[ale] Android development tutorial?

[Alex Carver]

I decided to take the plunge into Eclipse with the Android SDK.  Still 
learning.  Unfortunately the emulator won't run which makes it tough to 
test things.  I don't want to keep uploading to my phone to try out 
programs.  I may end up trying it from the work computer and see if the 
emulator works there.

On 6/11/2013 19:12, Alex Carver wrote:
> I'll take a look at it.  Right now what I want to write is a weather
> widget for the home screen.  I know there's 45 billion weather widgets
> but I want to write a simple one that pulls an XML data file from NOAA
> once every 15-20 minutes then renders the current conditions and seven
> day forecast.  I also then don't have to think about what the app is
> using and sending away to who knows where.  One of the goals is to make
> it very light weight and resource friendly.
>
> On 6/11/2013 18:49, Byron Jeff wrote:
>> On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 04:05:03PM -0700, Alex Carver wrote:
>>> Anyone know of a good tutorial for Android development?  I want to
>>> experiment writing a couple small applications for personal use.
>>
>> Warning: This is a bit off base.
>>
>> If you do not need a large or high performance application, I find that
>> Scripting Layer for Android (SL4A) is good for testing out ideas and
>> small
>> applications:
>>
>> http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting
>>
>> SL4A creates an interface between a large part of the Android API and
>> loadable scripting languages such as Python, PHP, Lua, Javascript, Ruby,
>> and Beanshell. It facilitates invoking functions with a minimum of
>> infrastructure setup. For example a Text to Speech 'Hello world' is 3
>> lines of code in Python:
>>
>> from android import Android
>> droid = Android()
>> droid.ttsSpeak('Hello World')
>>
>> SL4A supports popup form, web form, and full UI interfaces with standard
>> Android layouts. The tutorials on the SL4A site shows examples of each.
>>
>> It has its limitations. The most annoying part to me is that it doesn't
>> interface well with the Android Intents System. I ended up writing my own
>> separate Java app that collects broadcast intents and fires off SL4A
>> scripts. Another part is understanding that you have to download and
>> install the scripting language of choice separately from SL4A.
>> Finally, as
>> of a year ago, there wasn't real effective tablet integration.
>>
>> But it has the advantages of being able to script directly on the device,
>> or remotely from a desktop. And with minimal script setup requirements,
>> it's possible to test ideas really quickly. Finally there is a mechanism
>> where SL4a, the required interpreter, and the script can be packaged
>> together in an APK so that it looks like a standalone application.
>>
>> It may not be the right choice. But I would suggest taking a look before
>> taking the full blown dive into the Java/Eclipse/Android development
>> world.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ale mailing list
> Ale at ale.org
> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale
> See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
> http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo
>
>