Posts tagged development

MIPS simplifies Android application development with tools for MIPS architecture

Mar 6th

SUNNYVALE, USA: MIPS Technologies Inc. has announced availability of advanced debug and development tools that simplify Android application development.

These tools are free-of-charge through the Android on MIPS community. MIPS Technologies is making available the QEMU open source emulator, and through its partnership with Viosoft Corp., offering industry-leading Arriba development tools for QEMU to make development even easier.

MIPS Technologies has also enhanced the Android Native Development Kit (NDK) for the MIPS architecture to include a compiler and a rich GUI that streamlines the entire build process to a simple point-and-click for fast native development.

“Android development is gaining increasing popularity among MIPS developers. We already have more than 3,000 members of the Android on MIPS community, with upwards of 40 new registrants each day,” said Art Swift, vice president of marketing, MIPS Technologies. “MIPS Technologies is leading the industry not only in bringing Android to a broad range of consumer devices, but also in making development fast and easy. The tools that MIPS Technologies offers for Android development go far beyond solutions for other architectures, driving application development and growing the ecosystem around Android on MIPS.”

QEMU offers a virtualized emulation platform to speed development of Android applications on the MIPS architecture. The fully-integrated set of Arriba development tools for QEMU support native and Java development, and provide unprecedented visibility into code development. Tools include the time-tested Arriba Linux debug and profiling technologies and a comprehensive set of plug-in modules that offer valuable insight into the Android software stack, including the Android System Level Event Analyzer.

With the Android NDK for the MIPS architecture, developers can use native libraries with Android applications—allowing these applications to access existing software libraries supported for devices such as set-top boxes, digital TVs and consumer electronics. In addition, developers of performance-intensive applications such as gaming can create optimized code to deliver an enhanced user experience. One of the key improvements to the Android NDK – unavailable on other CPU architectures – is a rich and simplified GUI environment for the building of native Android applications that would otherwise be a manually-driven and cumbersome process.

QEMU and the Android NDK for the MIPS architecture are available now, and the Arriba tools for QEMU will be available this month. All components are free-of-charge.

a-compiler-and, a-rich-and, android, android-on-mips, architectures-, arriba, development, mips, new-registrants, open-source, qemu, time, viosoft-corp-

How to Install the Android SDK on Windows XP

Mar 5th

Posted by shadow in Apps

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How to Install the Android SDK on Windows XP and Create an Application that Runs in the Android Emulator
This tutorial shows you how to download and install Android SDK to get you started developing Android applications.

1. Download and Install the Android SDK and Test the Emulator
2. Install Java
3. Install Eclipse
4. Install the ADT Plugin in Eclipse
5. Create Hello World Application

1. Download and Install the Android SDK and test the Emulator

Create a folder called “android” in the drive C. Go to http://code.google.com/android/download.html. Click on the android_sdk_windows… link, download and save it to c:android.

2.	Unzip downloaded file.

Now, set your PATH environment variable by right click on My Computer, and select Properties. Under the Advanced tab, hit the Environment Variables button, and in the dialog that comes up, double-click on Path under System Variables. Add the full path to the tools/ directory to the path, in this case, it is: C:androidandroid-sdk-windows-1.0_r1tools. Then click OK , OK , OK.

4.	Click on Start > All Programms > Accessories > Command prompt and type emulator, then hit ENTER , in a couple seconds the emulator will appear, please wait when it’s starting up.

5.	Click on Browser button.

6.	Click on the Menu button, then click on Go to … Type in a website address you want to view and press ENTER, ex: http://androidcore.com

2. Install Java

1.	Goto http://developers.sun.com/downloads/

2.	Choose Java SE (JDK) 6 link.

3.	Click on the Download button

4.	Click on the Download button

5.	Select Platform, Language for your download, check into the box “I agree to …” and then click on the button “Continue”

6.	Click on the file name (jdk-6u10-windows-i586-p.exe) to start to download the Java SDK Save it to C:android

7.	After it has finished downloading, you will have this file in your directory (C:android). Double click on file that was downloaded to start install Java SDK. Accept agreement. And click Next to start install.

