) used to install Eclipse. The process described below involves un-archiving (unzipping) a directory tree of files and placing it in an appropriate location on your hard disk. It is very strongly recommended that you locate the eclipse\ directory at the root of your computer's hard drive; or, minimally, on a directory path with no spaces in its name (e.g., C:\mystuff\eclipse\. It is worth noting that Eclipse does not write entries to the Windows registry; therefore, you can simply delete (or move) the installed files, shortcuts, and/or the workspace: there is no executable uninstaller either.
Unzip (or copy/unjar/check-out) the software into an appropriate location on your hard disk (e.g., C:\eclipse).
These instructions are written assuming that you are running eclipse from C:\eclipse; if you are using a different path, adjust accordingly.
Once the unzipped (copied/unjarred/checked-out) files are located on your filesystem, get started using Eclipse:
Run Eclipse by running C:\eclipse\eclipse.exe
The first time you run Eclipse, you will be prompted to identify a location for your Eclipse workspace. This is where local copies of your projects (files you check in and/or out of code repositories) will live on your file system. Do not create the workspace in a directory path that has spaces in it - i.e., not in the default C:\Documents and Settings\... directory presented by default on the first startup of Eclipse. Instead, it is recommended that your workspace be located at the root of your machine's hard disk, e.g., C:\workspace.
It is advisable to pass JVM arguments to Eclipse at startup to reserve a larger memory space for the IDE than the default. To, specify recommended JVM arguments, create a shortcut (probably on your desktop) with the following target (modified if you're using different directories):
Code:
C:\eclipse\eclipse.exe -jvmargs -Xms128m -Xmx512m -XX:MaxPermSize=128m
Step 3: Install the Android SDK
Now it’s time to install the Android SDK. You can grab it from the Android Developer website at:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Download the installer for your particular operating system, and open it up when you’re done:
Android SDK Manager
The Android SDK Manager is modular, meaning that you download the initial package and then download separate packages within the framework in order to provide more functionality. This lets the SDK be more flexible, as you don’t need to keep downloading entire packages every time a new version comes out; you can simply download the latest module and pop it into the SDK. You can pick and choose which modules to install, but if you’ve got the hard drive space I recommend installing all of the different flavors of Android; it will help later when debugging apps, especially on older Android OSes.
Step 4: Install the Android ADT for Eclipse
NOTE: if you’re using NetBeans, you want the nbandroid plugin, found here:
http://kenai.com/projects/nbandroid/pages/install
Now that the SDK is installed, you should install the Android ADT plugin. It’s not strictly necessary to do so, but the ADT offers powerful integration with many of the Android tools, including the SDK Manager, the AVD Manager, and DDMS, or dynamic debugging. All of these are extremely useful to have when creating an Android application, and if you want to skip them you should do so at your own peril!
Eclipse ADT Plugin
To install the ADT, you’re going to have to add a custom software package to Eclipse. To do so, head over to the “Help” button on Eclipse’s menu and click the “Install New Software” button. Click “Available Software”, click “Add Remote Site”, and pop in this URL:
https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/
Eclipse ADT Install
Occasionally, for whatever reason, some people have trouble downloading the ADT from that secure site. If you’re having issues downloading the ADT, simply remove the “s” off the end of the “https”, and the download should work as intended. Once that’s done, head back over to the Available Software tab and check the boxes for Developer Tools, Android DDMS, and Android Development Tools; again, none of these are mandatory, but they’re all going to be very useful later on. The packages will take a bit to download; once they’re done, restart Eclipse!
Step 5: Create an Android Virtual Device (or AVD)
Like the previous step, this step isn’t entirely necessary; you could do all your debugging and development work on an actual Android handset. Creating AVDs is a great way to see how your application might work across different operating systems and handset types, as AVDs can mimic not only different Android OSes but also different hardware; you can change such settings as heap size, display type, and maximum memory, making it useful to try and figure out where bugs are happening when you don’t own a multitude of different handsets to test on! To create an AVD, you can open the Android AVD manager from Eclipse from the “Window” button on the top bar, and go to “Virtual Devices”. From there, you can add, configure and delete them:
Android Virtual Device (AVD) Manager
NOTE: This isn’t IDE specific. For those of you running a different IDE, the AVD Manager can be accessed in the same manner as the Android SDK is accessed outside of Eclipse; this is just a very easy shortcut for those with the Android ADT installed. Need More Help? Try this 30-minute video put together by Guy Cole, that walks you through the complete step-by-step setup.

