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Hi all,
I have a concept for a single update application that would be driven from the AndroidSPIN release database so all developers could use it for ROM, Themes, Applications and anything releases to devices.
If you wouldn't mind taking a couple of minutes to read this post, I would greatly appreciate it.
http://www.androidspin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=260&t=226
I'd really love to get a group together to collaborate and either help design this and/or write an application and back end to do it.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks
Simon
Sounds like an awesome idea, I'd love to help any way I can, but I dont fit in any of the needed positions for the post. Looking forward to see what develops though
Fantastic idea!
I only ever use XDA so god knows what I'm missing out on elsewhere and to be honest after searching the word android on google and trawling through one crap site after another becomes tiresome so hence the 'XDA only' policy.
Sorry I can't offer any programming skills but you have my support on this project whole heartedly, not that it counts for much I know buh MeH!
Hope you can get this off the ground.
As I mentioned to Simon already, I was thinking about building an update application for my ROM. I love the idea of having an on-phone ROM database, update capability, something that can easily be used by any developer in the community.
Some initial thoughts on functionality:
- Browse ROMs
- Download ROMs to SD Card
- Monitor specific ROMs for updates
- Monitor currently running ROM for updates
I'm willing to lend a hand on the Android side of things, but this will be a large undertaking and we will also need some people to contribute to the UI, server side of things, etc.
I do iPhone UI design for applications now (I don't have an iPhone, but most of my contracts and clients are iPhone based), but let me know and I can whip up anything you guys need UI related.
Send me a PM and I can get the ball rolling on how the functionality can be laid out as well.
Even tho I know I wouldnt be able to help out with this. I know I would love to test this out if you needed it.
Its a great idea!!!
I know a teeny bit of Java, and I'm working on becoming an Android developer, so if anything needs doing on the Android side of things, I'm willing to contribute.
Although I may not know as much as some others, I'm definitely a fast learner. I have a few books on Android development I'm reading through right now.
michinohatoresu said:
I know a teeny bit of Java, and I'm working on becoming an Android developer, so if anything needs doing on the Android side of things, I'm willing to contribute.
Although I may not know as much as some others, I'm definitely a fast learner. I have a few books on Android development I'm reading through right now.
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Click to collapse
Well, we can reuse a lot of code from Cyanogen updater.
akirah said:
Well, we can reuse a lot of code from Cyanogen updater.
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Click to collapse
Well, of course.
If anything else needs doing, however, I volunteer what spare time I have.
akirah said:
Well, we can reuse a lot of code from Cyanogen updater.
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Click to collapse
Could be easily done, would require quite a lot of laborious work ripping out all the stuff you wouldn't need though.
I would take a look at this but unfortunately I have another Android project on at the moment which is taking all my development spare time.
@SimonNWalker What sort of backend having you got going? REST? SOAP?
Ups wrong theread
not that it matters (since i kept the source 100% open)....
you have my blessing to tear the cmupdater to shreds if it will give us a unified solution to all our ROM cravings
firefart has done a good job of keeping the code pretty clean so there shouldnt be too many issues with grabbing it
and the new code for the screenshots for themes could probably be used to the advantage of this project with ease
I'm not really interested in a rom updater, but a market replacement with an "upgrade all" feature (à la apt-get / yum) drawing from multiple repositories would be most exciting.
The Cyanogen updater could be used, it just needs some modifications. Stuff like sub-sections and update all
Would probably need a new method to keep track of the updates aswell, I don't think json would be sufficient for a lot of applications and updates. Unless somebody could make some kind of script to automate the process when it gets uploaded.
willmav5000 said:
Would probably need a new method to keep track of the updates aswell, I don't think json would be sufficient for a lot of applications and updates. Unless somebody could make some kind of script to automate the process when it gets uploaded.
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Click to collapse
The only other method I would consider, besides JSON, is an advanced and well thought out web-based form that the developer is forced to complete upon uploading a ROM. This would place more burden on the server, but should be relatively easy to attach the provided ROM information to the rom database.
Think: Check boxes for firmware compatibilities, check boxes for device compatibilities, version number, change log, etc.
Maybe something a little like this?
Wow this would be/ is gonna be awsome!
I would suggest also that you can backup your sd card settings (and maybe also sms...) to an ftp server (or some other server you can install on your pc) from this app...
like (incremential) backup>partition>wipe>install update>boot>getbackupback
problem is to get the server adress back after wipe. maybe stored in web database and encrypted with phone imei number? or uploaded as google
whatever...
or just not wiping that single adress
just saying ^^
willmav5000 said:
Would probably need a new method to keep track of the updates aswell, I don't think json would be sufficient for a lot of applications and updates. Unless somebody could make some kind of script to automate the process when it gets uploaded.
