[ale] Android development tutorial?

[Byron Jeff]

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.

BAJ



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-- 
Byron A. Jeff
Chair: Department of Computer Science and Information Technology
College of Information and Mathematical Sciences
Clayton State University
http://faculty.clayton.edu/bjeff