Week 4

The tutorials continue... Our goals from last week were a little too ambitious, especially when it was decided to add ten more videos mid-week to bring us to a total of sixty videos that were assigned for today. Several group members faced technical difficulties this past week too, such as Java projects that wouldn't compile or run with no obvious explanation.

Computer programs are written in programming languages, but computers cannot understand programming languages. For the computer to understand the program, the code must be translated from source code (written by a user in a programming language) to machine code (a format the machine can understand).  Once the code is compiled, it can be run.

Another issue was the AVD (Android Virtual Device) simulators. When setting up a new Android program, the user must select the Project Build Target, which essentially means the user must pick which Android Operating System platform to use. In order to use a certain platform, the user must have the correct libraries downloaded in the SDK Manager.

Then the user can set up the proper Virtual Device.

When run, the AVD looks like this:

As of class this week, everyone had covered the tutorials that show how to make a loading screen, how to add sound, how to set up a menu, and how to make and run a simple "Add 1/Subtract 1" program. By next week we expect to have a skeleton program of the entire project with active development going on in each of the five sections. One group member already has programmed and implemented a menu for a section.

Week 3

This week we made sure the Android SDK and Eclipse were installed and working on all computers. The Android SDK contains libraries, a debugger, and an Android phone emulator. There are also several examples of sample code. Eclipse is the IDE (integrated development environment) that uses the libraries that allow us to program specifically for Android. Libraries are collections of programming code that, when referenced correctly, can be called upon by the programmer. 

We developed a basic outline for the visual design of the app, specifically for the menu interface. Below is a sketch of our current proposed idea.

Clicking on an icon will take the user to a list of options for that section. For example, clicking on the Freshman 101 icon will take the user to a list with the choices "You've Been Accepted", "Before Arriving", "The First Week", and "The First Year."

For this week, team members were expected to watch the first ten videos on The New Boston online tutorials. The first three or four videos walked the user through downloading and setting up the Android SDK and Eclipse. The remaining seven videos gave step by step instructions on how to write a counting application with "Plus One" and "Minus One" buttons. After realizing how valuable the videos were, team members agreed to watch through Video 30 by our meeting Tuesday night and Video 50 by the beginning of next class.

The links to download the developer software and to the New Boston tutorials are posted on the "Resourses" page.

Week 2

Currently we are finalizing our design proposal. Look for it in the "Project Proposal" tab later this week. We will also be putting up references to a website with instructional videos that will serve as an intro to programming in the Android SDK.

Week 1

The purpose of this blog will be to track the development of the Drexel Guide mobile app over the next 10 weeks. This app, which will be developed for Android, will be a comprehensive guide for Drexel University's campus. The main sections of the app will include Maps, Freshmen 101, How to Get to... (a section explaining how to get around Philadelphia), and General Information.