Brian A. Thomas .com » Programming

Revisiting Android Development

Brian A. Thomas — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:02:47 +0000

That is a screenshot of a basic Hello World application I did for Android… Well, I followed the lesson to make it so it isn’t an original… Anyhow, this is what it would look like on a G1, or other Android based phone.
I thought I would see if I could get into Android development again, and the Hello World application is where you typically start all programming lessons.

A MySpace, Facebook Application for the Google Android Phone

Brian A. Thomas — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:32:06 +0000

I talked how I was wanting to learn Java, so I could start making programs for the Android mobile phone platform.
A project that I thought of, but is perhaps beyond my ability for any time soon, is an application that will tie in with MySpace, Facebook and expendable to other social network websites.
Basically, it searches your friends lists, and if they have an Android phone as well and the location tracking feature turned on, you can see which of your MySpace/Facebook friends are nearby by using the Android’s built in GPS. There are variants I saw of this out there, but none I know tie in directly with the current social network, rather they setup their own networks.
Bes I can figure it, each user who has an Android device, sets up an application on their MySpace/Facebook page that detects when they enable the location feature on their Android. For privacy reasons, all it shows on the webpage itself is that location tracking is on. The back end of the application that the Friends can’t see, but the user can, allows them to block certain friends, or allow only certain friends to see their location.
If two friends have their location tacking enabled, then when they look at the application on their Android, it shows where they are via Google Maps. You can see in an instant if your friends are running late to meet you at the movie theater, or see when a friend arrives in town and a host of other cool features.
At the same time, there are the normal security concerns if some pervert is using a fake MySpace account to find young girls or something like that. I haven’t figured a way around that, but in all honesty I don’t know as if one does need to, since if they already got friended, they are already in, and as I said, the back end allows you to add only select friends to the location tracking, so hopefully that added level of security will be enough. Still the end user license would need to be written in a way so that the developer would assume no responsibility for abuse of the system. Personally, I would add a warning when they add friends to the location tracking that reminds them to be extra careful of whom they allow to track their location (this would be a dialog box that pops up each time, but would probably have a check mark so you could avoid the message next time). By default, it wouldn’t have any friends listed in the allow column.
Anyhow, that is the basics of it. I have more details floating around in my head.
Some of the variations out there currently (well, currently may not be the right word since Android itself isn’t out yet, but these are the ones that I know of in active development) that I know of:

Beetaun. “Social network around geographical content created by people and for people.”
Commandro. Location based social networking utility.
LifeAware.
Those don’t include some of the more game oriented ones which rely on the Android’s built in GPS.

Learning Java

Brian A. Thomas — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 14:31:56 +0000

There is a phone platform coming out called Android, which is a project of the Open Handset Alliance. A number phone manufacturers are going to be making mobile phones based on the Open Handset Alliance specification, all of which use Android. To program for Android, you need to know Java, and so I am starting on a path of learning Java. I chose C# over Java eons ago as I was mostly interested in Windows programming, so Java’s ability to compile on one machine and run on many others, even if they weren’t Windows machines, be they Linux, Mac or whatever, wasn’t a concern. Most mobile phones use Java for their games and applications. Apple’s iPhone is cool, but to program for it, you have to have a Mac, so no programming for the iPhone. Plus the iPhone’s market is limited right now do to the exclusive AT&T deal (you can unlock the phone and run it on T-Mobile for example, but most people won’t go through that much trouble). nVidia has a chipset coming out, but for the moment, none of the Tegra based phones are for Android, but Windows Mobile based phones (and other handheld devices). nVidia is a member of the Open Handset Alliance, so they may support somebody making a Tegra based phone that conforms to the Open Handset Alliance and Android. This will be cool since they seem to have the best graphics of the phones.
There are a couple of caveats however as I embark on learning Java. First, while most Java programs can be ran on many platforms, this doesn’t seem to be the case with Android’s implementation. While the language itself is the same, you can’t compile a program that will run on both Android and say a Windows machine, another cell phone, or something like that, and vica-versa. The problem is they apparently use a different virtual machine to run on than all other implementations. They did this so it would run better on a mobile platform as I understand it. It isn’t clear to me, but it looks like since the language is the same, you could do two compiles, one for Android and one for everything else, but I may be wrong on that part… of course if you use Android specific APIs, then it won’t work on anything else.
Anyhow, I am presently staring on reading Head First Java, 2nd Edition (I am just borrowing that copy, so I don’t have a good hardcopy of my own yet…). Early into the first chapter we do an exercise where we do the “99 Bottle of Beer on the Wall”. The program compiles and runs fine, but, as they note, the output isn’t 100% correct. It took me a while, but I found it.

