Database Develop

This n00b wants to help!

I'm a pretty much clueless when it comes to Linux or Android. I want to help the community as much as possible and want some advice on good literature for learning Linux and ultimately Android developing.
I have no previous experience with programming but am a well above average windows user. (kinda pathetic, I know.)
I thought this might be a good topic to start since alot of us seem to be pretty useless seem to want to contribute.

beyondinferno said:
I'm a pretty much clueless when it comes to Linux or Android. I want to help the community as much as possible and want some advice on good literature for learning Linux and ultimately Android developing.
I have no previous experience with programming but am a well above average windows user. (kinda pathetic, I know.)
I thought this might be a good topic to start since alot of us seem to be pretty useless seem to want to contribute.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Developer.Android.com is a good place to start out if you are looking at the "how stuff works" - though if you don't have a clue how to program it will be over your head. Take a look over at geekfor.me - this site is hosted by Flipz one of the ROM devs here(Fresh Rom).
If you want to learn Linux, grab an Ubuntu or Mint ISO from their websites and burn it to a disk. then boot into the disk and run it "live". It's a little slow running off a CD rom drive, but better than isntalling on to a drive if you don't know what you are doing.
Most important thing to learn about this phone: HAVE FUN!

I installed Unbuntu 9.1 last week and have been messing around a bit, but not too much.
I'll have to take a look on android's dev site and Flipz page aswell.
Thanks for the advice!
I would like this thread to end up as a good reference for others so keep it coming!

Books wise, I would recommend:
Running Linux
Understanding the Linux Kernel
Hello, Android: Introducing Google's Mobile Development Platform
Android Application Development: Programming with the Google SDK
Professional Android Application Development
Unlocking Android: A Developer's Guide

gu1dry, that's exactly what I'm looking for.
Again, thanks folks.

beyondinferno said:
gu1dry, that's exactly what I'm looking for.
Again, thanks folks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm in the process of working through Hello Android. Pretty good book so far, im enjoying it and learning alot.

Good to see you've installed a Linux OS on your computer... that will help the most with learning how it works.
Experiment with it. Don't be afraid to break it and when you do break it (you will break it) learn how to fix it.
That's how you'll learn the most.
My favourite resources when first learning Linux were:
- to google "<topic name or what I want to accomplish> linux howto"
- irc.freenode.net #linux (you will probably get flamed a bit but it's a great channel to just read and watch/listen in)
Connect with very active and very focused Linux communities (and Android communities... like XDA ) and you'll be able to glean a ton of good information, even if it doesn't make sense at first.

Android Development

I'm posting this in the Development section because that is what I am trying to learn about. Please move me if I am mis-posting this.
I'm greatly interested in the the Roms people are making and everything that is being done on these forums. If someone wanted to start to learn about these things, developing and such, where should they start? Do I need to learn Java? Are there certain books I should be reading?
I can flash my phone like its my day job now, and I haven't come across any major problems I couldn't solve by reading, but I have no idea where to start to be able to develop things myself. If any developers here could maybe throw out a few tips on how to get started, what someone should focus on learning, etc., it would be greatly appreciated! I have plenty of time and a great desire to learn so I'm not intimidated by having to do the work, I just have to have some things to focus on. Thank you in advance for any help/advice you can give me!

I always wanted to know how make roms also I was looking around the internet but couldn't find anything that will describe it step by step word for word.
Maccie

It will be a huge writeup.But im sure someone will do it. I am still learning myself. There are some good topics around but different from what we have now