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Click to collapse
JSON is just a file format. The CM Updater works via a static JSON file that gets updated manually. The way I'd design this (which is what I asked a couple of posts back) is a dynamic web service (probably REST based) which delivered JSON dynamically. Wouldn't be too difficult at all.
As SimonWalker said he's using PHP + MySQL I'm guessing that's already being done.
@garok89: CM Updater is completely open-source therefore blessings are not needed to use the source. Really don't understand all the "credit" crap here on XDA.
senab said:
@garok89: CM Updater is completely open-source therefore blessings are not needed to use the source. Really don't understand all the "credit" crap here on XDA.
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I know it is open and I don't need to give my blessing for people to use the source. I did so because a lot of people don't feel comfortable using other peoples code without permission, regardless of whether or not its 100% open source.
And as for the 'credit crap'... I don't see you asking for your name to be removed from the 'about' section of the app
I am not asking for any credit
Anyway, lets not get off topic...
Guys, before this becomes Android Open Alliance, the sequel (you all remember how that went), I think we better set up a way to work together first and then toss in the speculative stuff later.
How about starting simple; set up a wave?
I have been programming with Java for about 6 years now. I am currently getting my masters in college for Computer Science (Programming).
I just finished reading the book Hello, Android by Ed Burnette. It was a pretty good book I must say and got me on my feet towards developing for an Android device. For those who do not know the book, each chapter you gradually build a Sudoku game. In the later chapters it discusses some openGL, sound, video. Overall the game is pointless and a waiste.
I never really liked game programming, I wish to do something such as tools, or a feature. However I have hit a roadblock and do not know where to go from here or what to read. I get the structure of the app, the XML setups, etc but the book did not give me a good enough background on the Android System for what I would like to do.
Any suggestions?
Thanks for your help in advanced.
Travmanx I think the way to go from here is use your Java experience to assist in unlocking these phones. I know these guys that are doing the hard work would appreciate all the help they can get.
ZC
I'm very new to android programming too and I agree there does seem to be a big gap in going from the usual tutorials and guides to really getting your feet wet and digging into proper coding.
I think the key here is to think of a simple idea and start to program it, by choosing something simple you can get the basics working quickly, while still giving you room to experiment further with extra features and improvements later on (where the real learning happens).
As to what idea... that is more difficult, I would suggest you do something which you will use so that you've got a drive to keep working on it and improve it.
i.e. If you travel, then a quick currency converter could be useful...if you play tennis then perhaps a score board...it doesn't matter much as long as the incentive is there to code it.
Look forward to hear what you decide to write!
hello there
I would suggest you do something which you will use so that you've got a drive to keep working on it and improve it
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first of all +10 for ^ meltwater
i did an app to (scoreboard) for a card game, instead of using paper and pen.
then:
i am a Java Developer to,
and recently started doing some android apps
i already have 2 of them in the market...
i am just like you, don't like to do games, i prefer tools and other staff...
however, my point is, whenever you can build an app whatever it is,... all you need now is an idea
try to find an idea and start developing it, and on every problem you face try to dig and fix it, then continue on ur main target... otherwise i don't see any advantage of reading more books, because you have to find something to do, then try to find how to do it (based on your input with 6 years java dev)
otherwise i think you will get lost.
my opinion, find an idea and start with it, then fix every block you face.
Good Luck
Yes I am asking you!
Your personal experience on how you learned coding!
Feel free to vent, my eyes are wide open
my reason? Why I have a book on coding (for Andriod) and the coding package (Eclipse, Andriod SDK, and SO ON)
but is this enough?
How did you start? What was your motivation?
is it fun!?
Please if anyone replies to it, i'd be very happy
Many moons ago, there was a magazine called BBC Micro User, and in it there were pages and pages of code for games written in BASIC.
Normally the code was wrong in places, which meant you had to debug and therefore learn how it worked rather than just copying it verbatum.
This is of course related to our phones as the BBC B was an ancestor to them (now there's a thought!)
Problems? No problems! You need a small program to make your life easier? Go and read in all forums! Ask questions! Start programing by leaning by doing.
Mizulunaris said:
Yes I am asking you!
Your personal experience on how you learned coding!
Feel free to vent, my eyes are wide open
my reason? Why I have a book on coding (for Andriod) and the coding package (Eclipse, Andriod SDK, and SO ON)
but is this enough?
How did you start? What was your motivation?
is it fun!?
Please if anyone replies to it, i'd be very happy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why did you buy a book to find out about technology?!? That book will be outdated tomorrow...I suggest looking up info on the internet and there's this cool thing that's called google that lets you ask any question you want...check it out.
Hope this helped Mizu Luna!
Thank you all for relpying !
think the book is already out dated XD
It was made when android 2.2 just came out....I figured any info toget me startd would be nice.....
I still haven't gotten into the gist of the forum though.....I still don't know many of the terms and aren't familiar to a lot of things talked about...or where things are placed.....and no formal training to help me.....
