Greetings again, fellow beginners! I looked through status.net and it provoked a question. I do not need something too specialized; in fact, I don't really have the server to host the suggested microblogging service on. Instead, does Android have the capability to do something with a public medium instead, as described below?
------- Affecting the Counter ------- 1. User makes a selection to add or remove themself to/from the counter. 2. The app posts something to a public medium (example: twitter) account that indicates an addition or a removal. 3. The app updates its counter according to the user's addition/subtraction. 4. The app looks up the public counter (below). ------- Looking Up the Counter ------- 1. The app looks up the "twitter" account. For simplicity, let us say that this occurs when a user adds or removes themselves (above). 2. The app reads entries from some date/time to present date/time; entries contain text that indicate additions/subtractions to the count. 3. The app reads/parses these entries. 4. The app updates its counter according to the entries' values. What I want to know: is all that possible on the Android? You don't have to give me details if you don't feel like it, but any direction/comments/ideas/pitfalls are welcome. Thank you for reading, and have a great day! -Danny On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 3:42 PM, ubuntuexplorer <[email protected]>wrote: > Dear Mark, > Thanks for the answer. As I understand, it seems that learning will be > simpler if I make up an app. idea and then try to learn what is required to > build it. > > I will try to get the books suggested if I need further info. > > Regards, > UE. > > > On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 11:30 PM, Mark Murphy <[email protected]>wrote: > >> Ubuntu Explorer wrote: >> > I have more or less the same question. The amount of detail in the API >> > is overwhelming for me to choose what is really required for my app. Are >> > there specific areas we can focus on that can help us ramp up quickly. >> >> That is impossible to answer in the abstract. A 3D first-person shooter >> is very different from a PDF viewer, which is very different from a >> social networking client, which is very different from a tip calculator. >> The "specific areas [you] can focus on that can help [you] ramp up >> quickly" will vary by what you are building. >> >> At the risk of sounding self-serving, if you find the documentation >> overwhelming, perhaps you need different documentation: >> >> http://wiki.andmob.org/books >> >> (in the interests of full disclosure, I wrote some of those) >> >> > On Sat, May 1, 2010 at 4:27 PM, Daniel Favela <[email protected] >> > First question: I've done the Hello World and notepad tutorials, as >> > well as run through the quick tutorial >> > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6ObTqIiYfE>on youtube by Dan >> > Morril. I've also read a bit of the Android fundamentals >> > materials. Is this enough experience to make an application like >> > the one I'll describe below? >> > >> > If not, what do you think I should read or try next? If so, >> > >> > The application I have in mind will be a counter triggered by >> > users. A user will add themselves to the count, remove themselves >> > from the count, and view the count. >> > >> > When a user adds or removes themself to the count... >> > - if possible, this will update the count on other instances for >> > other users/devices >> > >> > That's my first step for now. The UI will be a ListView showing the >> > counts that users have added themselves to (once I create the means >> > to have one count, I will easily be able to scale the app to have >> > "n" counts). There will be a button to add and remove the user. >> > >> > Sounds reasonable, right? Please let me know if this sounds >> > difficult, especially where the multi-device communication (in >> > updating the counter) is concerned. Know of a library that I'll >> > have to use, or have some general advice for this? Tell me! :) >> >> IMHO, you're looking at your problem backwards. >> >> Your application requires a server, from your description. Focus on >> getting the server right first: >> >> -- how are you planning on sending data to the server? (HTTP via a >> REST-style API? XMPP? SMTP? something else?) >> >> -- where and how are you storing your counts? (SQLite? MySQL? Oracle? >> Flat file? memcached? Redis? something else?) >> >> -- how are you determining who sees what count? (everybody sees >> everybody's? something else?) >> >> -- how are you planning on distributing updates from the server? >> (polling by the clients? WebSockets with Comet? SMS? something else?) >> >> -- what data format will you be using for all of this? (XML? JSON? YAML? >> binary payloads via Protocol Buffers? binary payloads via Thrift? >> something else?) >> >> The only part of Android that really comes into play when thinking about >> your server are the communication protocols and payloads to/from the >> server. In the end, Android can handle just about anything, but there is >> more work involved with some compared to others. However, it may be that >> you are still better off choosing something that you're already >> comfortable with, even if it makes the Android side a bit more complex, >> just to make your server work simpler. >> >> Once you have the server more or less working -- perhaps via a client >> technology you are already comfortable with -- then tackle the Android >> client. As you say, the client side should not be terribly difficult, >> assuming you have a well-designed server. >> >> IMHO, the majority of your complexity is with the server. The only >> reason that would not be the case is if you're going to try to graft >> your design onto an existing engine (e.g., you'll use the status.net >> microblogging server and distribute count data via "tweets"). >> >> -- >> Mark Murphy (a Commons Guy) >> http://commonsware.com | http://github.com/commonsguy >> http://commonsware.com/blog | http://twitter.com/commonsguy >> >> _Beginning Android 2_ from Apress Now Available! >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >> Groups "Android Beginners" group. >> >> NEW! Try asking and tagging your question on Stack Overflow at >> http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/android >> >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected]<android-beginners%[email protected]> >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/android-beginners?hl=en >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Android Beginners" group. > > NEW! Try asking and tagging your question on Stack Overflow at > http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/android > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<android-beginners%[email protected]> > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/android-beginners?hl=en > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Beginners" group. NEW! 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