So, You've Installed Android SDK, Now What?
The Android platform provides support for both speech recognition and speech synthesis. In this tutorial, we will create a simple Android app which allows the user to speak, attempts to recognize what they say, and then repeats what was recognized back to them using the Text To Speech engine.
Step 1: Start an Android Project
Create a new Android project in Eclipse. Alternatively, if you want to implement the speech recognition functionality in an existing app, open it instead. For this tutorial we have a minimum SDK version of 8, and you do not need to make any particular additions to your Manifest file, the default contents should suffice.
Step 2: Define the User Interface
Let’s start by defining the user interface. When the app launches, the user will be presented with a button. On pressing the button, the app will prompt them to speak, listening for their voice input. When the speech recognition utility processes the speech input, the app will present a list of suggested words to the user. As you’ll know if you’ve tried speech recognition as a user, the recognizer is not always accurate, so this list is essential. When the user selects an item from the list, the app will speak it back to them using the TTS engine. The TTS part of the application is optional, so you can omit it if you prefer.
The app is going to use a few text Strings as part of the interface, so define them by opening the “res/values/strings.xml” file and entering the following content:
Code:
<resources>
<string name="intro">Press the button to speak!</string>
<string name="app_name">SpeechRepeat</string>
<string name="speech">Speak now!</string>
<string name="word_intro">Suggested words…</string>
</resources>
Of course, you can alter the String content in any way you like.
Open your “res/layout/main.xml” file to create the main app layout. Switch to the XML editor if the graphical editor is displayed by default. Enter a Linear Layout as the main layout for the app’s launch Activity:
Code:
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
androidrientation="vertical"
android:background="#ff330066"
androidaddingBottom="5dp" >
</LinearLayout>
The Linear Layout contains various style declarations including a background color. Inside the Linear Layout, first enter an informative Text View:
Code:
<TextView android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/intro"
androidadding="5dp"
android:textStyle="bold"
android:textSize="16dp"
android:gravity="center"
android:textColor="#ffffff33" />
Notice that the Text View refers to one of the Strings we defined. It also sets various display properties which you can alter if you wish. After the Text View, add a button:
Code:
<Button android:id="@+id/speech_btn"
android:layout_width="match_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
android:text="@string/speech" />
The user will press this button in order to speak. We give the button an ID so that we can identify it in the Java code and display one of the Strings we defined on it. After the button, add another informative Text View, which will precede the list of suggested words:
Code:
<TextView android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="wrap_content"
androidadding="5dp"
android:text="@string/word_intro"
android:textStyle="italic" />
Again, this Text View uses a String resource and contains style properties. The last item in our main.xml Linear Layout is the list of suggested words:
Code:
<ListView android:id="@+id/word_list"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="0dip"
android:layout_weight="1"
androidaddingLeft="10dp"
androidaddingTop="3dp"
androidaddingRight="10dp"
androidaddingBottom="3dp"
android:layout_marginLeft="20dp"
android:layout_marginRight="20dp"
android:layout_marginTop="5dp"
android:layout_marginBottom="5dp"
android:background="@drawable/words_bg" />
The List View will be populated with data when the app runs, so we give it an ID for identification in Java. The element also refers to a drawable resource, which you should add to each of the drawables folders in your app’s “res” directory, saving it as “words_bg.xml” and entering the following content:
Code:
<shape xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:dither="true">
<gradient
android:startColor="#ff000000"
android:endColor="#ff000000"
android:centerColor="#00000000"
android:angle="180" />
<corners android:radius="10dp" />
<stroke
android:width="2dp"
android:color="#66ffffff" />
</shape>
This is a simple shape drawable to display behind the List View. You can of course alter this and the List View style properties if you wish. The only remaining user interface item we need to define now is the layout for a single item within the list, each of which will display a word suggestion. Create a new file in “res/layout” named “word.xml”and then enter the following code:
Code:
<TextView xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
android:layout_width="fill_parent"
android:layout_height="fill_parent"
android:gravity="center"
androidadding="5dp"
android:textColor="#ffffffff"
android:textSize="16dp" >
</TextView>
Each item in the list will be a simple Text View. That’s our interface design complete. This is how the app appears on initial launch:
Step 3: Setup Speech Recognition
Now we can implement our Java code. Open your app’s main Activity and add the following import statements at the top:
Code:
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Locale;
import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.content.pm.PackageManager;
import android.content.pm.ResolveInfo;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.speech.RecognizerIntent;
import android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech.OnInitListener;
import android.speech.tts.TextToSpeech;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.View;
import android.view.View.OnClickListener;
import android.widget.AdapterView;
import android.widget.AdapterView.OnItemClickListener;
import android.widget.ArrayAdapter;
import android.widget.Button;
import android.widget.ListView;
import android.widget.Toast;
import android.widget.TextView;
You may not need all of these if you do not implement the TTS functionality – Eclipse should highlight imports you have not used so check them when you finish coding. Extend your opening class declaration line as follows, altering the Activity name to suit your own:
Code:
public class SpeechRepeatActivity extends Activity implements OnClickListener, OnInitListener {
The “OnInitListener” is only required for the TTS function. Add the following instance variables inside your class declaration, before the “onCreate” method:
Code:
//voice recognition and general variables
//variable for checking Voice Recognition support on user device
private static final int VR_REQUEST = 999;
//ListView for displaying suggested words
private ListView wordList;
//Log tag for output information
private final String LOG_TAG = "SpeechRepeatActivity";//***enter your own tag here***
//TTS variables
//variable for checking TTS engine data on user device
private int MY_DATA_CHECK_CODE = 0;
//Text To Speech instance
private TextToSpeech repeatTTS;
Inside your “onCreate” method, your class should already be calling the superclass method and setting your main layout. If not, it should begin like this:
Code:
//call superclass
super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
//set content view
setContentView(R.layout.main);
Next, still inside your “onCreate” method, retrieve a reference to the speech button and list we created, using their ID values:
Code:
//gain reference to speak button
Button speechBtn = (Button) findViewById(R.id.speech_btn);
//gain reference to word list
wordList = (ListView) findViewById(R.id.word_list);
The List View is an instance variable, accessible throughout the class. Now we need to find out whether the user device has speech recognition support:
Code:
//find out whether speech recognition is supported
PackageManager packManager = getPackageManager();
List<ResolveInfo> intActivities = packManager.queryIntentActivities(new Intent(RecognizerIntent.ACTION_RECOGNIZE_SPEECH), 0);
if (intActivities.size() != 0) {
//speech recognition is supported - detect user button clicks
speechBtn.setOnClickListener(this);
}
else
{
//speech recognition not supported, disable button and output message
speechBtn.setEnabled(false);
Toast.makeText(this, "Oops - Speech recognition not supported!", Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
}
We query the environment to see if the Recognizer Intent is present. If it is, we instruct the app to listen for the user pressing the speech button. If speech recognition is not supported, we simply disable the button and output an informative message to the user.
Step 4: Listen for Speech Input
Let’s setup the click listener for the speech button we’ve instructed the app to detect clicks for. Outside the “onCreate” method, but inside your Activity class declaration, add an “onClick” method as follows:
Code:
/**
* Called when the user presses the speak button
*/
public void onClick(View v) {
if (v.getId() == R.id.speech_btn) {
//listen for results
listenToSpeech();
}
}
Now implement the method we’ve called here after the “onClick” method:
Code:
/**
* Instruct the app to listen for user speech input
*/
private void listenToSpeech() {
//start the speech recognition intent passing required data
Intent listenIntent = new Intent(RecognizerIntent.ACTION_RECOGNIZE_SPEECH);
//indicate package
listenIntent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_CALLI NG_PACKAGE, getClass().getPackage().getName());
//message to display while listening
listenIntent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_PROMP T, "Say a word!");
//set speech model
listenIntent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_LANGU AGE_MODEL, RecognizerIntent.LANGUAGE_MODEL_FREE_FORM);
//specify number of results to retrieve
listenIntent.putExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTRA_MAX_R ESULTS, 10);
//start listening
startActivityForResult(listenIntent, VR_REQUEST);
}
Some of this code is standard for setting up the speech recognition listening functionality. Areas to pay particular attention to include the line in which we specify the “EXTRA_PROMPT” – you can alter this to include text you want to appear for prompting the user to speak. Also notice the “EXTRA_MAX_RESULTS” line, in which we specify how many suggestions we want the recognizer to return when the user speaks. Since we are calling the “startActivityForResult” method, we will handle the recognizer results in the “onActivityResult” method.
When the app is listening for user speech, it will appear as follows:
Step 5: Present Word Suggestions
Implement the “onActivityResult” method inside your class declaration as follows:
Code:
/**
* onActivityResults handles:
* - retrieving results of speech recognition listening
* - retrieving result of TTS data check
*/
@Override
protected void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
//check speech recognition result
if (requestCode == VR_REQUEST && resultCode == RESULT_OK)
{
//store the returned word list as an ArrayList
ArrayList<String> suggestedWords = data.getStringArrayListExtra(RecognizerIntent.EXTR A_RESULTS);
//set the retrieved list to display in the ListView using an ArrayAdapter
wordList.setAdapter(new ArrayAdapter<String> (this, R.layout.word, suggestedWords));
}
//tss code here
//call superclass method
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
}
Here we retrieve the result of the speech recognition process. Notice that the “if” statement checks to see if the request code is the variable we passed when calling “startActivityForResult”, in which case we know this method is being called as a result of the listening Intent. The recognizer returns the list of 10 suggested words, which we store as an Array List. We then populate the List View with these words, by setting an Array Adapter object as Adapter for the View. Now each of the items in the List View will display one of the suggested words.
If the app successfully recognizes the user input speech and returns the list of words, it will appear as follows:
Alternatively, if the app does not recognize the user speech input, the following screen will appear:
Step 6: Detect User Word Choices
We want to detect the user selecting words from the list, so let’s implement a click listener for the list items. Back in your “onCreate” method, after the existing code, set the listener for each item in the list as follows:
Code:
//detect user clicks of suggested words
wordList.setOnItemClickListener(new OnItemClickListener() {
//click listener for items within list
public void onItemClick(AdapterView<?> parent, View view, int position, long id)
{
//cast the view
TextView wordView = (TextView)view;
//retrieve the chosen word
String wordChosen = (String) wordView.getText();
//output for debugging
Log.v(LOG_TAG, "chosen: "+wordChosen);
//output Toast message
Toast.makeText(SpeechRepeatActivity.this, "You said: "+wordChosen, Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();//**alter for your Activity name***
}
});
We use the “setOnItemClickListener” method to assign a listener to each item in the list. Inside the new “OnItemClickListener”, we implement the “onItemClick” method to respond to these clicks – this method will fire when the user selects a suggested word from the list. First, we cast the View that has been clicked to a Text View, then we retrieve the text from it. This text is the word the user has selected. We write the chosen word out to the Log for testing and output it back to the user as a Toast message. Depending on the needs of your own application, you may wish to carry out further processing on the chosen word – this code is purely for demonstration.
The user can press the touchscreen or use a trackball to select words in the list.
When the user selects a word, the Toast message appears confirming it.
Step 7: Setup TTS Functionality
If you do not want to implement the Text To Speech functionality, you can stop now and test your app. We only require a little more processing to make our app repeat the user’s chosen word. First, to set up the TTS engine, add the following code to the section in your “onCreate” method where you queried the system for speech recognition support. Inside the “if” statement, after “speechBtn.setOnClickListener(this);”:
Code:
//prepare the TTS to repeat chosen words
Intent checkTTSIntent = new Intent();
//check TTS data
checkTTSIntent.setAction(TextToSpeech.Engine.ACTIO N_CHECK_TTS_DATA);
//start the checking Intent - will retrieve result in onActivityResult
startActivityForResult(checkTTSIntent, MY_DATA_CHECK_CODE);
Like the speech listening process, we will receive the result of this code checking for TTS data in the “onActivityResult” method. In that method, before the line in which we call the superclass “onActivityResult” method, add the following:
Code:
//returned from TTS data check
if (requestCode == MY_DATA_CHECK_CODE)
{
//we have the data - create a TTS instance
if (resultCode == TextToSpeech.Engine.CHECK_VOICE_DATA_PASS)
repeatTTS = new TextToSpeech(this, this);
//data not installed, prompt the user to install it
else
{
//intent will take user to TTS download page in Google Play
Intent installTTSIntent = new Intent();
installTTSIntent.setAction(TextToSpeech.Engine.ACT ION_INSTALL_TTS_DATA);
startActivity(installTTSIntent);
}
}
Here we initialize the TTS if the data is already installed, otherwise we prompt the user to install it. For additional guidance on using the TTS engine, see the Android SDK: Using the Text to Speech Engine tutorial.
To complete TTS setup, add the “onInit” method to your class declaration, handling initialization of the TTS as follows:
Code:
/**
* onInit fires when TTS initializes
*/
public void onInit(int initStatus) {
//if successful, set locale
if (initStatus == TextToSpeech.SUCCESS)
repeatTTS.setLanguage(Locale.UK);//***choose your own locale here***
}
Here we simply set the Locale for the TTS, but you can carry out other setup tasks if you like.
Step 8: Repeat the User Choice
Finally, we can repeat the user’s chosen word. Back in your “onCreate” method, inside the “OnItemClickListener” “onItemClick” method, after the line in which we output a Toast message, add the following:
Code:
//speak the word using the TTS
repeatTTS.speak("You said: "+wordChosen, TextToSpeech.QUEUE_FLUSH, null);
This will cause the app to repeat the user’s chosen word as part of a simple phrase. This will occur at the same time the Toast message appears.
Conclusion
That’s our complete Speak and Repeat app. Test it on an Android device with speech recognition and TTS support – the emulator does not support speech recognition so you need to test this functionality on an actual device. The source code is attached, so you can check if you have everything in the right place. Of course, your own apps may implement speech recognition as part of other processing, but this tutorial should have equipped you with the essentials of supporting speech input.

Android SDK Commands & Explanations
Adb has many built in commands. Some are interactive (meaning they keep running until you stop them) and some just perform a simple task. Below is a list of the commands in the 1.0 SDK version of adb.
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.20
Code:
-d - directs command to the only connected USB device
returns an error if more than one USB device is present.
-e - directs command to the only running emulator.
returns an error if more than one emulator is running.
-s <serial number> - directs command to the USB device or emulator with
the given serial number
-p <product name or path> - simple product name like 'sooner', or
a relative/absolute path to a product
out directory like 'out/target/product/sooner'.
If -p is not specified, the ANDROID_PRODUCT_OUT
environment variable is used, which must
be an absolute path.
devices - list all connected devices
device commands:
adb push <local> <remote> - copy file/dir to device
adb pull <remote> <local> - copy file/dir from device
adb sync [ <directory> ] - copy host->device only if changed
(see 'adb help all')
adb shell - run remote shell interactively
adb shell <command> - run remote shell command
adb emu <command> - run emulator console command
adb logcat [ <filter-spec> ] - View device log
adb forward <local> <remote> - forward socket connections
forward specs are one of:
tcp:<port>
localabstract:<unix domain socket name>
localreserved:<unix domain socket name>
localfilesystem:<unix domain socket name>
dev:<character device name>
jdwp:<process pid> (remote only)
adb jdwp - list PIDs of processes hosting a JDWP transport
adb install [-l] [-r] <file> - push this package file to the device and install it
('-l' means forward-lock the app)
('-r' means reinstall the app, keeping its data)
adb uninstall [-k] <package> - remove this app package from the device
('-k' means keep the data and cache directories)
adb bugreport - return all information from the device
that should be included in a bug report.
adb help - show this help message
adb version - show version num
DATAOPTS:
(no option) - don't touch the data partition
-w - wipe the data partition
-d - flash the data partition
scripting:
adb wait-for-device - block until device is online
adb start-server - ensure that there is a server running
adb kill-server - kill the server if it is running
adb get-state - prints: offline | bootloader | device
adb get-product - prints: <product-id>
adb get-serialno - prints: <serial-number>
adb status-window - continuously print device status for a specified device
adb remount - remounts the /system partition on the device read-write
networking:
adb ppp <tty> [parameters] - Run PPP over USB.
Note: you should not automatically start a PDP connection.
<tty> refers to the tty for PPP stream. Eg. dev:/dev/omap_csmi_tty1
[parameters] - Eg. defaultroute debug dump local notty usepeerdns
adb sync notes: adb sync [ <directory> ]
<localdir> can be interpreted in several ways:
- If <directory> is not specified, both /system and /data partitions will be updated.
- If it is "system" or "data", only the corresponding partition
is updated.
Common Use:
Some of the more common commands in adb are push, pull, shell, install, remount, and logcat.
Push sends a file from your desktop computer to your Android device:
Code:
adb push test.txt /sdcard/test.txt
Pull pulls a file from your Android device to your desktop computer:
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/test.txt test.txt
Shell lets you run an interactive shell (command prompt) on the Android device:
Code:
adb shell
Install lets you install an android APK file to your Android device:
Code:
adb install myapp.apk
Remount remounts the /system partition as writable (or readonly if it is already writeable):
Code:
adb remount
Logcat lets you view the devices debug logs in real time (must press control+c to exit):
Code:
adb logcat

Further Notes On This Subject

It's great to see guides like these. I think every device forum should have these stickied in their general section. We all have/had to start somewhere. Having nice guides with accurate up-to-date information is only going to benefit everyone, and makes learning and understanding much easier. Fact is, we're all here for the same reason, to capitalize on the potential our devices have, and enjoy them. So, thanks for putting this together. It might seem trivial to a lot of the more experienced people, but those who aren't will definitely appreciate it.

