From 0 to Android App in …

June 19, 2010 5:27 AM

I want an Android app that makes, edits, and manages lists, and haven't been able to find what I'm looking for. Say I want to write my own program. Say also that I don't have any programming experience, and no programming knowledge beyond the basic concepts. What sort of steps would I have to take and what sort of timeline would I be looking at before I produce something useable?

Possibly relevant: I'm in my mid-twenties. While I'm not exactly knowledgeable about programming, I'm not particularly technophobic: I've run Ubuntu on my desktop and I'm fine with using Vim and bash, although most of the scripting stuff has been from copying and pasting from cookbooks.

posted by Busoni to Technology (6 answers total)

It sounds like what you want is pretty simple and is already covered by several Android note taking apps.

https://snaptic.com/
http://weloveastrid.com/
http://www.rememberthemilk.com/

What are you looking for that isn't covered by one of these?

If you want to get started though, hit up

http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

Once you get everything (the sdk, eclipse) set up, they've made it pretty easy to compile and run programs without worrying about the behind the scenes details. That said, you probably want a Java primer to start, or if you feel like you are comfortable with basic syntax just jump in, read

http://developer.android.com/guide/index.html

Then check out the tutorials here: http://developer.android.com/resources/index.html

I would type each one in manually (no copy paste) and see if you can get them working. After that, go for it! the APIs are well documented, I'd give you about 2 weeks to have an app up and running, but it's difficult to guess.
posted by zackola at 6:25 AM on June 19, 2010

Probably not for a while. If you can't write this program in any language now then you're really asking "How long does it take to learn programming?" I think if you made a real effort and got a good Java book or took a class you could probably get a basic app like this going in two or three months. Your first month alone will be just learning OOP and the syntax. From there you'll need to pick up standard programming concepts like methods, loops, arrays, reusable code, code structure, exploring the API, and the rest of your time will be learning how to properly apply this stuff to the problem you want to solve. The last part is the tricky part. I do scripting here and there and simple occasional "real programming" and still get flummoxed at how to begin to write something that isn't a complete mess. Or I realize how big of a job it is and gladly pay for commercial software that does what I want.

I like to recommend the free ebooks called "Learn how to think like a computer scientist." There is a java version. There's also something to be said about the advatages of learning an easier scripting language first like Python and then moving to a more strict OOP-based language like Java later.
posted by damn dirty ape at 10:30 AM on June 19, 2010

Professional Android Application Development is a pretty decent book to learning how to program in Android. But with that said, this is going to be a pretty long hard slog if you don't have experience in higher level object oriented programming languages. Not only are you going to have to be familiar with the Java language, you are going to have to learn how the Android ecosystem works before you can write a non-trivial application that you can use.

I however applaud you for want to try to learn and the toolset for this type of development is completely free so what do you have to loose by trying?
posted by mmascolino at 11:08 AM on June 19, 2010

Probably not for a while. If you can't write this program in any language now then you're really asking "How long does it take to learn programming?" I think if you made a real effort and got a good Java book or took a class you could probably get a basic app like this going in two or three months.

Typical glass half-empty response.

Of course professional software development requires years of study and experience, but we're not talking about that. A simple app like a list manager is the perfect freshman homework assignment. The main determinant of your success is, once you get your feet wet, whether or not you cultivate a sustained interest in programming. For many of us it's actually an addictive and enjoyable past-time -- a cross between solving brainteasing puzzles and building cool shit. Start small, get something going, and just keep adding to it...learning as you go.

I'd say the Android SDK Tutorials that zackola pointed to are a great place to start. If you spend a couple of hours at it every evening, you'd have a working prototype within a week.
posted by randomstriker at 2:39 PM on June 19, 2010

But yeah...if all you want is an app that does what you want, I'm sure something exists that covers the bases already. E.g. Evernote.
posted by randomstriker at 2:40 PM on June 19, 2010

Try Memento. It may be the droid app you're looking for.
posted by blue_wardrobe at 10:00 PM on June 19, 2010