I guess I'll read on a bit until I can properly place my feet
I couldn't even tell you how I started, I was like 8 years old and just playing around for the hell of it. Been switching around and trying languages ever since. As for motivation, the only reason I ever write a program is because I need something done... I'll feel like I wish my PC/phone/website did something differently - so I make it do that
Really, the best thing to do is just dive right into it. If you want to start with Android, find a good tutorial that at least has you get an IDE and build environment set up... Then from there just start experimenting with some example code, or apps others have written as you go through more tutorials.
If you want to properly learn how to code though, most would suggest starting with something on a PC rather than diving right into Android dev. Starting with an easy-to-use scripting language or interpreter (like Python) is a good way to start playing around - and then you can move on to other languages such as Java with a solid understanding of how programming languages work.
It's all personal preference though, just find a solid tutorial and stick with it. Try to experiment as you go along, try things with the code, and actually understand what it's telling you.
I started with webpage design and slowly moved into other venues. I became interested in making apps for ideas that I had and started to search google on how to code specific tasks that I wanted in my apps and then mixing it all together and making small changes in the code and watching to see what it did.
I'm looking to learn how to code, mainly because its something that has always interested me but I have never done. I have no experience in it at all. I'm looking for a book that can set me up with the very basics in java (or is it better to start off with a different language?) and hopefully I can move on from there.
If anyone knows of any good books that could help me I would greatly appreciate a link to it.
Thankyou.
http://goo.gl/xB9rK
Why does no one use the search before opening another thread?
Ohnoez
http://www.google.com/cse?q=learn+c...ub-2900107662879704:fs7umqefhnf&ie=ISO-8859-1
Wut?
http://www.google.com/cse?q=learn+d...ub-2900107662879704:fs7umqefhnf&ie=ISO-8859-1
I seriously could not find an answer to your question by using the search function.
http://www.google.com/cse?q=learn+p...ub-2900107662879704:fs7umqefhnf&ie=ISO-8859-1
So even on sophisticated websites like this there are still childish idiots like yourself on them. Yes you're probably right in that I should have searched before creating a new thread, however obviously I didn't think of that.
Maybe next time you should try and show maybe at least an inch of maturity when posting. Oh and for someone who would like me to donate to them and buy/download their apps you're not going the right way about it.
I dont know if that because you joined before me or have more posts than I do, this makes you think you have some superiority over me or new members, but it doesn't and remember with every new member is potentially another donation to you for your work. So if you want to carry on alienating these member towards you then carry on but if you don't then you might want to re-think your mentality towards them, because personally I wont be donating or ever downloading any of you apps.
With that said, thankyou for the links.
SxcKieranGrr said:
So even on sophisticated websites like this there are still childish idiots like yourself on them. Yes you're probably right in that I should have searched before creating a new thread, however obviously I didn't think of that.
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What you are seeing is my lack of understanding for people creating new threads with topics that have been covered a hundredtimes over.
I'm merely calling you out for your obvious mistake of not using the search.
You made the mistake, deal with it.
childish idiots like yourself
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Click to collapse
Thanks. May i call you lazy idiot?
SxcKieranGrr said:
Maybe next time you should try and show maybe at least an inch of maturity when posting. Oh and for someone who would like me to donate to them and buy/download their apps you're not going the right way about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't want anything from you.
You want something from this forum, more exactly from its members.
You want an answer.
You did not pay anything for the knowledge available for free here, neither the time a member puts up to help you out.
What you could do is show some courtesy by using the search function to not waste the time of people who are willing to help out.
I dont know if that because you joined before me or have more posts than I do, this makes you think you have some superiority over me or new members, but it doesn't and remember with every new member is potentially another donation to you for your work. So if you want to carry on alienating these member towards you then carry on but if you don't then you might want to re-think your mentality towards them, because personally I wont be donating or ever downloading any of you apps.
With that said, thankyou for the links.
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Both my join date and post count are indirectly related to this.
It just means that i have seen too many threads like this, which could have been avoid by a few seconds of search.
What is more astonishing is that i still browse the question and answer forums to help people out.
Yeah maybe some people won't get the answer they wanted to hear, but hey you got your answer.
Im confused now, from looking around it looks like python is the most basic of languages but if i was to start with a dummy book for that, would it actually help me achieve learning java? I dont want to get the wrong book and be completely lost because I havent learnt the complete basics.
It seems like everyone says different things and I cant get a clear answer of where to start.
@Dark3n I'm not going to sit here and argue, you have your view I have mine let's leave it at that. If you would like to help me (which somehow i doubt) that would be great, thanks.
SxcKieranGrr said:
Im confused now, from looking around it looks like python is the most basic of languages but if i was to start with a dummy book for that, would it actually help me achieve learning java? I dont want to get the wrong book and be completely lost because I havent learnt the complete basics.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The most basic language would be machinecode (ASSEMBLER).