Thanks. This is helpful.
Sent from my MB865

Hey Apex great job on the guide
I just wish this was here the first time I installed the the android sdk
I'm sure it will be useful to alot of members

41rw4lk said:
I think every device forum should have these stickied in their general section.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
Sticky?
Speak only when it improves on your silence.

Sorry for OT, this is not for Atrix 2 but I have question :
I want to extract included kernel in CM9 Rom, it is inside boot.img file. I've used Android Kitchen for extracting, it's ok now. I had zImage file.
So now how can I build flash-able zip file for CWM ? Tried UpdateZipCreator program but it showed error (7) when flashing.
I just wanna test many difference kernels and then come back to original but no flashable CM9 kernel here on xda.

vinamilk said:
Sorry for OT, this is not for Atrix 2 but I have question :
I want to extract included kernel in CM9 Rom, it is inside boot.img file. I've used Android Kitchen for extracting, it's ok now. I had zImage file.
So now how can I build flash-able zip file for CWM ? Tried UpdateZipCreator program but it showed error (7) when flashing.
I just wanna test many difference kernels and then come back to original but no flashable CM9 kernel here on xda.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, Jim will probably be the one to ask on this. I don't recall which device you have currently (viewing from my phone) but he's the one who wrote the kernel for CM9 on the SGS3. I'm assuming you want to run the CM9 rom with 'experimental' kernels, so I'd PM him and ask (Sorry Jim, lol) but I'm not the expert on kernels or Android Kitchen, least not as knowledgeable as I should be to give a suitable answer...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

oh! thanks a lot! I am very happy to find this!
long long ago! I start to find this resourse :cyclops:

EXCELLENT! I don't know i didn't see this before. Maybe because i didn't have this phone in August i think.
But great, tomorrow i will see if i can combine one of my designs with this, and try to make an alpha app.

Good guide
Hit thnx for every help

I just wanted to obtain logcat but where to type adb logcat...I get this in sdk

luvk1412 said:
I just wanted to obtain logcat but where to type adb logcat...I get this in sdk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With the sdk.. go to android-sdk/tools/ folder and double-click monitor.bat - easiest/nicest way to watch the logs..
To set up adb to be used from the command prompt or terminal, make sure you set your environment variables (or your .bashrc in Linux) to the path of adb in the sdk (it's in platform-tools)..
For Windows (Win7 example): Go to Start> right-click Computer>Properties>Advanced System Settings>Environment Variables...
Look under System Variables to see if you somehow have the path to C:\android-sdk\platform-tools in there already (or your specific location - just don't use spaces in the folder names in your path). If not, click on PATH under System Variables and Edit it..
Add your path to adb.exe (C:\android-sdk\platform-tools, for exapmle) to the end of the string of paths there. You can also add the path to \android-sdk\tools for good measure..
Click OK.. "Revenge of the Fern" - inside joke...
For Linux (Ubuntu 12.04, for example): Go to your home folder, hit Ctrl+H, open the .bashrc, and add this (or your specific path) to the bottom:
Code:
# Android tools
export PATH=${PATH}:~/android-sdk/tools
export PATH=${PATH}:~/android-sdk/platform-tools
Then you should be able to open the command prompt or terminal and type: adb devices - and hopefully get your device id..
Then: adb logcat - for logcat (or just use the monitor.bat as mentioned above, it has a much nicer interface)
See my "Guide" on getting started in the Themes&Apps section for more adb stuff too..
Other alternatives for logcat directly on your phone are through Terminal Emulator (type su.. then logcat), or apps available on the Play Store (aLogcat, for example).

Hey I am just getting started with android dev. Have done just a few tutorials from the developers.android.com, so basically a noob at this. But I saw that Google recently launched the android studio for app developement. I was just getting started with eclipse, but the android studio looks more intuitive because of its better GUI. I'm bad at xml editing too So I think the interface of Android Studio would suit better. Is there anyone here who has tried both and knows the cons of abandoning eclipse IDE and going for Android Studio?

help
Hay friend i have downloaded Java JDK 6.0.45 & 6.0.07 & Java JRE 6,7 to But when i open eclips it shows me this error can you help me to get it solve

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2276871

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2227376&page=14

Do you know what path i use to upack the adt bundle i have unpacked it in almost every location on my computer and still nothing eclipes wont work nothing works plz let me know if you can help i really dont want to smash my new laptop that will be no2 in amonth if i do plz help

Chapters Of C Programing

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]
================================================== ==================================================
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..
======================================================================
Dont give up, let the things sink in. It will take time , you will learn! Trust your self
======================================================================
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.
======================================================================
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 ?"
======================================================================================
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.
======================================================================================
A flow chart for registration.
i guess you can now understand this flowchart above , and i need not explain it to you.
======================================================================================

Chapter 4
Operators
===================================================================
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.
=======================================================================
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.
========================================================================
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 :
====================================================================
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
==================================================================
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.
==================================================================
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"
==================================================================
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"
====================================================================
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?
==========================================
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".
==========================================
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.
==============================================================
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.
==============================================================
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 .
===================================================
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

[App][Code project][5.0+]Rom Control app for devs

Hello ya'all,
This is gonna be a long op, I dunno where to start...
Sooooo... a while ago a friend (@tdunham) asked if we could share a settings app we made for our rom(s) (future rom(s).... as we are lazy bums). Since we mostly aimlessly wander around xda and help other devs instead of releasing our stuff, we figured... what the hell, we might as well make it into a source code project in a java-unexpirienced-dev format. So here we go!
About the project:
This app has a main function of coordinating content resolver entries between user end (your rom control app) and mods end (when you use content resolver to reitrieve settings storage database entry keys in various modded system apps).
Basically, you create a preference item, such as switch preference f.e, and when the user switches it, an entry is being overwritten in Settings.System. From there, your modded apps, according to your mods, can read the value and do some stuff...
Needless to say that this app requires, among many other things, your ability to mod system apps to use content resolver. If this doesn't mean anything to you, you're in a wrong place.
If you wish to learn more about modding smali using content resolver, you need to first get introduced to 2 amazing threads:
1. Creating and Understanding smali mods by @Goldie - if you are not fluent in that thread, you will not need this app.
2. Galaxy s5 unified mods and guides thread by @tdunham - not all guides there are using content resolver, but lately more and more are. In any case it's a great place to ask questions, learn and contribute.
Nuff said about modding, now to the project
Project characteristics:
The project is a source code project. Meaning we are not providing an application and you will not be using it by decompiling it with apktool. There are so many reasons for that that I don't know where to start. Mainly - it's bad enough samsung has made hackers out of all of us and we need to decompile and backdoor their system apps to mod them. What we can provide in source code - we will. We strongly believe in the freedom of code and we share it unconditionally (almost).
Now what is that "almost? part? Simple... You do NOT need to credit us in any of your work, you do NOT need to thank us, you do NOT need to ask permission to use this project in your rom, you also do NOT need to donate to us (you also can't, we don't have a donate button). YOU DO NEED TO RESPECT THE FREEDOM OF CODE! That means that this code is given to you under the GNU GPL (General Public License). You can review it fully here.
The most relevant part to our discussion is as following:
...For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must pass on to the recipients the same freedoms that you received. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That being said, the only thing that is required of you is that you keep sharing the code. We are not going to run around xda and "police" people using the code and not providing source. We rely on your word, that by agreeing to use the open source, you will keep it public and provide your sources as well for others to use. This VOIDS xda rule number 12, stating that each dev owns their work. Becasue the rule also states that work that is provided by a lisence that negates exclusivity, is therefore not exclusive. Any work based on this code is not to be held exclusive. And if another developer wants to use an app you built based on this code, you have an obligation to provide your sources and to keep those updated to most recent version of the app you release in order to be compliant.
Thread rules and disclaimaers:
The code is 100% original and written by us (myself and @wuby986) for this specific project. All the classes imported from public open source repositories are annotated with original developer signature and our modifications are annotated and dated as well.
To answer most asked question so far - we don't know how it is different from a custom settings app by ficeto. We have never used it in our roms and we have nerver seen it's code (neither have you). Both apps share the same idea of integrating preferences into settings db using content resolver. You are free to use any app you like. We are not saying which app is better or worse. This is seriously not a competition.
This project requires extensive knowledge in android development. As mentioned above, if you don't know how to mod system, this app is of no use to you. We will not be answering questions about smali mods.
This project requires basic knowledge in operating android studio. You need to have it installed and operational in order to work with the code. You need to have android sdk and all the support libraries updated.
This project requires SOME coding expirience or AT LEAST an open mind to getting a crash course. You will not be required to do heavy java lifting to use this app, but it would help if you knew alittle bit.
We cannot teach you how to use android studio, debug problems related to it and so on. We will provide basic instructions as to how to add items to the navigation drawer list, how to add preference fragments with ease, we will explain the idea of out code and different preferences to you. Beyond that - it's on you. We cannot and will not teach you to be a programmer. If you want to know more - the web is wide and google is your friend.
We cannot debug your code problems. This thread is for development discussion related to the project itself. If you need some requests, questions regarding exsisting code, remarks, improvements, you're more than welcome to join a github project and commit your code for everyone's benefit.
Nuff said about rules, moving forward:
Project sources:
Github source for the Rom Control application is here
Github source for the template to add preference fragment for this specific app is here
Initial instructions:
Download and install Android Studio and android sdk for your platform. Make sure all are updated
Go to the preference fragment repository and download the master as zip. Extract the zip contents into /your android adt directory/android-studio/plugins/android/lib/templates/other/
Reopen android studio
File > New > Project from Version Control > Git
The git repository is https://github.com/daxgirl/CustomSettingsForDevs.git
Specify your parent directory and directory to contain the project (will be suggested by studio)
Clone from git
Done you have the project on your pc. Wait for it to sync and build gradle.
The next couple of posts will explain extensively how to operate the app and create customize it to your rom's needs.
XDA:DevDB Information
[App][Code project][5.0+]Rom Control app for devs, App for all devices (see above for details)
Contributors
daxgirl, wuby986
Version Information
Status: Testing
Current Stable Version: 1.0
Created 2015-06-30
Last Updated 2016-04-12

