Mobile App Development, Programming

Mobile App Development Languages

Programming Languages (PL) instruct computers and computing devices to perform a set of specific tasks, and like any human language, have a vocabulary, syntax and so on. High Level programming Languages execute computation and implement algorithms on sophisticated computing programs to achieve desired results. This end result may include control of external devices such as printers, production plants, “smart” weapons, robots, remote mining operations, medical surgery, and space rockets and so on. Mobile Apps Development (MAD) consists of acting or processing software applications for use on mobile devices such as smart phones, digital personal assistants, and similar enterprise digital assistants. In fact, it can be asserted that the Mobile Phone or Device is only as useful as the Apps developed for it. This requires special Programming Languages adapted to Mobile Device usage. It is therefore essential to first study which programming languages to learn for mobile app development.

Useful Programming Languages

Some programming languages to learn for mobile app development are as follows:

  • Java: Java is the most used PL for Mobile applications, and it has also been designated to be Android App Development’s official language. A large majority of Google Play Store apps have been developed with Java. The official support by Google and the popularity in the professional app development community means that if problems are faced during app development, there is help from the online community. At the same time, Java is a difficult language to master, particularly for Beginners. Topics like Concurrency, Constructors, Null Pointer and Checked Exceptions only add to the complexity, as does the instruction set provided by the ASDK (Android Software Development Kit). In general, while professionals often prefer Java, Beginners tend to shy away from it initially.
  • Kotlin: Kotlin removes much of the complexities of Java, and makes the Beginners life much simpler. In 2017 Kotlin has been pioneered as a secondary Java language officially, and can comfortably be inter-operating with Java. Its cross-platform functioning, and its ability to run on the JVM (Java Virtual Machine), makes it immensely flexible as an Android App Development entry point. In fact many well known dating apps, including the casual sex app meet n fuck, are built with Kotlin. Dating app companies often launch and test various platforms so the easy and cost effective entry point is attractive toward this type of mobile app.
  • C#: This PL, while being similar to Java, has a much simpler Syntax than Java. Coding in C# is therefore easier. Again, just like Java, garbage collection is implemented, so the probabilities of memory leaks are reduced substantially. The initial problem with C# for Mobile App Development (MAD) is that initially it was designed for use only on the Window system. But using ‘Xamarin.Android’ tools, C# may be useful for MAD also. The Code can now be shared across manifold platforms.
  • C++: C++ uses the ANDK (Android Native Development Kit) to carry out app development in Android. But it is very complex to use, and this creates more bugs. Debugging is a major problem. Though this gives access to C++ Code Libraries, as required, it does not provide as many benefits as Java, and is being used even less these days.
  • Python: Android did not support Python development originally. But now a number of tools have become available that may change the Python applications into Android Packages, which can then be run on Android compatible devices. A typical example is ‘Kivy’. This is used for MAD, but is actually a Python Library with Open Source. This has the dual advantage of facilitating rapid MAD, while still supporting Android.
  • Corona: This general Software Developing Kit is often used for development of Android apps using ‘Lua’. The Corona Simulator can build applications directly. Then the Corona Native can be opportune for integrating the Lua Code. Lua is simpler than Java and is also easier to learn. Also it has a number of plugins and assets that nourish the development experience. Of course, Lua is somewhat constricted in application. Corona finds its most popular applications in Games Graphic and Applications.
  • JavaScript, HTML, CSS: Apache Cordova powers the Adobe PhoneGap Framework, which allows the creation of hybrid apps which can be viewed through ‘WebView’, but are packed like an application. HTML, CSS and JavaScript uses the Adobe PhoneGap to create apps, but this is often quite time consuming and painstaking. This avenue for MAD is therefore generally avoided, and the other options outlined above are mostly used.

The first and most important point to note here is that the Open Source Android based MAD are worldwide in the domain of professional Mobile App Developers. But such is not the case with Apple iOS. Here, iOS is Proprietary, and belongs to the Apple group, therefore all MAD is Server-side and In-house. While this may mean greater Customer care from Apple, in case of malfunction, debugging or application questions, it also means that independent developers do not have any role to play in MAD. The question of learning PL for MAD therefore arises only in the case of Android mobile app development.