3. Install Eclipse

Eclipse is a professional editor.

1.	Go to http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/ . Download and save it to drive C:. The current version of Eclipse is 3.4.1

2.	After it has finished downloading, you will have this file in your directory (C:). Unzip this file.

3.	Double-click on the file c:eclipseeclipse.exe to run Eclipse editor. Click OK to Continue.

4. Install the ADT Plugin

The ADT (Android Development Tools) plugin includes a variety of powerful extensions that make creating, running, and debugging Android applications faster and easier.

1.	Start Eclipse. If you are using a proxy, please go to Windows > Preferences > General > Network Connections, choose “Manual proxy configuration” and type your proxy address here. If you are using a direct internet connection, you do not need to do this step. Click Help > Software Updates

2.	Choose “Available Software” tab, then click on the button “Add Site …”

3.	Copy and paste this link into input box “Location”: https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/, click OK

4.	Back in the Available Software view, you should see the plugin. “Android Developer Tools”, and “Android Editors” should both be checked. The Android Editors feature is optional, but recommended. Then click on the button “Install …”

5.	Click on the button Next

6.	Check the “I accept the terms of the license agreements” and click Finish.

7.	Wait to Eclipse download the plugin

8.	Eclipse will ask to restart, click on the button Yes

After restart, update your Eclipse preferences to point to the SDK directory:

1. Select Window > Preferences… to open the Preferences panel.

2. Select Android from the left panel. If you get a dialog says: “Could not find folder ‘tool’ inside SDK …”, just click on the button OK
3. For the SDK Location in the main panel, click Browse… and locate the SDK directory.
4. Click Apply, then OK.

5. Create Hello World Application

This will show you how to make the first simple Android application with Eclipse.

1.	Click File > New > Other….

2.	Click on Android Project and click Next.

3.	Fill out the form and click Finish.

Change the code in HelloWorld.java to the following.


package com.androidcore.hello;

  import android.app.Activity;

  import android.os.Bundle;

  import android.widget.TextView;

  public class HellWorld extends Activity {

  /** Called when the activity is first created. */

  @Override

  public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {

  super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);

  //setContentView(R.layout.main);

  TextView tv = new TextView(this);

  tv.setText("Hello, Android");

  setContentView(tv);

  }

  }

5.	Click on menu Run, choose Run Configurations.

6.	Click on Android Application, fill in Name, Project. Click on the “Launch” choice, choose Activity. Then click on button Run.

7.	Once Android Emulator is booted up, your application will appear. When all is said and done, you should see something like this:

That’s it — you’re done!

code, computer, development, download, file, language, network, plugin, table-border, tutorial

Things I am missing in Android development

Mar 2nd

Posted by shadow in General

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This is a list of things I would like to see for Android to improve the development of apps. Don’t get me wrong, Android is one of the best platforms out there, but this doesn’t mean it can not improve anymore.

Hot Code Replacement
It always takes a while to deploy your application on the mobile phone or in the emulator. If you just want to find out what is happening in the code this deployment cycle adds up to quite some time. I know it is hard to replace Dalvik code from a Sun Java machine, but it would help a lot. We even used hot code replacement with our Robocup machines while they were playing soccer. Another possibility would be to use something like hotswap for python. It monitors changes of source files and applies them to the running process as soon as possible.

Flawless USB Connection
There are many cases where you have to unplug and plugin the development phone again. For example when I adb uninstall an app, it can not be installed again until the USB connection has been reset. The same goes for installing an apk from the SD card. You have to connect the phone as an external device, copy the apk and unplug again, before installing the app.
Another thing is that LogCat most of the time does not recognize when the phone is plugged in again. So you always need to switch to the DDMS view in Eclipse, click on the device and go back to the Java view again.