Basic info and app structure
Basic info and app structure:
This application is Navigation Drawer application material design style. It uses app cpmpat in order to use the pager adapter. This can make theming alittle bit tricky, but we provided 2 themes for now which you can modify in styles.
Navigation drawer opens from the left and it contains for now example of navigation items list. For now we have 4 preference fragments and the last items is to set theme. You can add or remove fragments as you wish. The process will be fully explained.
The fragments in the main view container are being replaced based on a position of clicked item in the navigation drawer list. Remember (we will get back to it again), positions in any array begin from 0. That means that for now we have 0,1,2,3,4 items in the arrays that construct the navigation items list. When we add one, we will need to add a title and an icon (both in corresponding positions) and also add our new fragment to a special method which makes the selected items to show specific fragment. We will discuss it at lenght.
For now application contains only preference fragments. If you feel confident and know what you're doing, you can add all kinda fragments and navigation items (even more activities). We concentrate here on preference fragments, because this is the essence.
Each navigation fragment has a java class which extends PreferenceFragment and an xml file inside res/xml folder, where the preferences exist for each fragment. Once launched for the first time, each fragment will create a shared preferences file inside our "home" directory. Our directory is in /data/data/com.wubydax.romcontrol/. There you will find several files and dirs. One of them is called shared_prefs. Inside it each fragment will host it's preference xml file. The name of this file will be identical (by our design) to the name of the xml file for that fragment in /res/xml folder. Once the fragment displayed for the first time, the shared preferences file for it is created and being populated by the default values you set. We will explain later which preferences must have defaultValue set and which preferences MUST NOT.
If you open the java class for any PreferenceFragment, f.e. UIPrefsFragment.java, you will see that the code is very small. That is because we wanted to make things easier for you and we created a class called HandlePreferenceFragment.java, which manages all the work of the fragments.
When you create a new Preference Fragment using a template for android studio we provided, The fragment and it's xml file are created for you automatically. All you will have to do is add it to the item selector in the navigation drawer, of course give it a name and an icon, and you can gop ahead and populate the xml file with preferences. You will not need to touch java anymore if you don't want to.
We have the usual preferences that you know of, like SwitchPreference, CheckboxPreference, ListPreference etc, and we have our own "special" preferences to make your life easier. Those are IntentDialogPreference (to choose an app and write it's intent to the database for you to use in your mods to open apps), FilePreference (to control some booleans by creating and deleting file), we have 2 special kinds of PreferenceScreens: one for running shell scripts and one for creating intent to open apps from the control app. Those preferences will have special kind of keys, which we will demonstrate. You will not need to flash your scripts when flashing your rom. All your scripts will be managed in the assets folder and copied on run time to our home directory and executed from there. You don't need to worry about permissions, all is taken care of. Just place your scripts inside the assets folder before you compile the sources. Sae thing with opening apps as intents, all you need to do is put a main activity full name as PreferenceScreen key. Everything else is taken care of, including displaying icon. The preference will not show at all if the user doen's have an app installed. So no crashes upon clicking on non existing intents. They will just vanish from the list.
The preference files inside the project on github contains BOGUS preferences to use as an example. We will go over all of them (most contained inside first fragment - UIPrefsFragment). They are all active. But they should not trigger any mod, as you should not have those keys in your database. You can see f.e. that preference fragment "Useful apps" has like 5 preferences for app intent. some of them have bogus intent. They will not display when you run your app. They are therer to demonstrate that if the app doesn't exist, you should not worry about FC of Rom Control. It takes care of itself.
The first time the app boots it asks for root permissions. If the device is not rooted or permissions not granted, the app will never run. You all run rooted and modded roms, this app is not for stock. If you wish to disable this function, we will provide that option.
Reboot menu - on the right upper corner of the action bar you will see a reboot icon. Clicking it will show a display of 5 reboot actions: reboot, hotboot, reboot recovery, reboot download, reboot systemui. Youc an access those easily no matter what fragment you're in. Clicking outside of them or clicking back button will make the menu disappear. clicking on one of them will result in immidiate reboot function. Those are root related finctions. We can make them no root dependant once you all use an app in your /system/priv-app. Which, btw, is where we recommend it goes.
How does it work?
For the first time an app is opened (or any time an ap is opened), there is a special method inside HandlePreferenceFragment that is called initAllKeys();. This method goes over all the preferences contained inside the shared preferences for that fragment. One by one it checks their key name, checks if they are of type boolean (true or false), of tipe integer (number) or of type string (words). Then it checks what preference they belong to. It checks if the key for that preference exists in your settings storage database, if it does not - it creates all keys. If the key exists in the database but is different from what the app has - it replaces the one in the app preferences with what you have in your system. That is why it's important for most preferences to set the defaultValue that you wish to be the default, beucase the first time the app launches, it will create all the keys in the system database. once the process is done(you will not see or feel it), your preferences are yours to control. Once a user clicks on Checkbox, if it's selected (isChecked), it writes 1 to the key for that preference inside the Settings.System. and vice versa. Any change in the preferences is being registered immidiately. So your mods can be updated (provided you have observers, of course, or else you might need to reboot apps, just like you always did). Inside the class HandlePreferenceFragment there is a method updateDatabase. it is being called from a method that "wacthes"/"listens" to any change in preference.
That is, basically, all. This is how it works. Everything else is cosmetics made for your convinience and mostly based on your requests. F.e. running shell scripts, FilePreference, App picker preferences was requested by other developers to be included so we had to find a way to build in. Now you can all enjoy. Any further requests are welcome.
Overall structure in studio:
One you have opened the project in studio, you have the following structure tree on your left. Make sure you have chosen the "project" tab (far left edge of the screen) to see it:
Inside the libs folder we have the roottools jar made by the amazing @Stericson and the next folder that is of interest is the src/main. This is where the app as you know it (from apktool) is hosted. You can see inside the res folder all our resources.
If you need to change the icon for the app you need to place it inside mipmap folders. It's called ic_launcher.png. For nice app icons generator visit here . Inside the values-21 folder there is the styles.xml file that you need to edit if you want to change theme colors. Nice site for coherent material palette is here and google documentation is here.
In the main drawables folder you will find those:
As you can see there are two images there that are relevant to you: header_image and header_image_light (for both themes). Thopse are the header images for the navigation drawer. You can replace them with your own. The reference to them is inside /layout/fragment_navigation_drawer.xml as you can see here:
.
Here it's used as an attribute. You can read more about using attrs in android docs. Just replace the images and keep the names.
Inside of the resolution dependant drawable folders you can find the images for the items in the navigation drawer:
Here you can replace, move and add your own. Good resources for icons are: here and here and you can find many more out there.
Inside the assets folder we have a folder named scripts. It's important the name remains "scripts".
It's used in java code to copy the assets on runtime to our home dir. Inside scripts you put your shell scripts that you wish to run using the script running method. scripts have to be called with .sh in the end. When you create a PreferenceScreen that needs to run scripts, you give it a key like this: android:key = "script#nameofourscript". You do not add the .sh in the key. Look at the example inside ui_prefs.xml in PreferenceScreen with key android:key = "script#test". This runs the script that is currently found in assets. which basically writes into a file on your sdcard. Here you can put scripts as complex a you like. The code checkes for the exit code of the script. as long as it is 0, it will print a toast "executed successfully" upon clicking your preference. To try it run the app on your phone and click on a preference screen with summary "Click see what happens". Make sure your scripts are well formed and test them before including. Remember that you're under sudo. Linux shell will execute anything under sudo without asking.
Inside the /res/xml folder are our preference xml files. This will be your main playground. In those files we will be adding the preference items to appear in each of your fragments.
And finally for the java classes:
Here is where all the work is being done in real time. If you don't have expirience, you won't have to go there besides when you need to add the more nav drawer items.
Adding a new fragment and navigation drawer list item:
1. Provided you read the OP instructions and cloned the Rom Control Preference Fragment template repository into /your android adt directory/android-studio/plugins/android/lib/templates/other/, you need to restart android studio and we are ready to go.
2. Right click on the main java package of out application and navigate to New > Fragment > Fragment (6thGear Preference Fragment) like you can see on the picture below:
Once you click on adding the fragment the foloowing window will open:
As you can see the initial names are: for fragment - BlankFragment and for xml blank_prefs. You can change it as you like. BUT! Leave the word Fragment. Once you change the FIRST part of the fragment name, the first part of the prefs file name will be changed automatically. See the img below:
So we have chosen to create a new fragment called PowerMenuFragent and below that we have the preference xml name. the name is automatically generated as you put in your class name for the fragment. The java naming convention states that a class must begin with capital letter and all meaningful words in class name must also begin with capital letter. The xml name generator will split the word Fragment from your class name and make the other words into xml legal name form separated by under score and will add _prefs in the end. So it becomes power_menu_prefs.xml.
Click "finish" and you have a new fragment class and a new xml file for it inside /xml folder. The fragment will look like this:
You don't need to edit it. It's done in template. It instantiates the class called HandlePreferenceFragment and refers to it's main methods. For more infor you can read my annotations in the HPF class.
Your new xml file is now empty and contains an empty preference screen like so:
We will populate it with preferences later.
Now we need to make this new fragment REACHABLE for user. So we need to add an item to the navigation drawer sections. Let's do that:
1. Open /values/strings.xml and find an array of strings. we will add our new item name in a place we want. In this case I will add it after the Framework section (in blue):
Code:
<string-array name="nav_drawer_items">
<item>SystemUI Mods</item>
<item>Phone Mods</item>
<item>Framework and General</item>
[COLOR="Blue"][B]<item>Power Menu</item>[/B][/COLOR]
<item>Useful Apps</item>
<item>Set Theme</item>
</string-array>
2. Now you will need a new icon to appear to the left of the section name in nav drawer. You can add your own icon at this point. It's a good practice to add images for all resolutions. But who are we kidding? You're making a rom for one device. So to remind you, s4, note3, s5 are xxhdpi and note4, s6 are xxxhdpi. I will use existing icon called ic_reboot.png for this section.
3. Now we need to get our hands dirty and go into java alittle. Open MainViewActivity and find the following method. This method is well annotated for your use. So you can refer to it every time you add an item for reference of how-to. Observe the new blue item:
Code:
//Creates a list of NavItem objects to retrieve elements for the Navigation Drawer list of choices
public List<NavItem> getMenu() {
List<com.wubydax.romcontrol.NavItem> items = new ArrayList<>();
/*String array of item names is located in strings.xml under name nav_drawer_items
* If you wish to add more items you need to:
* 1. Add item to nav_drawer_items array
* 2. Add a valid material design icon/image to dir drawable
* 3. Add that image ID to the integer array below (int[] mIcons
* 4. The POSITION of your new item in the string array MUST CORRESPOND to the position of your image in the integer array mIcons
* 5. Create new PreferenceFragment or your own fragment or a method that you would like to invoke when a user clicks on your new item
* 6. Continue down this file to a method onNavigationDrawerItemSelected(int position) - next method
* 7. Add an action based on position. Remember that positions in array are beginning at 0. So if your item is number 6 in array, it will have a position of 5... etc
* 8. You need to add same items to the int array in NavigationDrawerFragment, which has the same method*/
String[] mTitles = getResources().getStringArray(R.array.nav_drawer_items);
int[] mIcons =
{R.drawable.ic_ui_mods,
R.drawable.ic_phone_mods,
R.drawable.ic_general_framework,
[B][COLOR="Blue"]R.drawable.ic_reboot,[/COLOR][/B]
R.drawable.ic_apps,
R.drawable.ic_settings};
for (int i = 0; i < mTitles.length && i < mIcons.length; i++) {
com.wubydax.romcontrol.NavItem current = new com.wubydax.romcontrol.NavItem();
current.setText(mTitles[i]);
current.setDrawable(mIcons[i]);
items.add(current);
}
return items;
}
As you can see I added a line R.drawable.ic_reboot. What is it? This is an equivalent to public id in smali. It is in fact an integer. So it appears inside integer array called mIcons. Our respurces in android are referenced by capital R. then we have the resource type, in this case - drawable, and then the item name (without extension). Note the order of the id in the array, I added my string after the framework string. So I also add the id for the drawable after the id of the framework drawable. This is vital to understand, as the list is being populated on runtime based on items positions. Items in an array are separated by comma.
4. Now open NavigationDrawerFragment class and you will find the same method there. Please add the same id in the same way there. You MUST do so in both classes every time.
5. Now we go back to the MainViewActivity and we find the following method. it will be right after the getMenu() method we just edited. The method is called onNavigationDrawerItemSelected(int position). This method is responsible for performing action based on which navigation drawer item is clicked by a user. Positions are the positions of items in the List of our objects. So we have so far 6 items out arrays (strings and drawable id integers). That means their positions are 0,1,2,3,4,5 respectively. Look at the method as it appears in the original code:
Code:
@Override
public void onNavigationDrawerItemSelected(int position) {
/* update the main content by replacing fragments
* See more detailed instructions on the thread or in annotations to the previous method*/
setTitle(getMenu().get(position).getText());
switch (position) {
case 0:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new UIPrefsFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;
case 1:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new PhonePrefsFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;
case 2:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new FrameworksGeneralFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;
case 3:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new AppLinksFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;
case 4:
showThemeChooserDialog();
break;
}
}
Here we have switch case based on position of an item. This is the same as saying: if the position of an item is 0, perform this action, else, if the position is 1, perform that action and so on. Only in this case we say: compiler, switch cases based on integer - in case 0: do something, in case 1: do something else. So we need to add an item after the framework section. Framework section has position of 2 (it's item number 3). So now we add our new fragment like so:
Code:
@Override
public void onNavigationDrawerItemSelected(int position) {
/* update the main content by replacing fragments
* See more detailed instructions on the thread or in annotations to the previous method*/
setTitle(getMenu().get(position).getText());
switch (position) {
case 0:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new UIPrefsFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;
case 1:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new PhonePrefsFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;
case 2:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new FrameworksGeneralFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;
[COLOR="blue"][B]case 3:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new PowerMenuFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;[/B][/COLOR]
case [COLOR="blue"][B]4[/B][/COLOR]:
getFragmentManager().beginTransaction().addToBackStack(null).replace(R.id.container, new AppLinksFragment()).commitAllowingStateLoss();
break;
case [COLOR="blue"][B]5[/B][/COLOR]:
showThemeChooserDialog();
break;
}
}
Note how the new case is now number 3 and the positions of the following cases need to be increased.
Now we can run our app and and there is our new section item:
That's it for this post. Post #3 we will talk about different preference kinds we have and how to use them.
Till then...
To be continued.....