I won’t revel the answer here, but I’ll drop hints, just in case somebody hits this via a Google search and is looking for some hints.
The code block below doesn’t have the answer, but gives to big a hint, so try for the first one if you can advert your eyes from the code block…
First hint:
Look carefully at the output when the count is 1.

Fixing GStyles

Brian A. Thomas — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:41:17 +0000

I am working on fixing the theme I am using, GStyles (available here) and trying to make it work with WordPress 2.3.
So far I have fixed index.php and singles.php.
Here is an original code snippet from singles.php (sorry, the code runs over the edge, the theme is fixed width so it runs over... I might make this column flexible in due time, one thing at a time... or see if there is a "word wrap" feature in the program highlighter)...it should be the same in index.php:

PLAIN TEXT

PHP:

Category: the_category(', ') ?> | edit_post_link('Edit','','|'); ?> comments_popup_link('Leave a Comment', '1 Comment', '% Comments'); ?>
Tags: if ( (function_exists('UTW_ShowTagsForCurrentPost')) ) { ?>

UTW_ShowTagsForCurrentPost("commalist") ?>>}?>

This was fixed in my new version to look like this:

PLAIN TEXT

PHP:

Category: the_category(', ') ?> | edit_post_link('Edit','','|'); ?> comments_popup_link('Leave a Comment', '1 Comment', '% Comments'); ?>

 if(function_exists('the_tags')) {$my_tags = get_the_tags();if ( $my_tags != "" ){ the_tags('Tags: ', ', ', '
'); } else {echo "Tags: None";} }?> 

if(function_exists('UTW_ShowTagsForCurrentPost')) { echo 'Tags: ';UTW_ShowTagsForCurrentPost("commalist");echo '
'; } ?>

That should allow it to fall back to UTW if somebody is still using an older version of WordPress. However, I don't have an old install to test it on, but near as I can tell it should be good.
I am now working on fixing the functions.php and finding a fix for the post2cat problems in it.
The problem with GStyles in WordPress 2.3 as it stands now also comes from the following in singles.php:

PLAIN TEXT

PHP:

if ( is_single() or is_page() ) {
if( function_exists('cattag_related_posts') ) {
$relatedposts = cattag_related_posts();
if ($relatedposts === false) {
// echo '
No related posts
';
} else {
echo '
Related posts:
';

}

}

}

?>

The fix is simple enough for now, just take that bit out. It kills the Related Posts function, but cattag_related_posts needs the post2cat. Now that is the part that may be past my programming experiences so far... then again, I did figure out how to get the rest working.

Yet Another Program I Want to Make

Brian A. Thomas — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 13:18:31 +0000

Oh for the time to actually do some programming.
I was looking at a college schedule, trying to figure out what classes I would want to take. For a single class however, there may be 6 during the same semester, and this is just the day ones, and 3 or so of which I could probably do before I had to go to work myself. To add to the complications you have 5 or 6 subjects to take during the semester so you had to really consult dates and times when trying to figure out which ones to take. I then decided the best idea would be to make a program where I would enter all 6 or so classes for each of 5 or 6 subjects into a program and use it to help avoid conflicts.
I then modified my idea to include warning levels if a class might conflict with work or the time to get to work. For example, I work at 3 PM. It might give a yellow alert when I have an hour and an orange alert at 30 minutes and a red alert at 15 minutes, all configurable for each user of the program.
The idea was further revised when talking with Sara and trying to figure a way that we can both work, both go to school and minimize the time that Ari would have to be watched by somebody other than us. To then the program idea was modified to allow 2 or more people see how much overlap they have and try to minimize it.
The unfortunate thing is that the user will have to enter lots of information. English Composition for example may be offered 12 times during the semester during the time period the user might be able to go. The user has to enter each of those. The user interface will make things easier by allowing the user to "duplicate" an entry and then all they have to modify is the Class ID (the ID given by the school for that specific class at that specific date and time, this compares to the Course ID which is what all 12 of the same class from above would share) dates the class is offered if that changes (class starting and ending dates such as 8/27/07 to 9/13/07), times, days (Mon, Tue, etc.), campus and room information.
I tried finding a program like this morning, but so far I haven't had any luck, at least not free. Most of what I have seen, free or otherwise is geared to the school itself, not for the student, and none of which seemed to really do what I wanted. So I guess I have another program to add to my programming queue.

