I know this has been asked before (did not find a straight forward answer) but can I (Or how can I) create and Android App using CSS/HTML/Jquery ?
I will not need to hook into native functions, such as the accelerometer, camera, or even the Toast Messages...I only need to create an app to show a list of names and some details when name is selected, therefore I don't know if it's worth learning to make my life more complicated for something like this.
PS: I need the app to work offline, otherwise I would have just made it with jQuery Mobile and uploaded it on a server.
UPDATE AFTER GETTING DOWNVOTED
Ok, so I get downvotes for this question, probably because it's been asked before, or maybe not, since he/she didn't take the time to write a reason...
Anyway, my point is: I did googled it and searched, but at this moment there are a lot of ads of websites and web apps that will help you do this BUT are they reliable, safe..do they really do the trick or it comes with bugs? That is why I asked the question, to see who used what and what was their experience with it. So yeah, you can downvote me for not trusting every ad and not taking the time to try out everything out there!
Well you can use https://software.intel.com/en-us/html5/tools to develop cross-platform apps. I used it to develop too. It is quite good but it only has one major issue: you can't use php. It also enables you to do on-device testing.
Related
I am doing some research for my employer. They would like to create a mobile app for their business.
My background is NOT in web/app development; however, I have been tasked to research the possibility of building it in-house.
Therefore, I thought I would start at this forum, my questions are:
1. Do you think this is possible? (I know some html, but not a lot)
2. Could you recommend some tutorials for beginners?
3. I have found some GoDaddy type websites for mobile apps, would this be a good option and any recommendations?
4. If NO to all of the above, could a single contracted developer build? (nothing too complicated, imo)
Welcome to SO.
Afraid this isn't really the place for this sort of question. But...
It entirely depends on what it is you want to do and how much time you've been given to do it. I built a fairly complex app with almost 0 experience when I first started. It's was terribly written but worked fine. There are loads of online resources to help but it isn't a small undertaking :)
I want to develop an app which I stream basic text information about sports. First of all I believe I need a server which my users connect to see my stream as soon as something new is published. But I don't have an idea about how to build something like that. I did some search on web to find lessons or answers but I wasn't able to find anything useful. If it's true that I need a server, is Java language good to code server's program? Because I only know a little bit of Java.
And I want my app to have a monthly fee. I'm completely new to programming but I guess I need a database to keep track of my user information. Do I have to build my own user membership system - which people register with their e-mails etc- for all this? Is it hard to do that? And again I don't have any source of information about this one too.
I'm lost at this point. I don't know what to search to get some answers. So I'm asking you guys. What do I need to build an app with monthly fee that streams live information? I'm not expecting a full answer here but at least I believe you guys can tell me where to look for answers. Thanks.
While I agree the question is very vague and open (we could write a thesis on the topic in question and everyone will have their own way to complete) my suggestion would be to research the following:
Java - read as much as you can about the language and ensure that you are happy with (or know where you can get access to good helpers) the syntax (you mention that you know a little about Java so that is a good start).
Android programming in general. Look up the Activity lifecycle (The Android documentation is good, read as much as you can, follow the examples and try out the tutorials! https://developer.android.com/training/basics/activity-lifecycle/index.html)
Read up on Firebase; this should make the server side a little simpler (although I have only a parsing knowledge (i.e., none) of Firebase, it looks like it will be a good start). Again walk through the examples / tutorials; do the Hello World and then pull it apart to see if you can figure out how it is holding together.
Then when you have questions (which you will, we all do!) come back and I know that you will get some great help!
Once you have a few applications under your belt (personal 'play' apps) then and only then would I consider looking at the Google Play API (https://developers.google.com/android-publisher/).
Hope this gets you on the starting grid at least! Good luck!
Gav
I'm developing an Android app that will do a Google Image Search and return the images to the user in a list. I've looked around on StackOverflow and have run into some problems. First off, I'm a total newbie programmer with only 4 months' worth of programming experience, so I appreciate you guys being patient with me.