Handling different kinds of preferences:
Now we roll with populating our preference fragments. Each preference fragment is unique for your needs, depends on your use, your modded apps and categories. All we do, as mentioned above, is provide you with preferences to communicate with your modded system apps using ContentResolver class.
For each preference I will explain:
Does it write preferences into shared preferences? and if it does...
What kind of object it writes to shared preferences of our app?
What kind of value we then write into SettingsSystem database?
What kind of key it uses and why?
SwitchPreference/CheckboxPreference:
Images:
You MUST provide defaultValue for ANY switch preference you create
It writes boolean (true or false) into the shared preferences
We copy it as integer (1 or 0) into the Settings.System database
It mush have a unique key, none of existent in databse. It must be the same key as you use in your mod for that function. F.e. statusbar_clock_visibility. Clock can be either visible or invisible. So switch preference will serve us good here. Also will checkbox preference. In your mod when you retrieve and integer using ContentResolver you specify the default value (if the key is not found). You have to specify the same default value here. If in smaly it was 0x1,. then in the app it must be android:defaultValue = "true". YOU MUST SPECIFY DEFAULT!
In preference xml inside your empty PreferenceScreen claws, you add this:
Code:
<SwitchPreference
android:defaultValue="true"
android:key="clock_visibility"
android:summaryOff="Clock is hidden"
android:summaryOn="Clock is visible"
android:title="Set Clock Visibility" />
Code:
<CheckBoxPreference
android:defaultValue="false"
android:key="brightness_visibility"
android:summaryOff="Brightness slider hidden"
android:summaryOn="Brightness slider is visible"
android:title="Notification Brightness Visibility" />
This is all you need. The key will work automatically. The first time the user runs your app it will look for that key in the database, if it finds it, it will copy the value into our app and the switch will be set accordingly, if it does not find it, it will copy the defaultvalue of your preference to the database.
Of course the proper way of using strings for title and summary is by using string resources. In android studio you can create strings resources after you have typed the string. F.e. click on one of the strings, like for title, and on your keyboard press alt+enter. You will be given an option to extract string resource. That is all up to you. If your app is only in english, you don't really need to do that.
ListPreference:
Usually you would create list preference by specifying <ListPreference..../>. We had added some functionality to native android preferences for List and EditText. So we have our own classes that extend those preferences. So when we create a list preference we use our own class, so the preference looks like this:
Code:
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.MyListPreference
android:defaultValue="2"
android:entries="@array/clock_position_entries"
android:entryValues="@array/clock_position_values"
android:key="any_clock_position"
android:title="Status Bar Clock Position" />
Once you open < in studio and start typing com..... it will give you the options of preferences existing in our app. Just choose the one you need and it will create the name for it. Don't worry if you mistype, it will not compile.
List preference in android persists string. That means that it writes object of string type into the shared preferences. You need to create 2 string arrays for each list preference. One for Entries - what is displayed in the dialog as single choice items for user. and One is for entryValues (what is being written into the preferences). You can from your mod read them as integers or strings using content resolver. f.e., if your values are 200, 300, 400, android will persist them as strings. But when you restrieve them from database in your systemui smali mod, f.e., you can call either getInt (to get them as integers) or getString to get them as strings. Of course strings array like bread, milk, cookies cannot be retrieved as integer. But a string 200 can be either.
When you retrieve a default value in your smali mod, you retrieve f.e. 200. so YOU NEED TO SET 200 as defaultValue. Or in the above case, it's 2. YOU MUST SPECIFY THE DEFAULT STRING!
You do not specify summary for this preference, we take care of it in code. like so:
EditTextPreference:
Code:
Code:
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.MyEditTextPreference
android:defaultValue="simpletext"
android:key="carrier_text"
android:title="Set Custom Carrier Text" />
This preference also persists string. It also writes string into the database. You retrieve it only as string. Because you can't control what user types. You don't want your modded systemui to crash because a user inputted "bread" and you are trying to read it as integer.
YOU MUST SPECIFY THE DEFAULT STRING for EditTextPreference.
ColorPickerPreference:
Writes and integer into the sharedpreferences and we retrieve integer into the database.
Color integers are special. I will not go into how and why. I have created a utility helper app for devs for this purpose. The app's main function is to convert hex string to integers or to reverse smali hex string. You can find an apk and explanations how to use it here.
Remember, YOU MUST-MUST-MUST SPECIFY defaultValue for ColorPicker in our app!!! and YOU MUST USE ACTUAL INTEGERS to do so properly. Just trust us on that. It's no biggie. You use our app for hex converter to both create your default smali hex value and to create an integer for this app.
The code for ColorPickerPreference:
Code:
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.ColorPickerPreference
alphaSlider="true"
android:defaultValue="-16777215"
android:key="clock_color"
android:title="Choose Clock Color" />
As you can see this android:defaultValue="-16777215" is an actual integer for color black. You get it by using our app. You put 000000 into the first text field and click the button. The integer that you get is -16777215. We also have color preview available. It's a very useful tool. Use it and you can never go wrong with neither integers nor smali inverse hex values for your default color.
Now note the special attribute called "alphaSlider" in the code. This is a boolean type. By default it's false. Meaning you can create color picker preference with or withour transparency option.
SeekBarPreference - the SLIDER:
Writes integer of the slideer progress into the database. The moment your finger has stopped tracking the bar, an integer is being registered into the sharedpreference and then being retrieved into the databasse.
Code:
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.SeekBarPreference
min="0"
unitsRight="Kb/s"
android:defaultValue="10"
android:key="network_traffic_autohide_threshold"
android:max="100"
android:title="Autohide Threshold" />
YOU MUST SET DEFAULT VALUE!!!! IN INTEGER!
You can specify special values such as unitsRight, like "%" or "Kb/s" and so on. You can specify the min and the max value. You probably better not specify the summary. But you can if you want.
IntentDialogPreference - App Chooser:
Code:
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.IntentDialogPreference
includeSearch="true"
setSeparatorString="\##"
android:key="choosen_app_gear"
android:title="Choose App" />
This is a very special preference kind. It was created by request from @rompnit. They use intents from database to open apps in certain mods. You will have to ask them on @tdunham thread how and when they use it. We created this preference from scratch specifically for them. This is a completely custom kind of android preference. It displays a dialog of all your LAUNCHABLE apps (apps that have default launch intent that can be retrieved by using PackageManager method getLaunchIntentForPackage. In other words - all apps that appear in your launcher will appear on the dialog.
What happens when you click on an app? What is being written into preferences is a special kind of string. The srting might look like this: com.android.settings/com.android.settings.Settings or it might look like this com.android.settings##com.android.settings.Settings... this is what you need to create basic intent. You need package name and activity name. What separates them is up to you. You will need to split them in your smali mod into package name and activity name to create intent. We have created 2 special attributes for this preference:
1. setSeparatorString =this is what will separate the package name from the class name. The default (if you don't specify) is "/". Remember that if you use chars that must be escaped in xml, f.e. like hash(#), you need to escfape them by backslash, like so setSeparatorString = "\##".
2. includeSearch - this is a boolean type of attribute. It is false by default. If you specify true, the search field will appear on the dialog above the apps list, allowing your users to search for an app by name inside the list adapter. We also included a list alphabetical indexer. So it's up to you if it's necessary.
Once the app is chosen, the summary for the preference is set to the app name and the icon on the right side will be the app icon.
Your database will contain now the basic component for the intent. What you do with it in your smali is up to you.
DO NOT SET DEFAULT VALUE FOR THIS PREFERENCE!!!
FilePreference:
This is very special kind of preference requested by @tdunham. What is does it creates and deletes file with a certain name in our home files dir. It is located at /data/data/com.wubydax.romcontrol/files
Code:
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.FilePreference
android:key=[COLOR="red"]"testfile"[/COLOR]
android:summaryOff="File doesn't exist"
android:summaryOn="File exists"
android:title="Test File Preference" />
The reason this is used by some devs, apparently, is when you need to mod smali file, which originates in a class that does not take context as parameter. Without context you cannot call the ContentResolver, so you cannot retrieve from the database. So what you can do instead is create a boolean condition based on existence or non existence of a certain file. File class does not require context. All it needs is to be instantiated as object and be given a string as path. For exampple:
Code:
[COLOR="Green"]File[/COLOR] [COLOR="Blue"]file[/COLOR] = new [COLOR="green"]File[/COLOR]("[COLOR="Purple"]/data/data/com.wubydax.romcontrol/testfile[/COLOR]");
means that object file of class File is a file located at /data/data/com.wubydax.romcontrol/ and called "testfile". In java class File you have a method (boolean) which is called "exists". So a condition can be made like this:
Code:
if(file.exists){
int i = 1;
} else {
i = 0;
}
So you can create a boolean method that will return 0 or 1 based on existence of the file at certain location.
This is the idea behind this preference.
The key for this preference is THE NAME OF THE FILE.
YOU DO NOT SPECIFY THE DEFAULT!!!
The preference looks like switch preference. But it acts differently. Youc an specify summaryOn and Off as you need. It does not write into database. It just creates and deletes the file.
Script executing PreferenceScreen:
As entioned above you can create PreferenceScreen which will execute shell scripts upon click. Example:
Code:
<PreferenceScreen
android:key=[COLOR="Red"]"script#test"[/COLOR]
android:summary="Click see what happens"
android:title="New Preference Screen" />
Note the key format. It has to begin with script#! The part after the hash (#) is the name of the script you wish to execute, in this case the script is test.sh which you can find in the source you pulled inside assets folder..
Where are the scripts??? You put them inside assets folder (see post #2). You name your scripts f.e. test.sh script (has to end with .sh). But you do not add the .sh extension to the string (we do that in code).
Every time your app launches it checks for scripts in the assets folder. It wants to make sure all the scripts ar being copied to our home dir. Inside files folder there we create a folder called scripts. All your scripts will be automatically copied there from assets, given permission 0755 and ready to be executed.
Wgen a user clicks on a Script Executing PreferenceScreen, the app looks if a script with that name exists in our files dir. If it does, it attemts to execute it. I have explained in post #2. We also check just in case that the script is executable. There is native java method to do that. So if you or your user just add a script to the scripts folder in home directory and forgot to make it 0755, we do that for you in java with this method:
Code:
if (script.exists()) {
[COLOR="Blue"][B]boolean isChmoded = script.canExecute() ? true : false;
if (!isChmoded) {
script.setExecutable(true);
}[/B][/COLOR]
Command command = new Command(0, pathToScript) {
@Override
public void commandCompleted(int id, int exitcode) {
super.commandCompleted(id, exitcode);
if (exitcode != 0) {
Toast.makeText(c, String.valueOf(exitcode), Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
} else {
Toast.makeText(c, "Executed Successfully", Toast.LENGTH_SHORT).show();
}
}
};
try {
RootTools.getShell(true).add(command);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (TimeoutException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (RootDeniedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
Make suer your scripts are of valid shell format, test them separately before you put them in the app. Be careful, all the scripts are being executed under sudo. Means anything you write shall be done. Do not make mistakes in your script. Adding su to your scripts is not necessary. We execute them as root anyway.
So...
Create a shell script and test it on your device
Place it inside the assets folder of your app
Call it f.e. killbill.sh
Create a PreferenceScreen entry and givie it a key android:key = "script#killbill"
Compile the app
Clicking on that preference should execute killbill.sh which will now be foind in /data/data/com.wibydax.romcontrol/files/scripts/killbill.sh and have permissions 0755.
DO NOT SET DEFAULT FOR PreferenceScreen EVER!!!
Intent opening Preference Screen:
Code:
<PreferenceScreen
android:key=[COLOR="Red"]"com.wubydax.gearreboot.RebootActivity"[/COLOR]
android:summary="Opens TWSwipe app to help you choose a different swipe activity"
android:title="Reset TWSwipe Action" />
This is a regular preference screen, so it would seem, but it has a special function. Usually, in order to open an intent with PreferenceScreen, you need to specify a whole lot of intent rules, like action, target class, target package and so on. We have made your life easy. If you want to link to an app from your rom control application, all you need to do is to specify the activity you wish to run as a key to this preference.
You are not allowed to use "." in any other preference key. If you use "." the app will read it as possible intent. If it cannot resolve it, it will make it disappear from the list.
This kind of preference is fully automated. Once the app reads the key, it does all the work for you, it sets the icon for the preference as the app icon, it creates a viable intent.
If the user doesn't have an app that you link to installed, the app will never appear in the preferences. So the user can never click on it. Because otherwise it would give FC to the app.
Nested PreferenceScreen:
If you include regular preference screen, you never need to set a key. Preference screen that envelops the items inside of it will always lead to a nested preference screen that has some included preferences. and so on. We have a loop running through your entire preference tree and detecting all your preference screen and differentiating them by their abilities (being script executing, being intents and so on).
Nested Preference Screen would look like this:
Code:
[COLOR="Red"]<PreferenceScreen
android:summary="New Preference screen"
android:title="New Preference Screen">[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]<-- Start of nested preference screen[/COLOR]
<PreferenceCategory android:title="new category" />
<CheckBoxPreference
android:key="text_checkbox"
android:title="Checkbox" />
<SwitchPreference
android:key="test_switch"
android:title="Switch" />
[COLOR="Red"]</PreferenceScreen>[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]<-- End of nested preference screen[/COLOR]
Inside of it you can have more preferences and more preference screens.
PreferenceCategory:
Preference category is an enveloping kinda preference. It is different in color and appearence then the rest. It makes sub-portions of preference screen look separate from each other and easier to identify. F.e.:
Code:
<PreferenceScreen xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">
[COLOR="Red"] <PreferenceCategory android:title="Status Bar Mods">[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]<-- start of preference category[/COLOR]
<SwitchPreference
android:defaultValue="true"
android:key="clock_visibility"
android:summaryOff="Clock is hidden"
android:summaryOn="Clock is visible"
android:title="Set Clock Visibility" />
<CheckBoxPreference
android:defaultValue="false"
android:key="brightness_visibility"
android:summaryOff="Brightness slider hidden"
android:summaryOn="Brightness slider is visible"
android:title="Notification Brightness Visibility" />
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.MyListPreference
android:defaultValue="2"
android:entries="@array/clock_position_entries"
android:entryValues="@array/clock_position_values"
android:key="any_clock_position"
android:title="Status Bar Clock Position" />
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.MyEditTextPreference
android:defaultValue="simpletext"
android:key="carrier_text"
android:title="Set Custom Carrier Text"
/>
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.ColorPickerPreference
alphaSlider="true"
android:defaultValue="-16777215"
android:key="clock_color"
android:title="Choose Clock Color" />
<PreferenceScreen
android:key="script#test"
android:summary="Click see what happens"
android:title="New Preference Screen" />
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.SeekBarPreference
min="0"
unitsRight="Kb/s"
android:defaultValue="10"
android:icon="@null"
android:key="network_traffic_autohide_threshold"
android:max="100"
android:title="Autohide Threshold" />
<PreferenceScreen
android:summary="New Preference screen"
android:title="New Preference Screen">
<PreferenceCategory android:title="new category" />
<CheckBoxPreference
android:key="text_checkbox"
android:title="Checkbox" />
<SwitchPreference
android:key="test_switch"
android:title="Switch" />
</PreferenceScreen>
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.IntentDialogPreference
includeSearch="true"
setSeparatorString="\##"
android:key="choosen_app_gear"
android:title="Choose App" />
<com.wubydax.romcontrol.prefs.FilePreference
android:key="testfile"
android:summaryOff="File doesn't exist"
android:summaryOn="File exists"
android:title="Test File Preference" />
[COLOR="red"]</PreferenceCategory>[/COLOR] [COLOR="Green"]<-- end of PreferenceCategory[/COLOR]
</PreferenceScreen>
This is it for now, more per demand and need. Have fun!