topshelf95 said:
I'm posting this in the Development section because that is what I am trying to learn about. Please move me if I am mis-posting this.
I'm greatly interested in the the Roms people are making and everything that is being done on these forums. If someone wanted to start to learn about these things, developing and such, where should they start? Do I need to learn Java? Are there certain books I should be reading?
I can flash my phone like its my day job now, and I haven't come across any major problems I couldn't solve by reading, but I have no idea where to start to be able to develop things myself. If any developers here could maybe throw out a few tips on how to get started, what someone should focus on learning, etc., it would be greatly appreciated! I have plenty of time and a great desire to learn so I'm not intimidated by having to do the work, I just have to have some things to focus on. Thank you in advance for any help/advice you can give me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a number of aspects to android development you have to learn to know how to build a full ROM from scratch. C is of course required for kernel building, and apps are built from java in the dalvik-vm, but can be built against sun java.
of course, to get started, you would need the android sdk available here: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
then there's the cloning of the android git:
http://android.git.kernel.org/
and, specifically for the captivate, there's the captivate source code:
http://opensource.samsung.com/
then there's pulling off the vendor proprietary libs from your phone (which is a ***** and I believe you can grab them from wes's github, though I can't speak for their accuracy) here:
http://github.com/wesgarner/proprietary_vendor_samsung
building the entire android OS from source is a challenge, especially compensating for some changes Samsung has introduced. this is what a real ROM is. now if you're talking about "ROM"s like Cognition and Shep's and even Eugene's Hybrid/Frankin-Twiz... they aren't comparable. Not to belittle any of their efforts, but this is simple "drag and drop" from stuff built by Samsung. While they're very useful tools, there is little actual development going on in them. There are improvements and tweaks, for sure... but it isn't a *true* ROM. All these releases by DesignGears, Eugene, and Shep are good and effective, but it'd be a shame if they weren't because they are just files thrown together from Samsung's already compiled ROM(s). Even the AOSP Beta 3 (which I have a qualm with the name, because it isn't actually AOSP, it's files pulled from an already built AOSP tossed onto Samsung's ROM again) is just modifying binaries (decompile, edit, recompile).
for those, it's as simple as extracting the zip, replacing the files you want, and rezip it. modifying the update-script inside meta-inf if there's something you want to add.

Awesome post Kaik, thanks, I was wondering some of those too.

Thx that explained a bunch
Maccie

Thank you for taking the time to post that Kaik! It's nice to have a place to start! Anyone else have any tips or things they think might be good to check out?

last, but certainly not least and I can't believe I forgot this, is Unhelpful's toolchain to compile against:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=761923
he did a lot of testing with various combinations, and this was the best he found to reduce wakeup lag and other issues

Wow. Kaik. That was the most awesome response to that question I have ever seen. Most people just point to developer.android.com and say go learn to program and come back in 5 years.
Thank you for this very useful information. Your the man now dog.

johnyhoffman said:
Most people just point to developer.android.com and say go learn to program and come back in 5 years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Devs are not being mean or pissy, they are being honest and realistic. If development was just "point and click" XDA would not even be here. Give the devs/veterans a break and take it upon yourself to learn the basics and do some searches, if you are that interested.
I would love to just start making my own Android OS just the way I like too but to do that will require much more reading and learning, trying and failing.
You will probably not find "the answer" you are looking for but if you search, read and most importantly, respect the time, energy and anguish people have put into this site you will find the means to get where you want.
Otherwise you can expect... "Let me just glance and peek to see how to do this. Damn what the hell does that mean? Oh well here is a modded ROM. I'll try that. Jeez, that sucks. How do I make my own? Let me just glance and peek to see how to do this. Damn what the hell does that mean? Oh well ..." It is an endless cycle.
I'm not saying this to belittle anyone. Most have been there, including myself. I say this as a vote of confidence to all.
Hang in there, do the work, break some phones, read some books. Really! You have to!

koe1974 said:
Devs are not being mean or pissy, they are being honest and realistic. If development was just "point and click" XDA would not even be here. Give the devs/veterans a break and take it upon yourself to learn the basics and do some searches, if you are that interested.
I would love to just start making my own Android OS just the way I like too but to do that will require much more reading and learning, trying and failing.
You will probably not find "the answer" you are looking for but if you search, read and most importantly, respect the time, energy and anguish people have put into this site you will find the means to get where you want.
Otherwise you can expect... "Let me just glance and peek to see how to do this. Damn what the hell does that mean? Oh well here is a modded ROM. I'll try that. Jeez, that sucks. How do I make my own? Let me just glance and peek to see how to do this. Damn what the hell does that mean? Oh well ..." It is an endless cycle.
I'm not saying this to belittle anyone. Most have been there, including myself. I say this as a vote of confidence to all.
Hang in there, do the work, break some phones, read some books. Really! You have to!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this times one thousand. I linked you guys to some very useful sites when it comes to actually putting android together... but understanding how it all works, actually getting a successful build, fixing bugs, etc... I can't even begin to pretend to be able to help with that. if you have little to no experience in C and Java, these things will basically be useless to you. dev's aren't being mean when they brush you off like that, but usually if you can't figure out how to google what to do with the code, they don't have high hopes for what you'll be able to do with it once you find the code.
the idea isn't to be like "f*** off" when they say that, it's more of a "we'll help you when you learn, but you're the one who needs to take the first steps and you need to take the responsibility of learning on yourself."

