I want to make an android application which will display an external message (For example: some quotes, proverbs etc) daily.
The message should be retrieved from some place other than the client device and I would like to configure the messages from back end
These messages should also change everyday.
How should the back end be and how can the android application retrieve the configured message ?
Do I need a server at the back end for the same or can avail some cloud services for the same ?
What is the best approach to do?
If you want to avoid having to set up and manage a server on the backend yourself you can take a look at a 'backend as a service' offering.
Two example candidates are:
https://parse.com
http://aws.amazon.com/lambda/
Both Parse and Amazon provide SDK's to allow you interact with the backend from your Android app.
You will likely want to study this a little to decide if you want this type of solution or to build your own server as Brian suggests - I think there are pros and cons to each approach and you'll have to choose which is best for your case.
Yes, you will need a server. You can start building the server software on the same machine as your Android emulator and create them in parallel. You'll need to choose a language and most likely a web server framework that suits your thought process and style.
If you want to use REST, for instance, google some for "best REST server framework". You will get hundreds of answers that don't mean much, but look at the communities that surround the frameworks that come back. Look at the user lists and how many questions about it exist on this site. That will give you a better idea of whether you can ask questions and get answers when they arise. You are making an investment by learning a framework, spend a little time deciding which one you are going to use, possibly by trying a few of them for a very simple site that returns the kind of data you are looking for.
Other than that, you really need to ask specific questions once you've chosen a language and a framework. Hope that helps.
Related
let me ask my question with an example:
Assume that I have some PHP files for my android app that I put it on 000webhost[dot]com; so, my question is how can I use parse (parseplatform[dot]org) in this situation?
I'm new in backend, so I'm sorry if this question is stupid!
For some reason I can't use back4app, aws, etc.
Don't worry about php language, if it's necessary I can write it in another language. (my backend logic is not complex)
If you need a simple web-site with simple backend logic, I'd do that using Express.js. Since Parse Server is essentially an Express.js middleware, you can use the same process to serve both Parse Server and the web-site.
If you prefer to use a different technology, Parse Platform provides many different sdks (https://parseplatform.org/#sdks) that you can use for many different backend technologies (including PHP), or you can connect directly to the REST (https://docs.parseplatform.org/rest/guide/) or GraphQL (https://docs.parseplatform.org/graphql/guide/) apis using any client.
When I asked this question, I didn’t know what exactly should I search until I found this amazing article. This article opened my mind, the most helpful thing that I found there, was this:
Parse is more flexible. Given the freedom to host Parse on the
server of your choice.
You can choose the self-hosting option and deploy your Parse project
on your selected server, such as Digital Ocean.
And then I found this awesome video on youtube.
Now I can run parse on my own server (vps or cloud).
I know the title of this question may not be clear, but I don’t want to change it, because someone like me doesn’t know the right keyword for research.
Hope this help someone else too.
I've come across this problem when thinking about creating different apps for Android. I see these apps that show you the weather cast or sport results, and I wonder which is the source they get all data from.
I assume they don't have their own database which they fill with data manually and live. I suppose they use some kind of web service, data source or something like that. I don't know if web service is the correct term to use in this case (english is not even my native language).
So I would like to know the correct term for what I'm looking for, plus any guidance on finding this kind of services, in order to be able to develop apps using this kind of data sources.
I think this question will help many programming students like me.
It depends what you trying to develope- Some apps use simple GET/POST Requests and get it's data back formatted as JSON or XML (which is the common case).
Some uses SOAP for getting their data.
In some cases they are using plain Sockets or CouchDB.
In some cases they are using Push Mechanism (specially for android) like GCM to send their data to the client.
It always depends what you want to do.
I am making a dictionary kind of an app which uses SQLite. I have a single table that keeps the pair of foreign words and their translations. I want to sync this table with a particular spreadsheet in Google Docs.
I ve found this awesome library to retrieve and manipulate GoogleSpreadsheets, so at least I am covered for that. But I donT feel comfortable about the sync. Now,
Can I use a SyncAdapter to do this sync between my SQLite and a GoogleSpreadsheet? If yes, how would I go about it? Would I retrieve and manipulate the rows of the spreadsheet in the onPerformSync or smth?
What could be the other alternatives for such a scenario? Should I maybe use a normal service to do the check when the user requests it (in the main activity, for example) ?
On the Google I/O vids (particularly on Android REST client apps ) they seem pretty persuasive for using the SyncAdapter but I am not sure if it could help me without an actual REST service.
Thanks in advance..
One good reason to use the Android SyncAdapter, ContentProvider and SyncManager is that you will benefit from the Google system knowledge that is useful for preserving battery life and other resources. Some of this content is in the video you link to. For example, exponential back-off logic to prevent wasteful attempts at synchronizing.