General tips and tricks
Some tips and tricks
Running app and debugging:
Android studio provides you with built in logcat. Not only that you can debug the app you're working on, you can debug any app you're modding too. Just need to specify the filter for the logcat and the package name. Dig in and you will find some cool features.
You need to have unknown souces enabled and usb debugging enabled to run your compiled app directly on your device.
1. You can install and run this app as user app. It does not need to be system app. For now no features require it. You can of course include it as system app in your rom. We recommend pulling the base.apk from data folder and pushing to /system/priv-app
2. You do not need USB cable to debug and run your app from studio. There is anifty app I am using. You can download it here https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.wifiadb&hl=en. All you need to do is open the command line on your pc and type adb connect <ip number of your phone in the network>:5555. The app will provide you with an IP number.
Now studio will recognize your device as USB debugging device even though it's not connected with usb cable. I just hate cables.......
Including key specific functions:
For now all our work is done automatically for us. You click a preference and the work is done. But what if you have a key that you want to do alittle more with than just write into database? I will give you an example.
We have a SwitchPreference in our app that enables/disables call recording. That mod requires restart of InCallUI.apk. Now you can of course restart it by creating a Script Running PreferenceScreen item called Reboot InCallUI and it will be fine. That's what you have been doing so far. But let me show you what you can do now that you own your source code.
We have two ways to kill that app. Silently (without user knowing - very cool) or informing the user. Let me show you how it would be done.
Let's say you create a preference for call recording:
Code:
<[COLOR="red"]SwitchPreference[/COLOR]
android:defaultValue="true"
android:key="[COLOR="Red"]toggle_call_recording[/COLOR]"
android:summaryOff="Call recording is disabled"
android:summaryOn="Call recording is enabled"
android:title="Enable/Disable Call Recording" />
The two things we need to know is the key and the class instance of preference - which is SwitchPreference.
Let us go to the java class HandlePreferenceFragments and find a method called public void onSharedPreferenceChanged(SharedPreferences sharedPreferences, String key){}}. In android studio you can search through class by pressing ctrl+f.
In that method we have switch by the preference class name (INSTANCE). So we have this case:
Code:
case "SwitchPreference":
SwitchPreference s = (SwitchPreference) pf.findPreference(key);
s.setChecked(sharedPreferences.getBoolean(key, true));
break;
What this means is: if the preference is of kind SwitchPreference, when the preference is changes, do something..... So.... let us do something with our SPECIFIC switch preference for our SPPECIFIC key!!!
Let us try this:
The silent way:
Code:
case "SwitchPreference":
SwitchPreference s = (SwitchPreference) pf.findPreference(key);
s.setChecked(sharedPreferences.getBoolean(key, true));
[COLOR="Blue"][B]if (key.equals("toggle_call_recording")) {
Command c = new Command(0, "pkill com.android.incallui");
try {
RootTools.getShell(true).add(c);
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (TimeoutException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
} catch (RootDeniedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}[/B][/COLOR]
break;
This will kill the InCallUI every time the user switches that switch. So what happened here? The user switched the switch, the boolean got written to the database (in a different method), then the app relevant to this key was restarted. Next time a user makes a call - the call recording will be updated!!!
Now let us do it in a no silent way:
Let us inform the user. We have a little method in that class called public void appRebootRequired(final String pckgName) { ...}. Let us try to use it...
So let us go back to our onSharedPreferencesChanged method and instaed of the condition we used silently, we do something like this:
Code:
case "SwitchPreference":
SwitchPreference s = (SwitchPreference) pf.findPreference(key);
s.setChecked(sharedPreferences.getBoolean(key, true));
[COLOR="blue"][B]if (key.equals("toggle_call_recording")) {
appRebootRequired("com.android.incallui");
}[/B][/COLOR]
break;
The user clicks on the preference and see what happens:
Now for InCallUI it might be better to restart the app silently. Since the change is not visible to user anyway. But if you need to restart systemui, then it might be better to inform the user. So all you need to do is instead of passing a string "com.android.incallui" pass a string "com.android systemui". The method will do everything automatically. See how the dialog changes:
Adding more than one special key
If you need to add more than one special key (see popst #3 for instructions and explanations), you have 2 options:
1. We can go on with the if/else conditions, like so:
Code:
case "SwitchPreference":
SwitchPreference s = (SwitchPreference) pf.findPreference(key);
s.setChecked(sharedPreferences.getBoolean(key, true));
[COLOR="blue"][B] if (key.equals("toggle_call_recording")) {
appRebootRequired("com.android.incallui");
} else if (key.equals("some_other_key")) {
//do something you want
} else if (key.equals("again_some_key")) {
//do something different
}[/B][/COLOR]
break;
2. Or we make a switch for that based on key. Like so:
Code:
case "SwitchPreference":
SwitchPreference s = (SwitchPreference) pf.findPreference(key);
s.setChecked(sharedPreferences.getBoolean(key, true));
[COLOR="Blue"][B]switch (key){
case("toggle_call_recording"):
appRebootRequired("com.android.incallui");
break;
case("toggle_clock_visibility"):
appRebootRequired("com.android.systemui");
break;
case("some_other_key"):
//do something
break;
case("some_other_different_key"):
//do something different
break;
}[/B][/COLOR]
break;
Please note:
You can add the specific conditions to any preferences
You need to add them to the same preference instance as the preference that the key belongs to. Right now I showed how to do it for switch preference. You can do the same for any preference. If the key belongs to checkbox preference, you need to put the conditions inside the case of the "CheckBoxPreference" and so on
You need to make sure your condition comes AFTER our built in lines. Like in this case I added it after the initiation of the object and setChecked
You need to finish your conditions BEFORE the main break; of the case.
More to come at later time and per demand...