Simple caching of files
Some time ago I had this question on StackOverflow. Disk space is extremely limited on current Android phones. On the iPhone you can easily bundle 20 Megabytes of data with your application, because the app partition is huge. In contrary, most G1 users don’t even have 3 Megabytes of space on their phones. So until every Android device has a huge app partition (or could use the sdcard for it), we need to cache files and delete them on demand. There should be a standard way of caching, like RomainGuy described it with SoftReferences for storing images in memory.

Just in Time Compiler
Now this one is already in the works, but it might still be a while until it sees the light of day. But obviously the overall performance is not even close to the iPhone right now. A JIT compiler should be able to nearly close the gap.

Hardware Graphics Acceleration
The hardware of most Android devices is capable of handling a lot of 3D objects and textures with high framerates. In the standard user interface, this acceleration is not used. Hardware acceleration with OpenGL should speed up the overall performance a lot.

What kind of things can you think of? Put your own wishlist in the comments.

a-standard-way, a-view-again-, acceleration, application, code, development, graphics, iphone, light, overall, robocup

What is Android and its Software Development Kit

Mar 1st

Posted by shadow in Apps

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Android is a mobile operating system that uses a modified version of the Linux kernel. It was initially developed by Android Inc., a firm later purchased by Google, and lately by the Open Handset Alliance. It allows developers to write managed code in the Java language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries.

The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 47 hardware, software, and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices.Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software and open source license.

The Android SDK includes a comprehensive set of development tools. These include a debugger, libraries, a handset emulator (based on QEMU), documentation, sample code, and tutorials. Currently supported development platforms include x86-architecture computers running Linux (any modern desktop Linux distribution), Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later, Windows XP or Vista. Requirements also include Java Development Kit, Apache Ant, and Python 2.2 or later. The officially supported integrated development environment (IDE) is Eclipse (3.2 or later) using the Android Development Tools (ADT) Plugin, though developers may use any text editor to edit Java and XML files then use command line tools to create, build and debug Android applications as well as control attached Android devices (e.g., triggering a reboot, installing software package(s) remotely).

advancing-open, android, announced-with, apache-license, based-on-qemu, development, free-software, google, open, python, tools, windows

The making of Nexus One video series

Feb 26th

Posted by shadow in nexus-one-

No comments

We recently released an exclusive video series on the Nexus One YouTube channel, documenting the making of the Nexus One. The 5 videos in the series, titled ‘The Story,’ provide a unique insight into the craftsmanship involved in producing a device like the Nexus One.

Google worked closely with HTC to capture behind the scenes action of the development and production of the Nexus One and to document the partnership between the two companies.

HTC has rarely allowed cameras into its advanced manufacturing and design facilities in Taiwan, and this is the first time that processes involved in the design, testing and manufacturing have been captured in such detail.

The videos, which contain exclusive footage captured at HTC and its partner facilities, are narrated by Erick Tseng (Lead Product Manager for Nexus One, Google), Tomasz Hasinkski (Project Manager, HTC) and Lloyd Watts (Founder, Audience). Their narration was taken from live recordings of conversations about the Nexus One.

Translatable captions have been added to all the videos, so you can watch them in more than 50 languages.

a-device-like, allowed-cameras, development, erick-tseng, google, live-recordings, partnership, product-manager, project-manager, series-on-the

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Pro Price – QWERTY Android Mobile

Feb 23rd

Posted by shadow in Xperia X10

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Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Pro Features:

Slider Full QWERTY Keyboard
5MP Camera
Google Android 1.6
Sony Ericsson Timescape – brings together all communication in one place
4 Corner Control for easy control
Easy social networking

Sony Xperia X10 Pro will only available in Black and Red Colors…

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Pro Technical Specification:

3G/ UMTS 900/2100 MHz
Quad Band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
GPRS/EDGE
2.55″ inch (240

audio, development, ericsson, ericsson-xperia, price, radio, search, search-engine, seo, services, sms, usa

Apple Bans Some Apps for Sex-Tinged Content

Feb 23rd

Posted by shadow in Apps

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Apple has started banning many applications for its iPhone that feature sexually suggestive material, including photos of women in bikinis and lingerie, a move that came as an abrupt surprise to developers who had been profiting from such programs.