Coding

Best Online Coding Schools

Coding is a method of communication between machines and humans. Early on, coding was made through physical punch cards. Later it was made into coding languages that you can learn easily. Now we are living in the digital age. Not only there are many programs for you to learn from but also many jobs in programming and coding section. With internet and globalization there has been rise in online courses which can help you a lot if you are looking to learn from privacy of your own home. These websites teach you many different languages be it for computer engineering or web design, etc. There are many paid as well as free websites online. Here are some of the best ones:

Codeacdemy

Codeacademy is an international website that offers online platforms to over 12 coding languages. It is one of the most popular website there is. The languages include Python, JAVA, JAVA script, Ruby, SQL, and Sass as well as other languages like HTML and CSS. They also offer interactive way of learning. They have a PRO option which allows you to get your own personalized learning in the way you understand best, like quizzes, projects, live advisors, etc. The platform also offers learning command line and Git. As of 2018, 45 million people use codeacademy. In 2017 codeacademy partnered with Amazon for free Alexa skill training. The site got positive reviews from New York Times and TechCrunch. Codeacademy also launched their first iOS app called “Hour of code”. The app includes basic programming and also contents from the website. In 2012 they also launched a code year which is a free project to help people by introducing new courses every week of 2012, more than 450,000 people took the courses. The program is discontinued but the courses are still available online

Khan Academy

Khan Academy is another popular online YouTube channel. Khan academy is a nonprofit organization created by American educator and entrepreneur salman khan. In 2018 the channel has 4 million subscribers and just about 1 and a half billion views. The organization puts out short videos of lessons on YouTube. Khan Academy includes languages like JAVA script, HTML, CSS and also basics of computer science. But this isn’t only thing that is available here. The organization also includes website that provides supplementary exercises and materials for educators. The website is written mainly In English but its content is also available in other languages such as Spanish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Hindi, Chinese, German, Bengali, etc. If you don’t have much time then there is an “Hour of code” as a crash course option for you.

edX

edX is massive online computer course provider. It is completely free and nonprofit so you don’t have to worry of being exploited for any ulterior motives. This organization was jointly created by MIT and Harvard University scientist and now it has over 14 million students taking 1,800 courses. In January 2018 edX partnered with Microsoft and general electric to provide subsidized online courses and guaranteed job interviews. edX consists of weekly learning sequences and each sequence is made up of interactive learning process that allows the viewer to practice the concepts from the video. The lessons also include instruction videos similar to those provided in campus, online textbooks, forum for students to post, discuss, review and interact. edX also gives certificates in specified courses like front end web development or data science. They also have open edX in which a software was developed that made its content freely available for other institutions to use, resulting in several other institutions like St. George online university and others to utilize it.

Coursera

This is yet another free online computer course organization. It was founded by Stanford university professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. It offers courses, specializations and degrees. It not only offers coding but also courses on other subjects as well like humanities, biology, data science, medicine, mathematics, etc. As of now coursera has over 33 million users and 2,400 courses. Coursera not only works with college and universities but also governments. They currently have 149 partners across 29 countries. Its partners include university of London, business school of India, yonsei university of Korea amongst others. The courses vary from four weeks to ten weeks with approximately one to two hours of lectures a week. It offers interactive ways of learning like quizzes, weekly assignments and occasionally final examination. Coursera also offers on demand courses that provides all the information together at once and the user can take their own time to learn and complete the course. In March 2018 coursera launched six online degrees including bachelors and masters qualification.

These are some of the best online schools that offer great courses and can really help you to learn and use those skills in a job.

Computers, Open Source

Best Open Source Projects

open source programming projects

Learning programming has never been easy. Despite the many ways you can program, we believe that the best way to improve your skills is to contribute to open source projects.

The open source community offers a great opportunity for aspiring programmers to stand out, and by contributing to various projects; developers can improve their skills and get inspiration and support from like-minded people. But the most important thing is that they can show that they can make fantastic experiences that people love.