But beleive me that it is really painfull to write and learn.
Python is a nice language to write in, no doubt.
But you should think about what you want to do with your programming skills?
Something Android related?
Then you should look at C for linux kernels and the lower levels of android.
or
Java for Apps and the higher levels of the android os.
If you want to learn java there is no advantage in learning python first, besides that you can program in python and java.
I would like eventually to create an app for android, which is obviously done in java but if i got even the most basic of java books would i still be lost?
Edit: I just remembered there was a thread similar to this one where i already had a lengthy discussion about this topic.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1179816
SxcKieranGrr said:
I would like eventually to create an app for android, which is obviously done in java but if i got even the most basic of java books would i still be lost?
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Click to collapse
Not totally lost, you will learn about variables, if statements, loops, classes etc. those things are all still valid when writing apps. Those somewhat remain valid through most of the programming languages.
But basic java does not cover connecting your java code with the android user interface or making use of any android feature (rotate display, sensors, telefon,gps,etc.).
But seriously you don't need a book. Of course you can get one if you really want to. I would probably search the amazon bestseller list for something on android programming (for dummies) which does not require previous programming knowledge.
You can also just jump into it, google for "android hello world tutorial" or something like that.
But the official hello world tutorial should do.
Should make you able to write your very first app pretty quick. It's only a "Hello World" app, but hey thats where everyone starts out.
Aside from the programming itself, knowledge of Linux and *nix orientated operating systems would be useful. Terminal commands and such will prove invaluable if you take application development to a professional level in the future.
C and Java are obviously what's mainly involved in Android. But if you want something simple to begin with look at HTML and CSS (which are basically just translation matrixs not languages).
DeviateDefiant said:
Aside from the programming itself, knowledge of Linux and *nix orientated operating systems would be useful. Terminal commands and such will prove invaluable if you take application development to a professional level in the future.
C and Java are obviously what's mainly involved in Android. But if you want something simple to begin with look at HTML and CSS (which are basically just translation matrixs not languages).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTML and CSS knowledge would help a bit with the android user interface, but not with the actual code of the apps/programs themself.
I would advise the OP not to start with HTML and CSS if he wants to get into the programming buissness.
Unless you are going to make webpages HTML and CSS takes you pretty far of the track.
HTML and CSS knowledge would help a bit with the android user interface, but not with the actual code of the apps/programs themself.
I would advise the OP not to start with HTML and CSS if he wants to get into the programming buissness.
Unless you are going to make webpages HTML and CSS takes you pretty far of the track.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HTML and CSS, are two useful skills to have regardless. As you mention for interfacing, and also for the ability to work with Web Apps in the future. For myself learning Javascript and PHP has certainly helped with getting into Java/C.
Certainly HTML/CSS aren't related to learning Java and C but it's a good entrance point to coding in general. Although you yourself may see it as sidetracking, it can help some not to jump in at the deep end.
I wish the OP the best of luck.
Hey dar3n, I had posted a similar thread as well, minus all the attitude, but I agree it does get posted alot, after talking to u and searching around a bit. Why dont u get someone to make a sticky post in one of the newbie rooms, or the q&a. Start a sticky discussion and I bet half these posts dissapear.lol
Hi everyone at XDA and Sidekick users.
Hopefully one of that reads this post, has had or is familiar with the *.sq Squash files, that were flashed to early Danger Sidekick models, particularly in my case at least, for flashing the developer Key. I have come into contact with a key on 5.x Lib version, but that key is in the form of a .JAR file. Even extracting the JAR file yields no precise match to these older squash files.
As my quest continues to restore internet capabilities in my interest to my phone, a dev-key would be the neatest way, as I could use the SDK to write apps that neglected dead Danger servers, and once again functioned properly. I do this with my love for the Sidekick 2.
So, anyone out there who still has access to a Squash dev-key file, please PM me. Or, if you have any knowledge that pertains, please contact me.
Thanks in advance,
You may want to search on these forums for a link to the old SDK if that might help. I also wonder if someone has a developer key someone for another phone. With that and the IMEI of the device it was intended for, you *MIGHT* be able to figure something out, but someone with more knowledge than myself would be able to tell you better. Maybe Orange808?
ged92781 said:
You may want to search on these forums for a link to the old SDK if that might help. I also wonder if someone has a developer key someone for another phone. With that and the IMEI of the device it was intended for, you *MIGHT* be able to figure something out, but someone with more knowledge than myself would be able to tell you better. Maybe Orange808?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can look over the contract again, but I am certain the dev contract forbids me. After they started really locking down the platform, I remember signing an agreement that is only rivaled by Apple's dev contract.
With that said, they handed out developer codes like candy in the early days (with no strings attached). I bet you can find another source.