The company’s decision to remove the applications from its App Store over the last few days indicates that it is not interested in giving up its tight control over the software available there, even as competitors like Google take a more hands-off approach.
When asked about the change, Apple said it was responding to complaints from App Store users.
Philip W. Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing at Apple, said in an interview that over the last few weeks a small number of developers had been submitting “an increasing number of apps containing very objectionable content.”

“It came to the point where we were getting customer complaints from women who found the content getting too degrading and objectionable, as well as parents who were upset with what their kids were able to see,” Mr. Schiller said.
Among the victims of the purge was a game called SlideHer, a puzzle that challenged users to reassemble a photograph of a scantily clad actress. Another, Sexy Scratch Off, depicted a woman whose dress could be whisked away at the swipe of a finger, revealing her undergarments. Such programs often appeared on the store’s list of most-downloaded apps.
Analysts said Apple appeared to be trying to ensure that the App Store would not scare off potential customers as its products become more mainstream.
The iPod Touch is popular with children and teenagers. And the company is hoping that the iPad, due out next month, will be a hit with families and as an educational tool in schools. That could be a hard sell if the catalog of programs available for it is cluttered with racy applications.
“At the end of the day, Apple has a brand to maintain,” said Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray who keeps a close eye on the company. “And the bottom line is they want that image to be squeaky clean.”
The iPad will run the same applications that work on the iPhone and iPod Touch, which demonstrated that consumers were willing to pay for software that turned their devices into gaming machines, e-readers and navigation systems.
“The reality is that the iPad is going to be a big platform for apps,” said Mr. Munster. “It raises the bar for Apple in terms of policing what goes into the App Store.”
Last June, Apple introduced parental controls and ratings to help keep sex-themed applications away from children. But Mr. Munster said that the volume of such apps — which he estimated made up as much as 5 percent of the more than 140,000 apps in the App Store — might have surpassed a level Apple was comfortable with.
Many software developers have long complained about Apple’s strict screening process and, at times, seemingly arbitrary decisions about what was acceptable in the App Store. The company’s latest move, which was first reported by TechCrunch, did little to change their minds. Fred Clarke, co-president of a small software company called On the Go Girls, which made Sexy Scratch Off, said that as of Monday all 50 of his company’s applications were no longer available. They included an application in which a woman wearing a swimsuit appeared to wipe finger marks from the iPhone’s screen with a rag and spray bottle.
“I’m shocked,” said Mr. Clarke, who said the company had not had a problem with its applications since the first one went on sale last June. “We’re showing stuff that’s racier than the Disney Channel, but not by much.”
Mr. Clarke said his company had been earning thousands of dollars a day from the App Store.
“It’s very hard to go from making a good living to zero,” he said. “This goes farther than sexy content. For developers, how do you know you aren’t going to invest thousands into a business only to find out one day you’ve been cut off?”
Mr. Clarke said the company would still continue to develop applications for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but would explore alternative platforms, including Google’s Android.
Mr. Schiller said Apple had to prioritize its customers. “We obviously care about developers, but in the end have to put the needs of the kids and parents first,” he said.

Not all developers were critical of Apple’s stance. Wally Chang, founder of Donoma Games, which does not make sexual applications, said he welcomed the changes. He said he hoped the culling of the catalog would improve the visibility of lesser-known apps.

