Android 1: Lesson 4: Java Language

Lesson 4: Java Language

INTRODUCTION

In this lesson you will be learning how to understand and use Java and how it will make your app work

LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. Learning how to connected your 'main_activity.xml' to your Java

2. Understanding what each piece of code does in Java

LEARNING SEQUENCE

Required Reading	Read the following: Introduction To Development Environment ·        Eclipse ·        Android ·        Activity-Google site
Resources	View the following:  1.      Eclipse 2.      Android Development
Assignments	Java is a complicated language, but it is very efficient when used correctly First we’ll start with creating a new class in the 'src' folder, open the 'src' folder and you should see the package: 'com.example.(name of your app)', and inside that you'll see the 'MainActivity.java' class. Double click on the class and it will open Here, you'll see (from the top down) the package name. 3 imports. a public class. and 2 overrides The imports are what make Java efficient and fast. Java has a massive library of different things it can do, but only if you import it to the app so it knows how The android 'import android.os.bundle' is what allows it to work in the android API 'import android.os.Activity' is where all the actual java happens. 'public class' means that it is open to the users, and the class defines a variable within the class inside the 'public class' are the overrides. One of them has 'protected void' and the other has 'public boolean' protected means that it can be accessed by the other classes that get related to it boolean, inside the other override, is a primitive type of object, using less memory (RAM) to run than the more complicated Boolean, with a captial B. Java is very fragile when it comes to capitalization. onCreate is what actually runs when the app opens. Java runs in a very specific way. It first scans your code for the onCreate method, than runs from there, as seen on the Google website about Activities http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html Right now, the Java isn't doing anything with your app and doesn't have the following pieces of code, but you will be adding them next lesson. You have to assign each thing in the interface to a piece of code in Java For the TextView, it will be assigned the title of 'display', which allows it to get changed and altered by different pieces of Java You then can assign the buttons to individual pieces of code, cause you don't want them doing the same thing. Making one of the buttons 'add' and the other 'sub' 'int' tells the Java what it's going to be doing. if you assign 'counter' to the 'int', then the Java will know what you're doing and that it will be adding or subtracting one from the display

Android 1: Lesson 3: Starting a New project and Understanding XML layout

Lesson 3: Starting a New Project and Understanding XML Layout

INTRODUCTION

In this lesson you will be testing what each piece of code does, and how it works. You'll be changing certain parts of the code to see how it comes out in the 'Graphic Layout' of Eclipse.

LESSON OBJECTIVES

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. Learning how to 'Clean' your project

2. Understand TextView and Button code

3. Seeing what each piece of code actually does

LEARNING SEQUENCE

Required Reading	Read the following: Introduction To Development Environment ·        Eclipse ·        Android ·        Considerations for beginning programming.
Resources	View the following:  1.      Eclipse 2.      Android Development
Assignments	During this video, we’ll be showing you what each piece of code does in the ‘activity_main.xml’ and how to clean your project First we’ll start with how to clean the project. Cleaning your project is when Eclipse scans your app of any false errors, and cleans it. When you open your app, or you are sure you don't have any errors in the code, you should clean the app. Go to PROJECT>CLEAN. Then the Clean menu will pop up. You can either clean all of your projects, or chose to clean only one of the projects. Cleaning all of them takes longer, so check the ‘Clean selected projects below’ and click only your project. This scans the whole app and gets rid of the errors that don’t actually exist, and leaves you with only the true errors The rest of the errors you can change by checking the coding with the video, and hovering your mouse over the error and seeing what Eclipse suggests to fix it. Next you will change what each piece of code does. Let’s start with ‘orientation’. This determines if it goes vertical or horizontal. Change the word vertical to horizontal, and open up the ‘graphic layout’ at the bottom left of the XML document. You’ll now see that the app Layout hasn't changed, but the TextView and the Buttons have shifted to a horizontal view Now the 'android:layout_width/height' coding. This piece of code determines how much space each piece of code takes up, as described in the last lesson Changing the code here, you will not see a physical change except that the TextView and Buttons will shift around slightly in the graphic layout The 'android:text' describes what the TextView and Button say on them. the 'android:textSize' will change how big the text will be. You can change the 'android:textSize' from dp to xp or sp. Which are all different text sizes.  xp being the default for most devices, and will keep the text at a permanent size not matter the screen size. sp is another ratio, much like dp Changing the 'android:layout_gravity' will move around the pieces of the app. You can change it from 'center', to the 'right', and to the 'left' 'android:id' will not give you anything special in your app, changing this will not be shown in the graphic layout of Eclipse. The id refers to the identification of the app in the java.

Tiny Wings App Review-Craig Fitzgerald

Craig Fitzgerald

App Review

Tiny Wings

This is one of the simplest games you can get for your tablet or mobile device. The only control in the game is when you must click the screen to start your decent from flight. By using the hills as ramps and jumps you must help your tiny bird character fly from island to island. Your mission is to collect as many coins as possible, fly as far as possible, and stay in fever mode as long as possible. Fever mode is acquired by doing three perfect jumps in a row.
The graphics in the game are very artistic. On top of that, they change the colors of the hills every twenty-four hours to keep users from getting bored. In addition, they change the sizes, shapes and the dimensions of the hills to keep the player on their toes. With these switches, players cannot just memorize the track and win that way, but it takes pure skill to get a high score.