Back on the Developer Reading Block

Brian A. Thomas — Wed, 16 May 2007 15:17:03 +0000

I am getting back to reading Murach's C# 2005 and Visual C# 2005 How to Program (2nd Edition) (How to Program) as I am finding myself a bit rusty having not programmed anything for a long time. I really need to keep myself doing a little bit every once and a while just to keep my mind fresh with it. I've gone on how good these two books are enough that I won't go on again, but they are seriously great... Now if only I had a slightly better PC with a good DirectX 10 video card and Vista and I could really get cracking with Visual Studio 2007 when it comes out (VS 2007 will work on XP, but it is really meant to be for Vista development)... to be fair, actually my PC is mostly okay, perhaps a bit more RAM, it is my video card that is the problem at the moment.

My Lottery Program Part 4

Brian A. Thomas — Sat, 12 May 2007 13:42:24 +0000

Continuing my updates on the progress of my Lottery Program, I recently got it to parse the Mega Millions website to get the latest numbers. Basically it gets a text file, which I have yet to get the program to extract just what I want, but I am making progress slow and sure. I am a little rusty as I haven't been programming like I should on a constant basis. It got me to break out Murach's C# 2005 and Visual C# 2005 How to Program (2nd Edition) (How to Program), two great books on learning C# (I am guessing they both will be updating for Visual Studio 2007/2008 whatever it may be called, since there seems to be some major advances coming with it).
I really could use winning a small sum from the lottery myself. Beyond the need for new(er) cars, I could also use a good laptop so I could work on my programming lessons and stuff while away from the main PC (such as spending the day at Borders, or during my breaks at work and so on).

What Time Do I Leave Friday Updated

Brian A. Thomas — Sat, 12 May 2007 13:32:53 +0000

My What Time Do I Leave Friday program had a minor update today. No change to the main program, but the installer no longer chokes if your version of the .Net framework isn't exactly as needed (sometimes it would have a problem if you had a newer version). It still checks your .Net version, and if you have an older version, it will offer you a chance to download the newest 2.x version... so basically, it is just an installer upgrade.
It will not download the newest 3.x version of .Net, and it appears it will download the newest 2.x version, run the .Net installer then continue to run the rest of the install. Also, the installer presently only checks if you have 2.0, not if you have the absolute newest version. I may change the value later to be sure you have the newest version, but since the program only requires 2.0 that is all I checked for.
Anyhow, the newest version of the program can be found here. Download the .zip, extract it then run the setup.exe. The program includes a help file to help you use it, though I think it is fairly straight forward.

My Lottery Program, Part 3

Brian A. Thomas — Mon, 07 May 2007 12:54:42 +0000

What I meant to say in my previous post about my Lottery Program before I got too distracted, was to continue on about selling the program in a few stores that I figure are more or less a lock to get into, short of it being against the rules for them to sell it there. Since we have friends and family that owns stores that sell tickets, I figured it would be natural to start sells there, however I have a couple issues to address before I can do that.

My CD/DVD burner doesn't recognize CDs. Something got messed up with it's laser alignment or something, I don't know, so I'll have to get a new one. I have a few models I am looking at. A Pioneer Black 18x, about ($31), Lite-On LH-20A1H ($33 for OEM, $38 Retail) which adds LightScribe which may be helpful and nullify one of the points below, on up to the Plextor PX-760A ($100) which doesn't have LightScribe but is faster than the others, and being a Plextor, a bit more reliable. If I was to get one right now, it would probably be the Lite-On with LightScribe, since it save me the expense of...
My printer is a Cannon Pixma IP4000, which outside of the USA here can print on printable CDs and DVDs. In the US, they took out two parts and put in a slightly altered front door. So to print on CDs, properly, you need to buy two parts, the roller and the tray. Both are available on eBay and the two parts together will set you back $31, not too bad really (note the link only takes you to the CD tray, the CD tray in question needed for this printer is tray B, but a few of the listings have the roller as well). Details on CD/DVD printing on US IP3000/4000/50000 are available at the link provided. The nice thing is that this provides for full color printing on CDs and DVDs that are inkjet printable, unlike LightScribe which is monochromatic, though some of the newer ones have a background color other than just gold. It is probably recommended to get anyhow, even with a LightScribe burner, there are times when either you want color, or like me you have a bunch of inkjet printable disks.