“There just seems to be too many of these really simple applications that do nothing but show pictures of girls in bikinis or in suggestive, adult poses,” he said. “It’s cluttering up the App Store.”
Mr. Chang acknowledged that Apple’s policies were a little opaque at times.
“Apple needs to be more transparent in how they are applying their policies and communicate that to developers,” he said. “Sports Illustrated still has an application available. How come that hasn’t been pulled?”
Indeed, a Sports Illustrated application tied to its annual swimsuit issue was still available for download on Monday, as was one from Playboy.
When asked about the Sports Illustrated app, Mr. Schiller said Apple took the source and intent of an app into consideration. “The difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format,” he said.
Some developers and analysts wonder if the Android Market, Google’s version of the App Store, will end up becoming a haven for sexually themed applications. The store’s programs work only on phones running Android, which so far are much less popular than Apple’s products.
A Google representative said the company wanted to “reduce friction and remove barriers that make it difficult for developers to make apps available to users.” To that end, Android applications are treated similarly to YouTube videos, which are not screened before they are posted. Apps can be removed if they violate various policies, and users can flag material that they deem inappropriate, giving guidance to others.
Daniel Klaus, who recently co-created a multimillion-dollar fund to foster the development of applications for the iPad, said Apple had challenges ahead of it.
“It’s an incredibly fine line they have to walk to keep the developers happy and at the same time grow the ecosystem,” Mr. Klaus said. “It’s going to be very interesting to see how they continue do that while clamping down on some of the areas that are not in line with the direction they want to go.”

a-big-platform, a-small-number, a-woman-wearing, development, ipad, iphone, kids, software

Freescale extends Android platform support for i.MX applications processors

Feb 16th

Posted by shadow in Apps

No comments

AUSTIN, USA: A month after joining the Open Handset Alliance, Freescale has introduced a new evaluation kit that speeds and simplifies the development of compelling applications based on the Android platform and Freescale’s i.MX51 processor.

Android enables innovative end user experiences. The i.MX51 applications processor, based on the powerful ARM Cortex-A8 core, works together with the Android OS to deliver an ideal solution for the development of high performance, low power and cost effective mobile devices, such as smartphones.

A new Freescale i.MX51 evaluation kit (EVK) incorporating the Android OS is designed to help customers drive innovation and create differentiated products. Based on the latest Android kernel/release, the i.MX51 EVK runs the Android OS with highly accelerated multimedia codecs and graphics.

In addition, the common code base across Freescale i.MX Board Support Packages (BSPs) greatly streamlines porting efforts to next generation i.MX processors. Included in the kit are binary images for the Android OS on i.MX51, patches for Freescale source, and documentation such as a reference manual, user’s guide and release notes.

Freescale is proud to be a member of the Open Handset Alliance™ – a group of mobile and technology leaders responsible for the creation and proliferation of the Android OS and an open mobile ecosystem. Freescale contributes kernel code and drivers via the Android Open Source Project.

Key Features of the i.MX51 EVK with Android BSP
• High performance and low power operation
• Optimized multimedia codecs in the Android framework that include:
o ARMv7 optimizations
o Hardware acceleration using Video Processing Unit (VPU)
• Hardware acceleration for graphics
o 2D graphics for UI rendering
o OpenGL/ES for 3D applications
• Latest stable Android kernel/release

Available now, the i.MX51 EVK ships with software BSPs on accompanying pre-flashed SD cards for an outstanding out of the box experience. In addition, Android OS BSP images for the i.MX51 processor can be downloaded from the Freescale website. The Android OS sources can be obtained from http://source.android.com. The Android OS is also supported on other select i.MX processors through Freescale’s vast ecosystem.

a-codecs-and, android, android-open, based-on-the, board-support, development, downloaded-from, freescale, hardware, power-operation, source, vast-ecosystem-, video

Two Dozen Telecoms Unite to Form Apple App Store Rival [Apps]

