Hello I'm developing an app and I need the package name of the predetermined app android notes. The application that comes with android. The ''Notes'' App.
Thanks in advance.
There is no standard Android "notes" app.
Probably what you have to try is an implicit intent, and hope that actually there is one or more apps in the device that can handle it.
Take a look at the intents, and intent filters reference.
Also, take a look at openintents.org, a website that, as they say:
...collect, design, and implement open intents and interfaces to make
Android mobile applications work more closely together. We provide
samples and free applications to demonstrate their usage.
Related
I'm here to get some information about an idea in my head. I have two applications (running both on iOS and android) with similar functionalities. The first is developed by me, the second is a famous app used to add votes for students.
Now my app has the same feature, but my question is:
Is it possible to write a function or whatever can help me, to make possible that when I add a vote on my app, It also triggers a specific action (in this case, the "add a vote" action) in the second one (the one not developed by me)? I'm not asking you the specific process (because I should give you major details about the two apps), but I want to know:
1) Is it possible?
2) What language, programs, etc. should I use to do that?
3) Maybe links to video or articles that explain how to archive similar objectives
In my knowledge, it is not possible to invoke an action from your app to another app which you don't own.
One way which I can possibly think is, if there is a web API exposed from the other application then you may be able to achieve what you want.
I am trying to write an app that hooks into the "navigation to" functionality of Google Now but I am unable to figure out exactly how it works. I suspect it's using "Intent.ACTION_VIEW" and then passing it some special URL but I haven't been able to find any documentation on that. Thanks in advance for the help.
You probably want to look into implicit intents.
Specifically for GPS navigation, you have a detailed explanation right here:
https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/android-api/intents#display_a_map
if you want to do something more specific, just ask :)
That "special URL" you are referring to is a URI (so the schema is geo, as opposed to a URL where the schema is usually http).
P.S. here's some material about implicit intents :
https://developer.android.com/guide/components/intents-filters.html
and if you are in the process of learning the android framework, then I recommend Udacity's free course "developing Android Apps"- Google engineers explaining Android. That will save you a lot of time for sure!
I just got done writing an Android Activity that allows other Activities to call it for some result (it's not intended to be a stand-alone Activity). I'm now working on the equivalent iOS application and can't find any resources for how I would enable similar functionality on iOS.
The situation: The tool I'm producing is intended to be used by other applications, rather than as a standalone application. The thing is, the GUI that needs to be presented to the user is rather involved so I'd like to be able to provide the developer with a "all-in-one" package that they can simply launch and get results from. Doing this in Android was very straight forward. I simply wrote an Activity and instructed the developer to launch this Activity for result. I've looked around and can't find a similar functionality to allow an iOS developer to do the same. What would be the best way to go about doing this?
I think part of the problem I'm having in finding resources is that I'm not entirely sure what what I'm making is called. A library? extension? plug-in? I would think a library doesn't have a GUI and it seems extensions and plug-ins are made for an extensible application (that is, one in which the user can install the extension/plug-in).
Your API could be à single call that would pop up a modal view. A target and selector can be specified to receive an answer. Supplying it to other developers means packing it into a "framework". I'm not sure if you can include resources.
There isn't really any equivalent. The closest you can come is having the second application call UIApplication's openURL with a custom scheme that is listened to by your app, and then when your app is done it would do the same with a custom scheme that is listened to by the calling app.
In practice, the iOS app would usually include the entire activity-equivalent as some sort of library, which at the high level would take the form of a UIViewController subclass that is presented modally and then calls a delegate method or completion selector of some sort on completion.
iPhone development is a different design than Android development, so you may need to rethink what it is you are trying to do.
Most likely you will want to look at just including the code in each program, initially, just so you can get it testable, but that may not be the best solution.
But, without knowing more details about what you are trying to do it is hard to give some suggestions as to better solutions.
For example, you may find LocalNotifications as one solution (http://useyourloaf.com/blog/2010/7/31/adding-local-notifications-with-ios-4.html), but again, it depends on what your needs are.
I found that using local notifications to call a REST service, then to process it and decide if I need to inform the user was helpful, as a replacement for how I used Intents in the Android application.