I was actually referring to the fact that someone like me, a hobbyist programmer for about 10 years now, can make sense of his reply and use it to go forth and actually do something. Most of the guides you find on here that are supposedly pointed at noobs, do not layout things as easily as his post did.
Wasn't criticizing anyone, but I have seen less patience nowadays for any posts such as these.
Was just saying it was a gem of a post for me personally. Maybe it doesn't help the ultra noobs and the more experienced people see it as useless, but for someone with little time right now, it was a perfect post for me.

[Q] I want to become a dev.

I'm a creeper on the forums and i look up to you people...and Recently i saw a story on how the number1 iphone app was created by a fourteen year old.
It got me thinking.. and i really want to try this but i have absolutely zero coding experience..
I know it sounds noobish to say but all the devs on this forum had to start somewhere.. they didnt just magically get their talents.
What i'm asking for are tutorials, references, guides, even books, on how to develop android applications from scratch.
Please dont overlook me.. i just want to learn.
I have the android sdk and eclipse set up and linked together.
I even have app inventer.
Any help is appreciated

I'd recommend starting with the tutorials on the Android Developers website http://developer.android.com/resources/index.html. In the left column there are 6 tutorials that are quite good. I'd reccomend doing Hello World, Hello Views, Notepad Tutorial, and save the others for later. After that, your best bet would be to get an idea in your head and go for it. If you have questions the best place to ask is on IRC in #android-dev. Outside of that, google is your best friend. Just search for what you want to do.
Hope this helps!

Tutorials are usually a good way to learn what you can start doing.
After you get some basics and know how to search for certain functions/commands, then you can start thinking about what type of app you want.
A lot of books (I just glanced over them at the bookstore) suggested thinking of what you want the app to do and then designing the general User Interface on paper. And after the UI is in your mind, you can start programming.

thanks to both of you for the help really appreciate it.. people seem to ignore the noobs but anybody can learn.
ill put my ideas on paper first.
And ChainsDD what is the IRC in #android dev?

IRC is internet relay chat. To quote Wikipedia:
Wikipedia said:
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a popular[citation needed] form of real-time Internet text messaging (chat) or synchronous conferencing.[1] It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels,[2] but also allows one-to-one communication via private message[3] as well as chat and data transfer (including file sharing).[4]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many clients out there to connect to it, but I believe that XChat is cross-platform and quite good. Here's the website for it. The quick start guide on that page will get you online, but choose freenode as your network, as that's where #android-dev is. There's also #android for general android discussions, and #android-root for root discussions.

I would recommend you to start with the basics. With that I mean Java applications for the command window. It's easy to set up and use to learn basic stuff like data types, operators and class structures. Search for "basic java programming" or likewise and you will find a lot of good (and bad) tutorials.
For example: Java tutorial for beginners - Introduction
When you have learned to write a simple program in Java use the Android tutorials to learn how to use Google's Java libraries. The three tutorials ChainsDD mentioned are a good start.
people seem to ignore the noobs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not all of us

Real Dev's code in Python (j/k)
But they all stated good things - pretty much pick a programming language and start from there. If it's Android development it is going to be Java (ugh).
If your serious about wanting to develop? I would recommend C++ as the language to get involved with. From there it is easy to branch off to other languages.
There is a TON of free material on the internet (that isn't pirated even) to help you get started. Compilers, code samples, documentation.. there is virtually no limit to the amount of data that is out there.
The trick is... A) to figure out what you want to do and B) remained focus on your goals and keep working at it. Coding is NOT easy (I can't code my way out of a wet paperbag - but I understand it) but can be very rewarding both personally and financially
So good luck!

avgjoegeek said:
but can be very rewarding both personally and financially
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nah, I code for years and didn't get any of those rewards.. just lame jobs and no life!