Feb 15th

Posted by shadow in Apps

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AT&T, Orange, Telefónica, China Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and several more carriers have announced the formation of the Wholesale Applications Community, which aims to create a viable alternative to Apple’s walled-garden approach to apps. They’ll be joined on the hardware side by LG, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson as they attempt to create an open system for app development and distribution. What they lack in momentum they make up for in mass: combined, the alliance services more than three billion customers worldwide. There’s no question that apps are big business, especially for Apple, but to date it’s been largely limited to Apple and, to a lesser extent, the Android Market. The Wholesale Applications Community plans to initially use JIL and OMTP BONDI requirements to work towards a common standard within a year. Eventually, they hope to establish a common standard where apps can be ported across mobile platforms. The amount of fragmentation in the app world has only been increasing, so it should be a relief to developers and consumers to see an effort to streamline the process while at the same time opening it up. It’ll be interesting, though, to see how quickly and effectively they can pull actual standards together. With that many chefs, it can be hard not to spoil the soup.

Leading Operators Unite to Unleash Global Apps Potential Wholesale Applications Community to push apps market to over 3 billion customers with strong support by world-leading device manufacturers BARCELONA, Spain—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Twenty-four leading telecommunications operators have formed the Wholesale Applications Community, an alliance to build an open platform that delivers applications to all mobile phone users. “This approach is completely in line with the principles of the GSMA, and in fact leverages the work we have already undertaken on open network APIs (OneAPI). This is tremendously exciting news for our industry and will serve to catalyse the development of a range of innovative cross-device, cross-operator applications.” América Móvil, AT&T, Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, KT, mobilkom austria group, MTN Group, NTT DoCoMo, Orange, Orascom Telecom, Softbank Mobile, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, Telenor Group, TeliaSonera, SingTel, SK Telecom, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, VimpelCom, Vodafone and Wind are committed to create an ecosystem for the development and distribution of mobile and internet applications irrespective of device or technology. Together, these operators have access to over three billion customers around the world. The GSMA and three of the world’s largest device manufacturers – LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony Ericsson – also support this initiative. The Wholesale Applications Community aims to unite a fragmented marketplace and create an open industry platform that benefits everybody – from applications developers and network operators to mobile phone users themselves. The alliance’s stated goal is to create a wholesale applications ecosystem that – from day one – will establish a simple route to market for developers to deliver the latest innovative applications and services to the widest possible base of customers around the world. In the immediate future the alliance will seek to unite members’ developer communities and create a single, harmonised point of entry to make it easy for developers to join. “The GSMA is fully supportive the Wholesale Applications Community, which will build a new, open ecosystem to spur the creation of applications that can be used regardless of device, operating system or operator,” said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board, GSMA. “This approach is completely in line with the principles of the GSMA, and in fact leverages the work we have already undertaken on open network APIs (OneAPI). This is tremendously exciting news for our industry and will serve to catalyse the development of a range of innovative cross-device, cross-operator applications.” Jonathan Arber, Senior Research Analyst at independent analyst house, IDC, said: “Attracting and retaining developers is vital for any application store offering to succeed. However, mobile application developers currently face a high level of fragmentation in the industry, in terms of both technology platforms, and individual operators’ working practices. Developers want to meet the largest possible addressable market, as efficiently and painlessly as possible, and the Wholesale Applications Community initiative can meet these criteria by providing a simple, single point of access to a large number of operator storefronts. The initiative should also help to drive uptake of existing, open standards among developers, operators and manufacturers, thereby reducing fragmentation and benefiting the whole industry.” The alliance plans to initially use both the JIL and OMTP BONDI requirements, evolving these standards into a common standard within the next 12 months. Ultimately, we will collectively work with the W3C for a common standard based on our converged solution to truly ensure developers can create applications that port across mobile device platforms, and in the future between fixed and mobile devices. The alliance will serve as one point of contact for the industry and is open to all relevant parties – from telecommunications operators and device manufacturers to internet service providers and application software developers. For more information go to www.wholesaleappcommunity.com or email info@wholesaleappcommunity.com.