I'll probably get the Lite-On soon, since I really need a CD burner... heck my DVD burner is so messed up it won't even read a CD anymore. Nobody out there seems to have a clue as to what happened, I know it isn't a driver issue as it won't even boot using a bootable CD, and it didn't work in Linux when I had Linux semi-working for a while back when. While I am at it, perhaps I should pick up a Mitsumi FA404A ($20), which would give me a floppy drive again, along with a media card reader (I still don't know if the card that was in my camera before the camera became inoperative had any images on it).
Anyhow, a printing system of some type will be needed, to that end I think the Lite-On is the solution to go for... Hmm... I just noticed printing times on LiteScribe are kind of slow. No question on using 1.2 media since there is a huge time savings and boost in quality, but with each disk taking 15 to 20 minutes for a nice image... Of course if I stuck with basic text it might not be that bad.
What I really want to find is a Lite-On DH-20A3L, but it must be too new...

EDIT: Also, I need to come up with a really cool name for the program.

More on My Lottery Program

Brian A. Thomas — Sun, 06 May 2007 21:26:34 +0000

Continuing where I left off with regards to My Lottery Program that I want to make.
It also occurred to me while starting out the design there are several stores that I could sell it in if I can get it to a semi-professional status. All of them sell lottery tickets, so it would be a natural for them to have a program, made by somebody in the family non-the-less, to help people pick ticket numbers. It may entice them to buy more tickets, which equals more revenue for the stores. Unless of course there are rules against having such a program in a store that sells lottery tickets.
In regards to Lottery Wheels, another example. Let's say you have 7 numbers you want to play on the Mega Millions (not counting the Mega Ball) you will end up playing 9 tickets to guarantee a win of 4 numbers. Again, 4 of the 7 numbers you picked have to come up, so the guarantee just says that one of the tickets will be a winner in the event 4 of your 7 are drawn, which you can't guarantee with just a pure random selection.
Random numbers is such an interesting concept. You would think randomness would be easy to achieve, but say if they drop all the numbers into the lottery bin in the same order, at the same rate every time, and the paddles in the bin are in the same spot every time, your ability to be truly random, even with a machine like a lottery machine goes down some. Computers have an even harder time generating truly random numbers. The Free Cell game you have on your computer has 1 million different deals (on XP anyhow, only 32,000 on older versions, see the previous link for more details of the number of deals and solvable/unsolvable ones). Nobody programmed all 1 million deals in (or 32,000 for that matter0, laying out what order each card will come out in. The way they archive it is that they give the random number generator a number called a seed, and from there it generates a random pattern, except after the first time, the same seed results in the same pattern. Generally to pull a "true" random number the computer will use the time clock, the problem is, two otherwise equal PCs doing the same task at the exact same time would get the same results, so you are once again not truly random, though this is normally random enough for most things. There is a logical reason for computers to be so predictable with random numbers, and that is testing. By constantly giving it the same set of seed values you can predict how it should behave and find problems with other aspects of a program or something before seeding it with a truly random number.
Anyhow, there are some features that I plan on adding that I haven't seen in any of the other programs yet, but then again some of them don't have free time limited demos, so I can't be sure, I don't recall seeing these features on any of their feature pages. Since they don't mention it, I won't mention this feature until the program is out since this may make me a unique entry in the market place.

Brian A. Thomas .com » Programming

Revisiting Android Development

A MySpace, Facebook Application for the Google Android Phone

Learning Java

Fixing GStyles

Related posts:

Yet Another Program I Want to Make

Back on the Developer Reading Block

My Lottery Program Part 4

What Time Do I Leave Friday Updated

My Lottery Program, Part 3

More on My Lottery Program