[Q] Software development

To all programmers,
I am a Young fellow interested in getting into software development. However, I don't know where to begin.. There's C++, java, and python all supposedly good languages to learn (c++ being a bit harder). Which one should i choose.. then I need books, sites, any kind of help/suggestions on the chosen language.. Please enlighten me developers! You all do great work for the community and I thank you for your time and input!

if you are looking for Android
you need Android SDK + Jave eclipse those are important to develop for Android
and there is some more softwares here in the XDA
APKTOOL etc
if you wanna edit apk (XML) Hex Editor is your choise
this is what i know

I was thinking of development I am completely new so perhaps that is the best route to go?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

yup , 1st you have to know what is AndroidSDK , visit
code.google.com
and you'll get the basics

I started with vb, then c++, python, fortran, cobal, unix, and now java. Java is what Android apps run on. But vb will give you basic skills. c++ will teach you about everything else. My $.02

Thank you all for your posts now for another question! How did you learn? It looks like ill be messing with a little of all of them though it seems I may focus more on Java. Did you learn with a particular website? Prefered books? Thanks again!
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App

School and old programmers. I could not have learned it from reading a book.

I'm a rather persistent guy.. I think I could learn from a book and perhaps ask a few questions on hereshould the need arise. I have a few friends who have some knowledge as well on the subject. I think I can self teach myself I just need to know some of the sources others have used. like java for dummies if that's any good or for that matter a real book..

here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl-zzrqQoSE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Head first Java is a good book for beginners.

If you have no prior experience in programming, I would recommend starting with Visual Basic. The Code Project website is an excellent resource.

And if you are going to start with Visual Basic, then the MSDN website will have tutorials, code examples, etc.

guys he is going to develop for android i (Think) , why the heck he needs visual basic for ? android app only can develop by AndroidSDK and ECLIPSE(JAVA)
visual basic its for pc apps though

k0sh said:
guys he is going to develop for android i (Think) , why the heck he needs visual basic for ? android app only can develop by AndroidSDK and ECLIPSE(JAVA)
visual basic its for pc apps though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You start with basic cause it's just that, basic. Teaches you principle concepts. Things that you would already know if doing java. Taking a java class or reading a java book, they think you already know boolean logic. It's just a good base knowledge set to have.

thekdub said:
And if you are going to start with Visual Basic, then the MSDN website will have tutorials, code examples, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vbasic/ms789056
That's right, forgot about that. Tons of free stuff

so what I'm getting is I should develop on pc first visual basic is a good starter. Interesting, Now I have a few sources on all of them except C++ which though I may not mess with it immediately I may take a peek at it anyways. Glad to know I have same people that know what their talking about helping me out! my friends have limited knowledge.

[Q] how do i start working with android studio?

Hi whoever you are
i don't know anything about how to develop an app using android studio.
i don't know where to start and where to end, i am totally confused.
i tried to find it on the internet but i couldn't find how to do so.
i plead for help i have passion i have interest don't be the cause for a child's failure in gaining interest.
thank you for viewing my thread and please i repeat please show me the way.

There's plenty of written and video tutorials out there that you can find with a search on google or youtube. Stackoverflow, Android Developers, and youtube are good places to get tutorials. The last two mentioned have good tutorials for android studio.
Start with like a simple webview app just so you can learn some of the ropes with android studio. You can do a mobile version of your website or if you don't have one use any random site on the web since it's just to learn.
Sorry I can't post any resource links, it's not allowed for new accounts. Good luck.

That all depends on your knowledge of development, but first things first you will need to install Android Studio of course and get a development environment setup. Do you have an android device to test on? If not you can use an emulator. Bear in mind that it's recommended to have at least 2GB of RAM in your system before you attempt this as it will be painfully slow and awkward otherwise and you have have other issues.
Anyway once you have got Android Studio installed you can Google "getting started" guides, but they may assume you have a certain level of programming knowledge.
For example, I just googled "getting started with android studio" and the first search result, titled "Android Adventures - Getting Started With Android Studio 1.0" guides you through installation of Android Studio to the basics of Android development. I can't guarantee the article is any good as I haven't followed it, only glanced through it, I can't post links yet unfortunately.
If you're new to programming then this may be very tricky, in which case i'd recommend getting a book or 2 that guide you through the very basics in making small applications just to give you the base knowledge to build from.