Sunday, October 27, 2013

How can I make the Android emulator show the soft keyboard?

Question:

I'm debugging an issue with the soft keyboard display not displaying when it should. However, I don't have a device handy for testing. The problem is that the emulator never shows the soft keyboard.

Some skins have a keyboard constantly displayed on the right, some don't, but none that I've tried so far has ever shown a keyboard on the device screen. For what it's worth, this is using the latest version of the emulator (Android emulator version 18.0 (build_id MASTER-306762)), running on OSX 10.7.

Is there some setting that I missed?

Answer:

I found out how to do this on the emulator itself. All you need to do it go to \

settings -> Language & Input -> Go to the "Keyboard & Input Methods -> click Default

This will bring up a Dialog in which case you can then disable the Hardware Keyboard by switching the hardware keyboard from on to off. This will disable the Hardware keyboard and enable the softkeyboard.

Basic setup for Microsoft Remote Desktop and Remote Desktop Client for Android

Setup in the video:
- Windows 8.1 Pro running on a slow and outdate Netbook, BenQ Joybook Lite U101 with Aton N270, connect router with cable.
- HTC One X running Android 4.2.2, connect via WiFi.
- HTC Fly running Android 3.2.1, connect via WiFi.

Before establish connection between host PC and remote client app, you have to setup in both PC side and client side.

Set up your Remote Desktop in host PC. (This example running Windows 8.1 Pro)

- Enter "Remote Desktop" in Search, select "Select users who can use remote desktop".

- Under Remote tab, enable "Allow remote connections to this computer" under Remote Desktop. Click the "Select Users" button.

remark: what type of connection should be allowed?

Network Level Authentication (NLA) is an authentication method that completes user authentication before you establish a full connection and the sign-in screen appears. This can help protect the remote PC from hackers and malware.

To prevent anyone from connecting to your PC using Remote Desktop or RemoteApp and Desktop Connections, pick Don’t allow remote connections to this computer.
If you don't know which version of Remote Desktop Connection other people are using, pick Allow remote connections to this computer.
If you know that the people who will connect to your PC are running Windows 7 or Windows 8 on their PCs, check the Only allow connections from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (recommended) box.

Reference: What types of Remote Desktop connections should I allow?

- Click "Add" button.

- Select "Users" in Select the object type. Enter object name and click "Check Names", to get the selected object.

- OK.

- and OK.

Install and start "Microsoft Remote Desktop" for Android.

Set up your Remote Desktop Client in Android side.

- Select "Remote Desktops" and click the "+".

- Enter Connection, IP address in PC name, User name and Password. And click the check mark on upper-right.

Read the Official FAQ.

Project Shield - Using Google's infrastructure to protect freedom of expression

Project Shield is an initiative to use Google's infrastructure to protect free expression online. The service currently combines Google's DDoS mitigation technologies and Page Speed Service (PSS), which allow websites to serve their content through Google to be better protected from DDoS attacks. The service is currently seeking 'trusted testers' and people with sites that serve media, elections and human rights-related content are invited to apply for an invite atg.co/projectshield

Sharpen bitmap using Convolution

The previous exercise "Blur bitmap using Convolution". By changing the matrix of Convolution class, we can use it to sharpen bitmap.

 class Convolution {

  // matrix to sharpen image
  int[][] matrix = { { 0, -1, 0 }, { -1, 5, -1 }, { 0, -1, 0 } };
  ...

Getting Started with Remote Desktop Client on mobile

Microsoft release Remote Desktop Client for Android and iOS recently. Users can use the Microsoft Remote Desktop Client to connect to a remote PC and your work resources from almost anywhere.

Download here:
- for Android from Google Play
- for iOS from iTune

***To establish connection between Microsoft Remote Desktop Client to connect between remote PC, you have to do some setup. Refer to the document: Microsoft Remote Desktop Clients.