Dragonvale By John Costello

John Costello
App Review
March 6, 2012


Dragonvale

Dragonvale is a mobile application for iPones and Androids. This game may be misconstrued as a game for little children and youngsters, but if you had played the game you would know that is fun for everyone. This game is entertaining for all levels even if older people might not consider it ‘cool’. But, at my high school it is cool and the only people that think it is not are those without the iPhone who cannot play it, and thus they are just jealous.

In Dragonvale, you have an island and on this island you raise a colony of dragons. It is considered your ‘park’ and visitors come to check it out. In your park you can buy eggs and habitats and decorate your park. You buy these eggs with the coins you earn from your dragons, because as your dragons just sit there, they collect revenue for your park. You can buy the six basic dragons; earth, plant, fire, cold, water, and air. To get the more exotic and rare hybrid dragons, you can put two of your dragons into the breeding cave and wait for the magic to happen.

The amount of visitors in your park increases depending on how your park is doing. One way to increase your amount of visitors is to put decorations and paths around your park because visitors enjoy a beautiful looking park. Another way to increase the amount of visitors is to get more dragons. The more dragons you have, the more visitors you will have. Also, if you have more rare dragons that will attract more visitors. The last way is having high level dragons, to increase the level of your dragons you must feed them and you get the food by planting it on your island.

Another fun feature about this game is that you can visit your friends islands. To find their dragonvale, all you have to do is be friends with them on facebook and dragonvale will automatically make a list of your friends on facebook that also play dragonvale... it will be more than you think. You can visit their islands and send each other gems (which is another form of currency). Overall this game is very fun and people should definitely check it out, weather it be you like to play with cute animals or want to pretend you are starting a business with this park or you just want to fit in and hang with your peeps on you dragonvale, all are reasons to go check this game out.

Guitar Toolkit-Diran Dermarderosian

GuitarToolkit

For iPhone

The Guitar Toolkit by Agile Partners is a very useful application for anyone who plays guitar. The app consists of five different pages which each have their own unique function; they are Tuner, Scales, Metronome, Chords and Six String. The tuner function is the most useful part by far because it is a fully functional chromatic tuner that can pick up the pitch of a note that is being played and can tell you to tune accordingly. The next page is titled “Scales” which demonstrates various scales spanning all genres from blues to jazz; you can also adjust the settings of the virtual fretboard to change which key the scale is in.
Then we have the metronome page which is for anyone who has trouble keeping time with what they’re playing it allows you to go from 20 BPM to 300 BPM which is a broad range. Next there is the Chord section which shows chord diagrams of pretty much every chord that has ever existed; it makes it easier to see how the chord should be played since it gives you a picture of the fretboard with dots on the frets that should be played and what finger you should have on that fret. Last but not least we have the Instrument page which is pretty much the settings page where you can change the standard tuning of the chromatic tuner.
All in all I would give the app a favorable review but it is ten dollars so unless you have the money to burn you should look elsewhere.

Temple Run App Review By: Rameel Rana

Rameel Rana


Temple Run App Review



Temple Run is a mobile application that is available for download on Apple Devices. Temple run is a game that is designed for people all ages; kids aged 5 to adults aged 20 love playing it. Imangi Studios released Temple Run on August 4, 2011 and it has been a success since. It is a free app so more people give it a try without hesitating. The app is currently on #1 on the TOP Grossing & Top Free downloads in the Apple App Store, which means it has the greatest number of total downloads. The app has 5 stars and has been rated by over 400,000 people.

At this moment Temple Run is only available on the Apple App Store, but will be available on Android very soon. The game is very fun and challenging to play. No skill is required it’s just something you download and start playing. There is a character that is escaping from evil demon monkeys from a temple and you have to control him so he gets as far as possible. Every high school is talking about this app, kids are playing in study halls or whenever they have a second. The features of the game are simple swipe and tilt controls that are easy to use and feel right. Temple Run is built in with a twitter feature and a game center access path so you can compete with your friends. Another pro of the app is that it barely uses battery. Reviews are “Best endless running game in the App Store…. You’ll love every minute”

Google Goggles- App Review Nick Vallas

This app is developed by Google Inc. Goggles uses image recognition technology to recognize images and give you search results, all by taking a picture. It identifies products, famous landmarks, logos, storefronts, artwork, and popular images online. It can also translate English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian. Compatible with Android and Apple products.

`Upon first downloading, the app gives you a tutorial on how to use Goggles. You basically take a picture and it translates it into a web search. There are many things that Goggles searches for.

Text- You can take a picture of a foreign language and Goggles gives you a translation of it.

Landmarks- Take a picture of a famous landmark, and the app gives you some information about it.

Books- By taking a picture of a book, it gives you all the basic information about it (author, title, publisher, etc.). Goggles also can send you to the Google store, and gives you some reviews.

Contact Info- Goggles can take a picture of a business card or something and take that information and translate it to your contacts.

Logos- A picture of a logo will send you to the company’s site and other useful information.

Goggles can also solve Sudoku puzzles. These are the features of the app and what it does.