Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Folder in SD Card's Root Directory

If you check out the files in your phone, you'll see several folders in the root directory. Usually you have a Downloads folder, a Music folder, and sometimes, there are custom folders created by your apps. How can you do this? Here are some steps to make a folder and to put a txt file in it.

1.) Create a File object for the directory:
exampleDirectory = new File("/sdcard/foldername/"); 
2.) Make that File object build the directory structure with the built in mkdrs() method:
example Directory.mkdirs();
 
3.) Create a File object for the output file, and attach the OutputStream to the file. You have to put this in a try and catch method to make Android happy:
File outputFile = new File(exampleDirectory, astringorfileyoucreated+".txt");        
            try {
                FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream(outputFile);           
            } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
                e.printStackTrace();
            }

4.)  Add these permissions to your manifest:
       <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>
       <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />


That is all there is to it. Try it and check out that nice new folder in your root directory.

Monday, November 11, 2013

Set Start Activity

A splash page is the first page the user sees, it's a little advertisement for your app. Most people think it's there because your app is loading, but in reality, its just a page with a time delay. If you want a splash page in an Android app, you need to set the Splash activity to the launching activity. To do that, just go to the manifest file and move this from the activity previously launching during startup, to the one you want to launch during startup:

             <intent-filter >
                <action android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />
                <category android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />
            </intent-filter>
It's that easy! Make sure your splash page calls your other activity!

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Timeline for New App

Many Desis know that Desis enjoy slacking off, maybe for cricket, maybe for watching entire seasons of popular USA television shows, maybe for Minecraft. To prevent this, Nirmal has created  a timeline for the new app, herewith known as "Project Intro" or just "Intro" for short.

Deadline November 5th: Timeline (completed, horay!)
Deadline November 8th: New workspace, copied useful data, beta logo & promo
Deadline November 15th: EULA/introduction sequence
Deadline November 22nd: Working SD card data save for user, local entries
Deadline November 28th (Thanksgiving): "Intro" BETA LAUNCH!!! (Like autowalla)
Deadline December 6th: Issues fixed from launch, moved data retrieve to website
Deadline December 13th: Graphics (gifs?), alpha logo & promo
Deadline December 20th: Fully populated lists with new entries
Deadline December 23rd (Christmas): "Intro" ALPHA LAUNCH!!! (Like bossmanwalla)


Upper West Sliders on WikiTravel!

Check out WikiTravel, which give a shoutout to Upper West Sliders!

While a relatively quiet nightlife spot, the Upper West Side offers many options to grab a drink and socialize. Trendy wine and cocktail bars are common along Columbus Ave between 70th and 80th Street. Amsterdam Ave around 80th street contains several sports bars and Irish pubs. Further uptown, near Columbia University, cheap college bars are the norm. Some excellent places to grab a drink include:
  • Abbey Pub, 105th Street (off Broadway). An old style pub popular with Columbia University students.  edit
  • Smoke Jazz Club and Lounge, 2751 Broadway (between 105th and 106th Sts.), [19]. Live jazz seven days a week. Performers often jam late into the night so go for the late set if you can.  edit
  • Amsterdam Ale House, (75th and Amsterdam). Local pub specializing in microbrews  edit
  • George Keeleys, (84th and Amsterdam). Excellent beer selection  edit
Happy Hour specials are very popular among bars in the Upper West Side, with most establishments offering deals such as 1/2 price drinks and $1 oysters after work on weekdays. This can be a great way to go out on a budget, or to interact with New York's after work crowd. Websites such as Hour Drinks and Mobile Apps such as Upper West Sliders maintain up-to-date listings of happy hours in the area.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Manhattan/Upper_West_Side#Drink

New App in the Works

Now that Nirmal launched, Upper West Sliders, the greatest happy hour app for the Upper West Side, he as lots of free time. A life of leisure and curry have added quite satisfactorily to his paunch. 

That's all over. A new app is in the works, an app bigger than the others (but not bigger than Project B12).

How can an average boy from Bangalore just go about creating a new app? Here are some friendly steps:
1. Download the Android SDK and Eclipse (takes a while even with a fast internet connection)
2. Open Eclipse
3. File->New->Android Application Poject.
4. Profit like a Boss Man Walla.

Here's a little more detail from the source:
http://developer.android.com/training/basics/firstapp/index.html

Just look at all of Nirmal's rupees already! After new app, his wealth will flow like the Ganges!