I looked through Google Image Search API and I know it's being depreciated and will get shut down someday. Because of this, I don't want to use it. After extensive research on the topic, I don't want to use Bing or another image search service, and I don't want to do a "reverse image search. I just want to use a simple image search via string. I've used this app (https://github.com/tonytamsf/Android-Image-Search) to look at the code, but in all honesty, it's just not helping and it's confusing me more on how to exactly search for an image on Google. Plus, the app won't compile in Eclipse :(
I've also looked around at Google Developer APIs, and I'm not sure if I need to turn on an API key for myself? Still, a bit confused about that. I thought I needed to do a custom search engine, but just by looking at that, I don't think it's exactly what I'm looking for.
Can anyone point me to some resources for this? I would really appreciate it. Thank you!
Just a heads up, but what you're asking is pretty challenging and it sounds like you're just getting started. Here's what I can suggest though:
To get that demo code working in eclipse, I had to right-click the project, click properties, click Android, then check the box for the version of android installed. (I had android 19 installed, and the code was expecting 16, so it was giving up. Tell it to use what you have, which probably is 19). This worked for me after using the git plugin in eclipse to import the project. If you are importing a different way, you may have different issues. * Using git and importing the project is a good skill to have, so if that's unfamiliar territory, take the time to look at that.
Ok, that's the end of what I am sure of. The rest is an educated guess, but I'm sure others can correct me.
Next, if tinkering with that project isn't enough, getting real google image search working will take several skills, especially since the old API is gone. In total you'll need to know:
Java
Android programming
google cloud services
google custom search API
REST
some other libraries to glue the custom search to your app
It's a big chunk there. Currently, it seems the only way to use google's image search is to run a google app engine (you basically set up an online account for google to run a server for you. It does computation and sends messages back and forth for you. You only get a little bit for free each day and then if you want more you have to pay. This is one-way Google earns money. It's not something they let you run on your own computer anymore.). Then you make your android app talk to that server using your new login ID, and the server will take the search term and send back the answers to your android app.
You can get the app engine running and use it in chrome without dealing with android to save yourself time, then add the android part later in the future. Good luck!
Ok, here we go, I have to develop an application, which has to allow electricty and water bill payment, and naturally it's supposed to generate at the end of the transaction a receipt, I particullary need to know how to transfer data and determine what would be displayed on the reciept.
I'v gone through this forum and i've found out some StarIO android sdk, knowing that I have a weak english, and it's a bit hard for me to figure out what's going on in the starIO's documentation, i would like to know if StarIO's packages' are what I need for this application or I just misunderstood the objective behind it.
Thanks in advance.
Well, if you have to work with a Star printer, then yes, their SDK is the way to go. If not, though, we'd need a lot more details to answer your question fully.
Just curious. I am already a Java android guy but am interested in the new app inventor beta for android.
I was wondering what "real" developers are thinking. A lot of people want to develop an android app but don't really have programming skills. Seems like a lot of apps could be written with app inventor - not sure since I haven't tried it yet.
Hopefully this clears up some things for people that are still just hearing about App Inventor. (Keep in mind App Inventor is extremely beta right now, so all of this is subject to change.)
If you're interested in playing around with some of the features it offers and haven't had the time or interest to get involved with the full Android SDK, then App Inventor is probably a good fit for you.
The interface of App inventor offers some unique features you won't find in the Android SDK and is pretty easy to get the hang of (make sure to look at the shortcuts for the Blocks editor, or it might start to feel tedious real fast). It has live debugging and live edits to both the interface and the supporting logic. That alone cuts down on time and frustration if you aren't quite sure about the proper way to do something yet and is probably my favorite feature of the whole system. New developers will especially find it rewarding to actually see their changes implemented on their phone without waiting for things to compile and run. It is a huge time saver and much easier to get used to than the traditional compile and wait process you face if you are trying to learn things through the SDK.
It is also quite handy if you have been playing around with the Android SDK and simply want to try something new out that App Inventor supports that you haven't had the time or aren't quite sure how to approach yet. So long as you keep things focused on features that App Inventor supports, this can provide valuable insight into understanding a problem by getting your phone doing something you can see and use in a matter of minutes. That's something even seasoned developers are likely to appreciate.