Huge THANK YOU @daxgirl & @Wuby986 for this!! Folks will love this app!!

Awesome!! Glad to see you have finally released it. I'm sure it'll be fantastic!!

HIZZAH!!! Kudos to wuby and daxgirl!!!

And just when I thought I could take a break from Android.....

The Sickness said:
And just when I thought I could take a break from Android.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You??? Duh.......
Sent from my awesome g920f powered by 6thGear

Thebear j koss said:
View attachment 3384150
HIZZAH!!! Kudos to wuby and daxgirl!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mostly to daxgirl
She will say no, but is true
The Sickness said:
And just when I thought I could take a break from Android.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eheehhehe there is always a good reason to start again

Delivered as promised, great work you 2, thanks a million bunch to you both & to your great testers.
PS : @daxgirl @Wuby986 any chance this app will have the phone make us coffee in the morning ! ( kidding, Sorry )

@daxgirl and @Wuby986 you guys really rock? thanks, thanks and thanks! ?

claude96 said:
Delivered as promised, great work you 2, thanks a million bunch to you both & to your great testers.
PS : @daxgirl @Wuby986 any chance this app will have the phone make us coffee in the morning ! ( kidding, Sorry )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Over the past couple weeks @tdunham and @ rompnit definitely tried to make us do that. .. the answer is... of you can make your coffee machine get context and use content resolver, we will deliver the toggle to trigger your morning pleasure
Sent from my awesome g920f powered by 6thGear

daxgirl said:
Over the past couple weeks @tdunham and @ rompnit definitely tried to make us do that. .. the answer is... of you can make your coffee machine get context and use content resolver, we will deliver the toggle to trigger your morning pleasure
Sent from my awesome g920f powered by 6thGear
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@daxgirl I'm sure if anyone can !, you can, but unfortunately my coffee machine doesn't speak android at all:crying:, anyway thanks a million bunch for all your great work & help & all ( best of luck with the new upcoming rom btw:good: )

claude96 said:
@daxgirl I'm sure if anyone can !, you can, but unfortunately my coffee machine doesn't speak android at all:crying:, anyway thanks a million bunch for all your great work & help & all ( best of luck with the new upcoming rom btw:good: )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! We really appreciate!
As for the rom. .. it will be awhile I guess...
In a mean while I will get back to writing instructions.
Some screenies added to the op...
Sent from my awesome g920f powered by 6thGear

daxgirl said:
Thanks! We really appreciate!
As for the rom. .. it will be awhile I guess...
In a mean while I will get back to writing instructions.
Some screenies added to the op...
Sent from my awesome g920f powered by 6thGear
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're most welcome, and thank you of course ( pics ( app ) looks great btw )
PS : about your rom, a word to the wise ( if I may ! ), just make it bug free as much as possible ( witch is no problem for you I'm sure ), don't throw everything in it at 1st ( users will always want more and new stuff of course, normal ! ), again thanks a million and best of luck, keep up the great work.

Amazing! Now I need to fold up my sleeves and start learning something.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

claude96 said:
You're most welcome, and thank you of course ( pics ( app ) looks great btw )
PS : about your rom, a word to the wise ( if I may ! ), just make it bug free as much as possible ( witch is no problem for you I'm sure ), don't throw everything in it at 1st ( users will always want more and new stuff of course, normal ! ), again thanks a million and best of luck, keep up the great work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a wonderful idea and this is exactly our intention always. We are not for being the best or the fastest or the most unique. We are all that in our hearts It's just we are too jumpy from thing to thing... and we never manage to finish a rom between all our ideas... I am starting to think we might not have been meant to
kmokhtar79 said:
Amazing! Now I need to fold up my sleeves and start learning something.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My dear friend, if anyone can, YOU CAN!!! I have every faith in you!!!

Second post with instructions now contains an explanation of basic idea and how the app works... The rest after I wake up. It's almost 5am here and I am semi conscious... See ya guys tomorrow!

great, good job as always, i was thinking about one thing: when we add a new mod we learned to put our "key" in settings system database, so my idea is:there is a way to make a general observer that read all the "key" in system database so as to update our choices in real time?

Tool to extract Samsung Motion Photos to plain jpg and mp4

First off, I've been browsing here for some time, but I've just registered so I'm sorry if I'm breaking any etiquette or conventions on posting.
I ran across goofwear's tool to extract videos and photos from Samsung Motion Photos and thought it was useful. But I really wanted something that I'd be able to throw a whole album of motion photos at, rather than doing one at a time with this or the share app. I looked at the .bat file they used and implemented the same technique in C, so it could quickly process many photos. It's written with some direct Win32 API calls, so it's pretty much Windows only though making a cross platform command line version without the open dialog would be trivial. It is a simple program though, so it should work fine on Linux or Mac through Wine.
Here's the exe.
See the main page of that Github repository for more complete instructions and full source.
How to use:
1. Copy your Motion Photos off your Samsung phone, to your PC. Just copy them out of the DCIM folder.
2. Run the program. An "open" dialog appears. Apart from that there's no GUI on this program.
3. Browse to your photos and select them. Hold ctrl to select more than one, or shift to select a range. Or, ctrl+A to select all in a folder.
4. Click Open.
5. Wait. Depending how many you selected, it might take a little bit. When it's done, a message box will appear.
6. You should see *_photo.jpg and *_video.mp4 files next to the originals in the source directory. Note that this program does not modify the original files. It doesn't even open them with write permissions enabled.
Alternately, drag one or more photos from Windows Explorer onto the exe's icon instead of using the open dialog.
Screenshots:
{
"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"
}
Version History:
1.0: Initial release
1.1: Added optional compile-time option to delete the original file after extracting
2.0: Refactored a bit, added a proper build system, and multilanguage support; moved to a 'real' Github repo
2.1: It now preserves timestamps when making the extracted files, and now supports a -r flag to rename the original file instead of appending _photo and _video to the extracted ones.
Andylain has written a Chinese language explanation of the usage of this program, and kindly translated the UI to Chinese (Traditional). To use it in Chinese, either have your Windows set to Chinese language, or rename the exe to put _zh at the end of the name. To use it in English on a Chinese Windows, put _en at the end of the name.
If for some reason you want the old version exe, the old "delete-original" exe, or the old source code, you can still have them.

Can you help to make a version that delete the source after successfully exact?

@Andylain Here's one that deletes the original file after splitting it into photo and video.
Oops -- turns out it was smaller because I forgot to include the icon last time. I've updated the link now and it points at a new build that has an icon.

This is super helpful, Thank you! Oh, there is no beautiful icon in this version.
BTW, I am a Chinese blogger live in Taiwan, I blogged this tool and made a Chinese user guide in my blog "andylain‧blogspot‧com/2017/07/SamsungMotionPictureExtractor.html" .
(Sorry, I am a new user and not allowed to post link.)
If you think that's not a great idea, please tell me and I'll delete my post.

@Andylain Thanks for linking me to your post, and thanks for writing a Chinese explanation for how to use it. I'm happy for people to use my program if they find it useful.
Would a proper Chinese language version of the program be helpful, or are most people there able to read enough English to understand the few error and status messages the program has?

@Andylain Please update your link to the "delete original" version to this one. I forgot to include the icon when building it yesterday.

