In which way is it possible to update an app? Except download the hole app thru the market.
To be more specific. Let say I have a app with a main menu with 3 choices
1 Data
2 Tools
3 Settings
For 1-Data...
...gives you a new view with a menu(submenu) which each row give a view that contains normal data as text, pictures (maybey video).
If all data must be stored on the phone to be reach offline.
1.1 How can I update this kind of data? Like change/add some text, photo etc from a server??
1.2 Is it even possible to add new menu rows with new data from a server? Only know about xml menu but these feels so permanent.
For 2-Tools...
...that have a new submenu like before. But here the menu use hardware futures and api:s. Like, uses gps to get a position and show it on a map or make a call or something...
2.1 For this kind of stuff, is it possible just to update a specific changed class that the app could download from a server or something similar?
For 3-settings...
...If you could change the language here.
3.1 Is it possible to update the app from a server with a new language automtic when the translation is ready? Just download the xml:s?
Would be good instead of that you have to noties the user, so the user manually have to download the hole app again (< v2.2).
Im new to this, dont have the hole picture yet.
The common way of doing this (which is accepted by anyone using an Android Device) is simply publishing the new App-version on the Android Market.
Although, it should also be possible to do it like you said but since Apps are not allowed to download runnable code their self (for security proposals) it doesn't madder. Also if you want to improve new functions, you might need more permissions to your Android Manifest (it would be very bad if this file could be edited at runtime...).
If you have an App which works like a client for an Online-Service, it's sure okay to update those contents, but the things you asked for should really be done using the normal App Market.
Related
i developed an app that contains a lot of activities and different application within the same app and they are all interconnected by sending different intents within it to function the whole app, however they still do different things and i can elimante one without hurting the other and causing the whole app to crash. so if i want i can divide them to be stand alone apps.
My question is this:
Can i have one app that download the basic activities and if a person want a specific activity they can download it (Eg: you download a game and that game includes a different set of levels that can be downloaded by pressing a button hence downloads that particular set of levels.)?
Forgive me if I misunderstood you, but are you talking about creating one big app that consists of many smaller apps, but rather than being all bundled in the beginning, a user can download each one as a module?
If it's this, it's not impossible, but not possible in the sense that I think you're hoping for.
Your one big app will still need all the necessary code and xml files because these need to exist when compiling. But what you can do, which is similar to what games do is to offer downloadable content that isn't code. Essentially, these are resources such as media files, text, or other data of the like.
Those data can be downloaded separately without affecting your app and it helps reduce the size of your app. However, the actual functionality of each individual app will still need to be within your app, but hidden until it's downloaded.
Typically, it's more common to just bundle it all together such as a Measurements app, or to have them as individual standalone apps such as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
You're basically describing how a browser/website works.
If you really wanted to wrap this up as a mobile app, you could use webviews.
I am thinking about creating a text-based game (similar to gamebooks) for android device. In this moment only theoretically. Do you have some advice please, which way to go?
You probably know how gamebooks works, but the gamebook I want, will be very easy, should work like this:
User has shown some image, text and 3 options (questions), he decides which option to click, then a new page is showing (according to the clicked option) with another image, text and another 3 options. Then again, the user clicks one option, another page opens, etc.
My question is not how to do it programmatically, but how to start with this in Android Studio, what system to use for such game on android or which way to go.
Because I think it has no sense to create intents after each click, as there might be hundreds of clickable options.
I have already created such game on my website with php/html/js, but I want to create it also offline for android.
Intents implies one activity per page - unmaintainable.
You should work with a database and load based on user interaction. So you'll need to learn about Databases and Asynchronicity (working in the background while updating the UI so the user knows)
So I am using the Home sample to build an application that creates a second home screen for the user. The idea is to be able to have only one user account yet restrict certain access to chosen applications. I have managed to ensure that all of the applications are invisible in the XML yet I am struggling with how to change this to make certain apps visible.
Is it possible to write a whitelist of accepted apps for instance the preinstalled apps or child friendly apps for children who game using the android device and then put in a Java method to access this white list? This is the only way I can think to make it work.
If anyone knows the correct way can you please help.
Thanks.
Ok so I discovered how to do this.
In the home sample they provide a for loop in the Home.java file that covers all apps and displays them. It take a simple if statement to restrict the apps that can be viewed -
// for loop is here
if (info.activityInfo.applicationInfo.packageName.contains("com.android"))
//then the rest of the home sample is here.
Still very basic but provides me with a good enough UI so that kids cannot see apps I don't want them to.
I am relatively new to android and want to create an application that permanently overrides androids basic softkey behaviour and view (for devices with soft keys).
Some functionalities I want to implement are changing the size of the softkeys window at the bottom, change its images, and possibly change its functionality.
For example, the user can set the size to of the softkey to be "large", "medium" or "small". And I can change the functionality of the back button to open say a particular application instead of going "back".
I'm basically looking for a high level answer as to how to do this, a basic direction of what I should read/study in order to be able to accomplish this. I realise this may require root access.
Please note that I want this behaviour to change not only in my application but I want the effect to exist on all applications. If this requires the application to be running atleast at the backend, that is fine.
After doing some decent amount of search, it seems I will have to make changes in the systemUI.apk, or possibly get its source code and modify it. Is this correct?
Thanks in advance.
I don't think even root is going to be enough for the type of changes you are describing. You're going to need to edit the Android source code and build your own system image.
Well you can't override system resources because they are part of the system image.
What you are looking for is called Home Application which can be developed like any other android app no need for root , you can find an example for it in your sdk samples.
Home Sample Application.
your app would be responsible to have UI components to send the user to all of the phone functionalities which includes:
Place for wegits
Place for apps listing (menue)
Access telephony functionality (call, phone history ...)
Access settings.
I created a launcher to use my tablet with multiple profiles, it is configurable, I can choose the number of users of the tablet, each one will have its own space, with a list of application chosen by the administrator account from a list view which contains all the applications already installed. this list once selected it will be saved in internal storage space. and the existing menu bar will be changed by the addition of new user. and each will have a new profile configuration file internally, my problem is to update in real-time applications, now, the update is only possible if I restart the application, what is the mechanism in android I can used for growing update my launcher without restarting.
I think this answers your question:
How to force an entire layout View refresh?
I also want to point out that you could use less komma's and make smaller sentences. That makes it clearer for the reader.