The real problem is more when you start hitting walls. Walls that you simply can't climb. And you quickly realize that the limits of this tool must be understood or you will probably spend a lot of time trying to do something that just isn't currently possible. Sooner or later your going find yourself in this position if you use App Inventor very much.
All coding is graphical.
Look at some of the demos or screen shots of what's available through the Blocks editor if you don't understand what that means. Setting values in those big colorful blocks is as close to code as you will get with App Inventor, for better or worse.
If you have any previous development experience, you are going to find yourself longing for the ability to do some simple coding to supplement what you are doing. Or at least the ability to export your project and pick up where you left off in Java. Sorry, this isn't that kind of tool.
Your only options when you get to this point are to pick up and start all over in code or forget about it, at least until the desired feature gets added to App Inventor (which may be never). That right there likely to irk a good number of people and turn them off to it.
If you are looking at getting into Android development, I see no problem with starting out with App Inventor. It might even save you hours of effort that might otherwise be spent trying to wrap your head around some concepts that are simple to understand when you do them, but a bit confusing if you are building them for the first time.
If you are a seasoned developer, or looking to make money or gain Android experience beyond just the concepts, this isn't your end destination by a long shot. If you are a student that is new to programming, this is probably a good environment with sufficient challenges and room to play around in to keep your interest for a decent amount of projects.
Despite it's current limits, I still see App Inventor as valuable resource to learning new concepts and as a playground for trying out new ideas. It is proving to be an awesome tool for introducing someone to Android development, and would probably do as good a job as you could ask for when introducing someone to programming in general.
I have been playing with it for a bit and my thoughts are that is is great for:
An introduction to programming. It is not something people can pick up and develop great programs with straight away, it does still require a lot of thought and logical thinking, but it doesn't require people to learn the correct code syntax
Prototyping. As it is relatively quick and easy to develop with (and has live debugging on the Android device), it allows you to prototype and see/interact with it in real time
Quick coding. If you want to develop a program quickly, this might be the simplest tool
As the tool develops, it will allow more feature-rich applications (it already allows integration with other back-end programs, etc.). The screen design right now is very basic, but will be improved soon.
Overall, I think that if you know Java for Android, then you will be able to pick up Google App Inventor within an hour and start making some functional apps. You might find it more suitable for building some apps, or you might prefer to stick with your current tools.
For people looking to start programming, I think it is an excellent introduction. They can concentrate on logic and program design, instead of setting up their IDE, code structure and syntax. Plus they will see results as they code.
To answer your question 'Should I learn it'. I would suggest that you play with it for an evening - that is all it will take you to get a good feel of it.
It probably won't make you a better developer, but all knowledge is good, so it can't hurt :)
I plan to play around with it anyway.
The generic answer to any "Should I learn ..." question is usually "Yes, it can't hurt to know things." From a practical standpoint, I would skip it. These sorts of things are usually nice ideas that never catch on. Sure this might be a neat way for non-programmers to build very simple applications and perhaps a real programmer could build a compelling application with it but it looks like if you are a programmer the benefits to using App Inventor don't seem that compelling.
I haven't checked it out, but I think it might be worth a look to help in UI development. Most software engineers are good at really solving problems with software or coming up with cool ideas for apps, but when it comes to UI design we find a lot of obstacles. At least myself, I've always been used to working with UI Designers.
I honestly don't like tools that generate code, (except WSDL to java or java to WSDL) but pretty much anything else I find myself spending more time trying to trouble shoot an issue when it comes up than the time I would've spent writing the app from scratch...
Appinventor is so easy to learn, I would suggest go for both options.
Concentrate most of your time on your main Dev environment and learn AppInventor, in the background, to give yourself a break.
The advantage of Appinventor is you can put together reasonably complex apps
in a relatively short period of time.
It's also pretty forgiving, for example, if you have a numeric variable, you can treat it either as a string, or a numeric value, meaning you can put together
prototypes pretty easily and quickly.
If you want an app putting together, quickly, Appinventor might be the better
option, if you need something more powerful, more control over you UI etc, then
a more sophisticated Dev environment might be called for.
With Appinventor being so easy to use and learn, you're giving yourself more options.
Considering Eclipse seems to introduce errors I can't find and can't remove--even after using Project-Clean, I'm looking forward to any alternative.