I have seen applications with add-on modules on market - these modules add-up some new functionality.
What would be the best way to do that ?
I cannot think of a descent and neat way to do that.
There are many ways. The most common is to just install another application and access it via Intents. It's definitely worth looking at Open Intents. If you are really adventurous, you can even load custom plugins with DexClassLoader.
IMHO the only way to cleanly implement this is to use Android's build-in extensibility, namely by using Intents and/or BroadcastReceivers. This is the way Android apps are supposed to communicate with each other, but it may work perfectly also for your own app by creating a main version which is extensible through Intents by your "plug-ins" which can be downloaded separately from the market.
The things you need to learn about and look for on the web to implement such functionality are
Intents: Learn how you can use intents to pass data from one app to another or to invoke certain functionality on other apps.
BroadcastReceiver: For listening to certain events broadcasted by your app in your "plug-ins"
ContentProvider: The content provider is used to provide an abstraction over your data and allows your "plug-ins" to access your app data easily and nicely decoupled through Content URIs.
Intent Filters: These are used to tell the system which kind of actions/Intents my specific Activity is able to accept. You will need them as a way for invoking your plug-ins (by broadcasting an Intent with the given action/category) as well as for providing a space in your menus where "compatible" Intents may hook in automatically.
I hope I was able to provide you some of the topics you need to know about. I'm sure that once you get a deeper understanding on these, you will get a much clearer picture on how to realize such a modular app.
it's been some time now, since I started reading about android.
I've already made a few basic applications, but I still miss something: How is actually sharing application component being done?
This is what the Android Dev Guide says:
A central feature of Android is that one application can make use of elements of other applications (provided those applications permit it). For example, if your application needs to display a scrolling list of images and another application has developed a suitable scroller and made it available to others, you can call upon that scroller to do the work, rather than develop your own. Your application doesn't incorporate the code of the other application or link to it. Rather, it simply starts up that piece of the other application when the need arises.
I think I came across some question like this, but I think I'm still confused.
Is the only way of getting such a 'private application' information to contact the developers of that application?
Is information about the data that the application operates with private, too?
If it is described in the AndroidManifest.xml file is it available for the other applications, or it is available only to Android?
When I started satisfying my interest in Android - one of the things that grabbed me was the impression of immense interoperability...
:)
Have I been wrong or I still haven't found the way?
Thanks!
How is actually sharing application component being done?
That depends entirely on what you consider an "application component" to be, and what you consider "sharing" to be.
This is what the Android Dev Guide says
That is a fairly bad piece of the documentation. Here is how I would write it:
A central feature of Android is that one application can make use of components (e.g., activities, services) of other applications (provided those applications permit it). For example, if your application needs to display a list of contacts and another application has developed an activity that does just that and made it available to others, you can call upon that activity to do the work, rather than develop your own. Your application doesn't incorporate the code of the other application. Rather, it simply starts up that piece of the other application when the need arises.
Is the only way of getting such a 'private application' information to contact the developers of that application?
Either developers are intending for you to integrate with them, or they are not. If they are, they should be documenting how to do that (e.g., Intent formats to be used with startActivity() to trigger their code). If they do not document such integration points, you can certainly ask the developers to add some. However, randomly shooting Intents at them in hopes of getting a response, even if it temporarily works, is little better than script kiddie tactics -- those developers are not obligated to ensure you code works when they upgrade their app.
Is information about the data that the application operates with private, too?
I do not know what "information about the data that the application operates with" means. Data managed by an application is private by default. Again, application developers can offer integration points for data (e.g., content provider, remote service API) -- some do, some do not.
one of the things that grabbed me was the impression of immense interoperability
Android offers greater interoperability potential than some other mobile platforms. However, using that potential requires consent among the interoper-ees. You cannot unilaterally decide to hack into another app's database, or invoke private activities, just because you feel like it.
Should more Android developers offer more integration points? In the abstract, sure. However, bear in mind that this adds support costs (e.g., answering integration questions) and limits coding flexibility (e.g., need to maintain a stable API for those doing the integrating). Developers cannot be blamed if they do not wish to incur all that.