[Via http://mohawkmem.com]

a-large-number, a-lesser-extent, android, approach, china-mobile, common-standard, development, gsma, hardware, principles, spain, work

What’s the Platform of the Future for Developing Interactive Graphical Educational Software?

Feb 7th

Posted by shadow in Apps

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So, what is the platform of choice for folks who want to create interactive graphical educational software (see for example all the stuff at PHET and NLVM). Currently, there are two primary options: Flash and Java Applets. I’m not covering in this post web applications, which can still use just about anything you want: PHP, Java, Ruby, Python, .NET, etc., or business/office/administrative software which can either be web apps or desktop apps coded in C++/Java/.NET/Python, etc., or 3D desktop games, usually coded in C++/Java/.NET/Python. I’m centered on interactive, graphical educational software like you see all over the web now.

The PHET project, for example, uses both java and flash. This has not always been the case, however, and I suspect it will change again in the near future. Here’s a short history of some of the development tools I’ve leaned on for educational software development over the past 15 years:

early 90s – hypercard / supercard, Perl/CGI for web apps
late 90s – java, visual basic, real basic, PHP emerges for web apps, javascript in the browser
early 00s – by this time, commercial options no longer cut it for me, too many bugs, ignored feature requests, too expensive – free and open source is king: python, java (later open sourced), C#/vb.net (esp. the Mono open source clone). Unfortunately there is no alternative to the commercial, proprietary flash, which becomes king of RIAs (rich internet applications) instead of java applets.
late 00s – by this time, desktop apps no longer cut it. RIA is king for creating interactive graphical educational apps – java and JVM languages like scala, and still no real alternative to flash. But the move to RIA means no more Mono/.NET since it doesn’t run in the browser – support for silverlight is weak/non-existent on many browsers/platforms. And no python, although perhaps one day perhaps browsers will support it as an alternative language to javascript. Mono/.NET is emerging again now in 3D virtual world space, however, because it is the basis for Second Life / OpenSim, and it’s only open source competitor, the java-based Project Wonderland is no longer supported by Oracle, who bought out Sun. The project is continuing outside of Oracle, but it’s future is unclear.
early and late 10s? – This is the question of this post. Mobile platforms can no longer be ignored, and that means no java. Actually android is essentially java (dalvik), but standard java applets do not work. Flash is only just now being ported to work on android, and its future on the iphone platform is unclear although it has been ported, apparently. Thanks to google not supporting applets (even android applets), and Apple wanting total control of their platform, Flash is only increasing its dominance and importance.

HTML5

Since Oracle bought out Sun, and there is no support nor any planned support for java on the android and iphone platforms, it appears the only open source alternative for the future of RIA apps may be HTML5. But that cannot be used for creating the kind of highly interactive graphical educational software that you can create in java and flash. For this to work in HTML5, it would require WebGL, a 3D (OpenGL ES) canvas for HTML5. WebGL still does not work on any mobile platform, but it has been or is being ported to work on WebKit (the browser engine for Palm’s WebOS and the iphone web browser) as well as android. Here are some more resources on WebGL:

Learning WebGL – blog
Vladimir Vukićević, blog of the main developer for the canvas control, and porting it to android. He did similar work on the mono platform earlier.
Blender to WebGL exporter

The main drawback to the HTML5 platform is that javascript is the only language supported. That’s not a problem for me, personally, I’ve been using javascript since when it was called livescript. But my interest also is in programming languages/tools that make it easier for students, teachers, and other non-CS types to develop interactive educational software, as discussed in this chapter (pdf). A workaround for now would be to create a to-javascript compiler for alternate languages, as has already been done for java with the GWT project, but in the long run it would be best if a common runtime were developed for WebKit and Firefox to support other languages than javascript, but then we are just re-inventing java and the JVM. So I don’t dismiss the java platform at all just yet, but it’s definitely not having a good year so far

[Via http://edtechdev.wordpress.com]

a-and-flash-, a-short-history, android, apple, development, firefox, iphone, java, time

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