Non-programmers can also contribute to open source projects. Documentation is necessary for all projects, sometimes poorly written and maintained. Therefore, you can help by writing, updating or even translating the documentation. In addition, your design skills can be useful: after all, each application needs an interface. Finally, you can contribute by managing a community by answering questions and guiding newbies.

This article is for developers who are just starting their careers and want to get involved in the community (and maybe become a programming genius).

What To Keep In Mind Before You Go To Open Source

Okay, you cannot wait to start your first OSS project. Let’s take a look at some tips that can help you choose.

Programming language
The most basic technology behind every application is a programming language. The most accepted languages ​​on GitHub (a mutual code hosting platform) are Python, JavaScript, Ruby, Java, and PHP. There are a variety of projects that can adapt to your abilities and tastes.

Type of project
After selecting the language in which you want to work, you must select the project type you want. Github projects are divided into folders called Showcases. Here are some examples of shop windows: “Security”, “Virtual Reality”, “Text Editor” and “CSS Preprocessors”. Just pick a topic that interests you.
However, we recommend paying special attention to projects that can be used by a large number of people. So you have the opportunity to test your code in the real world in a large audience. For example, the storefront “Emoji” contains 25 repositories that represent their popularity. Great projects can be found on dating apps and websites as well. Plenty of fish, match, and fuckbook are great places to start. Hook up apps often provide opportunity to practice your skills as they are always looking to optimize their user’s chance of hooking up through their website. Another piece of advice for choosing an OSS project is to start working on the software you already use or the software you want to use. This will motivate one to keep working.

Best Open Source Projects Used In Most Android-Based Applications

Retrofit
License: Apache 2.0
GitHub Stars: 20,370
This open-source Android project can convert the REST API to the Java interface. With Retrofit, you can write a pure Java quality code with almost any RESTful API.
It is worth noting that the main features include dynamically generated requests, error procedures, and the ability to transfer files. In addition, this open-source git library provides a powerful infrastructure for authenticating and interacting with APIs, as well as sending web requests via OkHttp.
Retrofit automatically converts JSON into objects using another open source Android repository called Gson. All library logic is based on annotations that allow the creation of dynamic requests within a server.
Also for the Android-based library, it’s light enough and relatively easy to use.
Advantages:
Easy to use and install
Excellent documentation
Disadvantages:
Lack of image loading

Glide
License: Apache 2.0
GitHub Stars: 14,600
Uploading images is a fairly common task in the development of Android. The open source repository Android Glide can download and display images from multiple sources. It also takes care of caching and memory usage.
However, to find the balance between quality and memory usage, you need to change the Glide default settings from RGB-555 to ARGB-8888. With this simple step, you increase the image quality and maintain a balanced storage volume.
Advantages:
Fast loading
Low memory consumption
GIF support
Disadvantages:
Size in 430 kb


Butter Knife
License: Apache 2.0
GitHub stars: 15,500
As you know, it often happens that a seemingly repetitive code is used during the project. In order to keep up with a good programming style, you should avoid the so-called repetitive code. For this purpose, Android open source libraries such as Butter Knife were created. This library uses an InjectView annotation to eliminate repetitive text and shorten its code.
Advantages:
Easy configuration
It allows you to write less code
Good performance
Disadvantages:
No support from Pojo Injection


Parceler
License: Apache 2.0
GitHub Stars: 2,700
In addition to Butter Knife, the repetitive code problem could also be solved by Parceler, an open source Android project. GitHub has allowed developers to easily search for tools like this that make code building easy. The Parceler library generates the required container classes and compiles the data automatically. In this way, the library allows reducing the number of repetitive steps necessary to obtain the maximum performance of the packages.
Advantages:
Eliminate the manual generation of the parcelable code
Good basis for counting methods
Disadvantages:
RealmList cannot be controlled by default

Conclusion

Open source projects bring many benefits to those who attend and this experience is great for their resume. As you join a community of like-minded people and refine your skills, as an aspiring developer, you can go one step further.