Chupi383 said:
@Andylain Thanks for linking me to your post, and thanks for writing a Chinese explanation for how to use it. I'm happy for people to use my program if they find it useful.
Would a proper Chinese language version of the program be helpful, or are most people there able to read enough English to understand the few error and status messages the program has?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's not hard to understand the status messages
However, a proper Chinese language version of the program would be much more helpful for girls and elderly since Samsung sell a lot of pink S8/S7 for this target.
I really love this app (super helpful for me) and I am happy to translate it , but I don't know how to code BTW. :silly: (just a blogger/photographer)
---------- Post added at 12:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:47 PM ----------
Chupi383 said:
@Andylain Please update your link to the "delete original" version to this one. I forgot to include the icon when building it yesterday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the update. I update the link to my blog and facebook fanpage

@Andylain I've extracted all the user-facing strings from my code. The text in [square brackets] are comments giving some context for the message that follows, and don't appear anywhere in the program.
Code:
=====
[this message is shown in a dialog box if you click cancel on the open photos dialog]
You can use this program 3 different ways:
GUI USE: Just run it. You'll get an file-open dialog where you can open .jpg files. Use ctrl or shift or drag to select more than one.
DRAG & DROP USE: Drag one or more motion photos onto the icon for this exe.
COMMAND LINE USE: Run this program with one or more motion photo file names as arguments. Remember to use "quotes" if there are spaces in the names.
Any way you run it, the original files will not be modified. The extracted photo and video will be stored in *_photo.jpg and *_video.mp4 where * is the name of the original file, minus the .jpg extension.
Coded by Chupi383. All credit for the method goes to goofwear at the XDA forums. I've just ported their .bat file to plain C and Win32.
=====
[this is the title of the program]
Samsung Motion Photo Batch Extractor
=====
[this is displayed in the open dialog, under the box where you can type a filename, in a drop-down list]
Motion Photos (*.jpg)
All Files (*.*)
=====
[this is the title bar of the open dialog]
Open some Samsung Motion Photos
=====
[this message is shown if the user selected a file with a really really long name]
Skipping too-long path: <filename goes here>
=====
[title bar for error dialogs]
Error
=====
[error if the user selects over the maximum number of files (currently 10000)]
You've selected too many files. I can only do up to 10000 at a time.
=====
[error if the user selects so many files the Windows "open" dialog box gives up]
You've selected too many files. Try selecting fewer files and process them in bunches.
=====
[appended to names of extracted files - not sure if these should be translated]
_photo
_video
=====
[error if enough memory couldn't be allocated, possibly because the computer is out of RAM]
Can't allocate RAM to read <number> bytes from <filename>
=====
[error if a file can't be read for some reason, perhaps a damaged disk]
Skipping due to read error:
<filename>
=====
[error if an output file can't be written, generally because of full disk, read only disk, file exists and is read only, or permissions on the folder]
Can't write to <filename>
=====
[message on completion]
Finished extracting Motion Photos
Photos extracted: <number>
Videos extracted: <number>
=====
[added to the end of the previous success message if some files didn't contain a photo and a video]
<number> files were skipped because they weren't Motion Photos
=====
[title bar of completion message if at least 1 file was processed successfully]
Success
=====
[title bar of completion message if nothing was done successfully]
Failure
=====
["description" shown in right-click->properties dialog for the exe file]
Extract Samsung Motion Photos to jpg and mp4
=====
["product name" shown in properties dialog for the exe file]
Motion Photo Batch Extractor Utility
If you translate these for me, I'll put them back into my program to make either a Chinese or multi-language version.

Here is the translation of Chinese, sorry for the delay of this reply.
BTW, maybe a dialog for user to choose whether delete original files would be a great idea?
Code:
=====
[this message is shown in a dialog box if you click cancel on the open photos dialog]
有三種方式可以使用本軟體：
一：點開軟體後選擇你要轉存的照片，你可以使用Ctrl或是Shift來多選檔案。
二：把你要的照片拖移到本軟體的icon上也能轉存！
三：你也能使用Command Line來處理喔！ （記得用”quotes”取代空格）
請放心：無論你怎麼做，原始檔案都不會被修改。轉存成功的檔案將會存在原始檔案位置，並新增為 *_photo.jpg 和 *_video.mp4。
GUI軟體由Chupi383撰寫，軟體內核由XDA forums的goofwear撰寫，Andylain翻譯正體中文，詳細中文使用教學請上「安迪連碎碎念」。
=====
[this is the title of the program]
三星動態相片批次轉存工具
=====
[this is displayed in the open dialog, under the box where you can type a filename, in a drop-down list]
動態相片 (*.jpg)
所有檔案 (*.*)
=====
[this is the title bar of the open dialog]
開啟一些動態相片
=====
[this message is shown if the user selected a file with a really really long name]
已忽略太長的路徑：<filename goes here>
=====
[title bar for error dialogs]
發生錯誤
=====
[error if the user selects over the maximum number of files (currently 10000)]
你一次選太多檔案了。我一次只能處理一萬個檔案。
=====
[error if the user selects so many files the Windows "open" dialog box gives up]
你一次選太多檔案了。嘗試選少一點檔案吧！
=====
[appended to names of extracted files - not sure if these should be translated ]
_photo
_video
=====
[error if enough memory couldn't be allocated, possibly because the computer is out of RAM]
記憶體定位錯誤，無法讀取 <number> bytes 上的 <filename> 檔案，有可能電腦的RAM不足。
=====
[error if a file can't be read for some reason, perhaps a damaged disk]
由於讀取錯誤，已跳過處理：
<filename>
=====
[error if an output file can't be written, generally because of full disk, read only disk, file exists and is read only, or permissions on the folder]
無法寫入 <filename> 可能目的地已滿或是為唯讀。
=====
[message on completion]
動態相片轉存結果：
有 <number> 張照片輸出成功！
有 <number> 個影片輸出成功！
=====
[added to the end of the previous success message if some files didn't contain a photo and a video]
<number> 個檔案被跳過了，因為它們不是三星動態相片。
=====
[title bar of completion message if at least 1 file was processed successfully]
轉存成功
=====
[title bar of completion message if nothing was done successfully]
轉存失敗
=====
["description" shown in right-click->properties dialog for the exe file]
批次把三星動態相片轉存成JPG照片和MP4影片！
=====
["product name" shown in properties dialog for the exe file]
動態相片轉存工具
[/CODE]

I'm sorry I'm being slow on this. My work has been especially busy lately. This thread isn't forgotten -- I'll make the translated app once I'm over this hump in workload.

Chupi383 said:
I'm sorry I'm being slow on this. My work has been especially busy lately. This thread isn't forgotten -- I'll make the translated app once I'm over this hump in workload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is very nice of you to do this!
Take your time and I am willing to help!

@Andylain Thank you for the translation! I've finally got a working bilingual exe -- see the original post. Sorry it took a while.
The "delete original" feature is now built into the main exe. You use the /d command line option to activate it. To make a drag-and-drop icon that will delete the original, right-drag it and create shortcut. Then right click the shortcut, go to properties, shortcut tab, and add a space and /d to the end of the target, after the closing quote.
BTW, if you could, please link people to "https://github.com/joemck/ExtractMotionPhotos/releases/latest" to get the exe -- that's a special link that will always go to the latest version I've posted there.
Coming up, I'd like to add an option to add/remove Explorer context menu integration.

This is absolutely amazing. Thank you so much!!
Chupi383 said:
First off, I've been browsing here for some time, but I've just registered so I'm sorry if I'm breaking any etiquette or conventions on posting.
I ran across goofwear's tool to extract videos and photos from Samsung Motion Photos and thought it was useful. But I really wanted something that I'd be able to throw a whole album of motion photos at, rather than doing one at a time with this or the share app. I looked at the .bat file they used and implemented the same technique in C, so it could quickly process many photos. It's written with some direct Win32 API calls, so it's pretty much Windows only though making a cross platform command line version without the open dialog would be trivial. It is a simple program though, so it should work fine on Linux or Mac through Wine.
Here's the exe.
See the main page of that Github repository for more complete instructions and full source.
How to use:
1. Copy your Motion Photos off your Samsung phone, to your PC. Just copy them out of the DCIM folder.
2. Run the program. An "open" dialog appears. Apart from that there's no GUI on this program.
3. Browse to your photos and select them. Hold ctrl to select more than one, or shift to select a range. Or, ctrl+A to select all in a folder.
4. Click Open.
5. Wait. Depending how many you selected, it might take a little bit. When it's done, a message box will appear.
6. You should see *_photo.jpg and *_video.mp4 files next to the originals in the source directory. Note that this program does not modify the original files. It doesn't even open them with write permissions enabled.
Alternately, drag one or more photos from Windows Explorer onto the exe's icon instead of using the open dialog.
Screenshots:
Version History:
1.0: Initial release
1.1: Added optional compile-time option to delete the original file after extracting
2.0: Refactored a bit, added a proper build system, and multilanguage support; moved to a 'real' Github repo
Andylain has written a Chinese language explanation of the usage of this program, and kindly translated the UI to Chinese (Traditional). To use it in Chinese, either have your Windows set to Chinese language, or rename the exe to put _zh at the end of the name. To use it in English on a Chinese Windows, put _en at the end of the name.
If for some reason you want the old version exe, the old "delete-original" exe, or the old source code, you can still have them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks
Just wanted to add my thanks for this fantastic tool.
I can't quite believe there's no official Samsung Motion Photo viewer (The Windows app doesn't appear to play Motion Photos). And there's practically no 3rd party support around for what you would think would be in high demand.
So I registered on XDA to show my appreciation. Thanks again.

Chupi383 said:
It's written with some direct Win32 API calls, so it's pretty much Windows only though making a cross platform command line version without the open dialog would be trivial. It is a simple program though, so it should work fine on Linux or Mac through Wine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also wanted to say thanks! That program is a wish-come-true! I wanted to create some script to batch-process JPG's and extract videos but that .exe is even better.
I have just one suggestion. Would you be able to modify program to set video's
Windows date modified
and maybe even date taken (EXIF) attributes
values to correct date, not current date when the extraction takes place?
It would help a lot, because Gallery apps or cloud services like Google Photos shows videos sorted / grouped by the date attribute which is different thandate of photo (when you extract old photos from last couple of months you will have a mess).
For now only way is to use some bulk date changer software to fix that - changing dates based on filename pattern, but it would be a nice feature for your exe. Do you think it's doable?
And yes. I created my XDA account just to say thank you for your great program!

Thanks a lot for this tool, Chupi383!
I'd like to "vote" for konieckropka's suggestion as well. Having the corrent timestamps on the extracted images and videos would be important for a correct file management.
The tool basically needs to read the original "modified timestamp" and set it to the created files (same for "created timestamp").
Could this please be added?

Fair point. I'll add it in a bit when I have the time.

Sorry for the delay, guys. I've added timestamp preservation and a -r flag to rename the original instead of adding _photo and _video. You can use -dr to delete the original and don't append _photo or _video to the extracted files.

This is super helpful, Thank you!

Chupi383 said:
Sorry for the delay, guys. I've added timestamp preservation and a -r flag to rename the original instead of adding _photo and _video. You can use -dr to delete the original and don't append _photo or _video to the extracted files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works perfectly now! THANKS A LOT!!

Database Info

welcome