There is some good info about battery life preservation by conserving cell radio power in today's Google I/O 2012 talk "Making Good Apps Great: More Advanced Topics for Expert Android Developers." While not mentioned explicitly, I think that the SyncManager is likely to have the battery conserving properties that are mentioned in this video.
Based on my reading (not actually implementing anything) of the APIs and other resources such as the com.example.android.samplesync package, it seems that the pattern is flexible enough to adapt to your program needs.
The team I'm working with has implemented custom sync for our android app but I can tell you we didn't consider this option because we were committed to writing as much logic as possible to run with the WebView. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that, but that's beyond the scope here.
First, let me say that I know nothing. I am reasonably intelligent, and I can learn .... but what I need to know is what exactly it is that I need to learn. Consider me a hobbyist that just got started. I have a degree in math so logic makes sense to me, but it was all abstract math so I never even used Matlab once in school.
I want to develop an application for android. I want this application to take input (text and camera images) from the user, and store that input along with certain meta-data (i.e. time of input, geo-location of device when inputted). I also want that data to be transferred to a server (I have complete admin access to a server, but haven't learned much about it yet either) and stored there in a manner which can be accessed by a desktop or web application which I will also need to develop. The android device may not always have an internet connection at the time of input (but will be taken to a wi-fi hotspot for uploading when completed), and after uploading the data to the server I will have no further need for the data on the device.
I have done a bit of research, and discovered the following gaps in my knowledge, and remedied them in the following ways:
a) I'm going to need to know how to program in android - I have worked through these tutorials at developer.android.com, purchased and partly read this book(1), and just purchased this book(2).
b) I believe I am going to need to know something about JSON - I have just purchased this book(3), after reading just a little bit about JSON on the web.
c) I will need to learn what I need to with the server to prepare it for the data - No idea where to start.
d) I will need to decide how to access the data, and learn how to develop whatever it is. - No idea where to start.
I am not able to post multiple links, so I have moved all the books down here ...
1 google.com/search?q=isbn+9780321741233
2 google.com/search?q=isbn+9780321749673
3 google.com/search?q=isbn+9780470526910
My question(s):
If this was your project, how would you go about doing this? What languages will I have to learn? Can you recommend any books, online tutorials, etc. for each of those languages in the way that they would apply to my project?
Thank you for taking the time to read my query, and thank you for any help you may provide.
Book: Pro Android 2. I have it, I've read it, and it shows you how to do just about everything. I bought it for the sole purpose of developing a client/server application in Android, and I completed the app in two weeks.
I would like to create a custom open source information management application, that I could adapt to practical needs of a psychiatrist. (and also would really like to avoid inventing the wheel). Could someone advise me what would be a good way to start? I have some amateur programming experience (see below), but I have little experience with java and eclipse (which I have set up with Android SDK plugin on my linux PC).
What I would like to achieve is a simple app where I could relatively easily re-program/rearrange information presenting screens. I would like the major development stages to be something like:
Basic framework of the app is done Main information is added
through the programming environment
basic formatting (bold, color, lists) should be supported
I imagine this would be through HTML/CSS markup Hierarchical (not
too deep) screens with concise information about conditions,
treatments; easy, not too cumbersome navigation is a must.
Possibility to attach own notes from android device
on every piece of information (e.g. on medical condition, on medication,
list of differential diagnoses, etc)
A desktop application that allows for easy adding and editing
of the content
initially could be even sqlite manager or something similar
possibility for adding images,
possibility to add rating scales, which would calculate scores
maybe also possibility to print through some android print driver
* in essence I envision this as a sort of an integrated website with a relatively simple database behind it (sqlite?) running on android. My models would be epocrates and medscape apps, but the content would be more specific to everyday psychiatric practice. It would include aspects of psychological therapies as well.
In about a years time, I think, the content would be interesting enough to see whether the app should go on the market.
My (limited) experience:
I am a MD - a Psychiatrist. I have some amateur development experience (php, html, css, Perl, bash, sed, sql, Access and some time ago - AS/400). I would like to start an app that I could modify as I go - in order to have the most useful info at my fingertips, when I need it in my work. I have considered some databases (e.g. HandDB) but my experience with them is that you get very constricted with their user interface and this hinders fast information retrieval when you need it. Adding information can be clumsy as well.
Why I am asking for help here
Most of tasks above seem pretty standard. I imagine that people with lots of programming experience here, probably would be able to point me towards some information that would help me to get started.
Many thanks for considering this :)
Are you going to develop this app? Everything you mentioned can be easily done by reading the android documentation. Although if its you doing the coding i recommend buying a book
You will find a lot of samples and other support in the android doc
Printing can be also setup using Google Cloud print
If you want to open source your application you can always use google code.
You have asked a really broad question here. But i guess the above information is good to get you started.