Very nice intro at updated Google Maps Android API v2 documentation page

Google Maps Android API v2 documentation page updated with very nice interactive intro:)

Visit: https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/android/

USB On the Go, for HTC

If your Android support USB OTG, you can access USB Storage via USB OTG cable. (Please notice that not all devices support this feature)

Here is a post describe using of USB On the Go for HTC device from HTC Blog: http://blog.htc.com/usb-otg/

First, get your USB OTG cable ready
Plug your USB drive into the USB port on the cable, then plug the cable into your phones microUSB port.
Now you can access the data on your USB drive through your HTC smartphone. Using USB OTG, you can use apps like Gallery, Music and Polaris Office to easily access files on your USB drive and your smartphone.
When you’re done, you can quickly check available storage on your USB drive by going to Setting > Storage on your HTC phone. Also, don’t forget to unmount your USB drive when you’re finished.

Some example of simple styled button

<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"
    android:orientation="vertical"
    android:paddingBottom="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
    android:paddingLeft="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
    android:paddingRight="@dimen/activity_horizontal_margin"
    android:paddingTop="@dimen/activity_vertical_margin"
    tools:context=".MainActivity" >

    <TextView
        android:layout_width="wrap_content"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:layout_gravity="center_horizontal"
        android:autoLink="web"
        android:text="http://android-er.blogspot.com/"
        android:textStyle="bold" />

    <Button
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Default Button" />

    <Button
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:background="@drawable/ic_launcher"
        android:text="Button with background of drawable, no CLICK visual effect" />

    <Button
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:background="#550000ff"
        android:text="Button with background of color, no CLICK visual effect" />

    <Button
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:drawableRight="@drawable/ic_launcher"
        android:text="Button with drawableRight" />

    <ImageButton
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:src="@drawable/ic_launcher" />

    <Button
        style="?android:attr/borderlessButtonStyle"
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:text="Button with borderlessButtonStyle (for API 11+)" />

    <Button
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:shadowColor="#000000"
        android:shadowDx="5"
        android:shadowDy="5"
        android:shadowRadius="10"
        android:text="Button with shadow on Text" />

    <Button
        android:layout_width="fill_parent"
        android:layout_height="wrap_content"
        android:shadowColor="#000000"
        android:text="Button with Styled Text"
        android:textStyle="bold|italic" />

</LinearLayout>

Learn OpenGL ES: For Mobile Game and Graphics Development

Release date: August 30, 2013 | ISBN-10: 1430250534 | ISBN-13: 978-1430250531 | Edition: 1

Want to create sophisticated games and graphics-intensive apps? Learn OpenGL ES gets you started immediately with OpenGL ES. After mastering the basics of OpenGL ES itself, you will quickly find yourself writing and building game apps, without having to learn about object oriented programming techniques.

This book demonstrates the use of a powerful open-source modeling tool, Blender. You will be guided, step by step, through the development of Tank Fence, a dynamic, interactive 3D game. Along the way you'll gain skills in building apps with Eclipse and the Android SDK or NDK, rendering graphics using hardware acceleration, and multithreading for performance and responsiveness. iOS developers will also find this book's information invaluable when writing their apps.

You'll learn everything you need to know about:

Creating simple, efficient game UIs
Designing the basic building blocks of an exciting, interactive 3D game
Pulling all the elements together with Blender, a powerful open-source tool for modeling, animation, rendering, compositing, video editing, and game creation
Taking the next big step using custom and inbuilt functions, texturing, shading, light sources, and more
Refining your mobile game app through collision detection, player-room-obstacle classes, and storage classes
Doing all this efficiently on mobile devices with limited resources and processing

What you’ll learn

How to install and use OpenGL ES 2.0 on Android
GLSL ES Fundamentals
State Management
Modeling 3D Objects Using Blender
Using the Perl Mesh Parser
Vertex Buffer Objects
Using Color Masks
sampler2D and samplerCube Uniforms
Multi-Texturing
Lambert Illumination Model
Implementing the Lighting Equation
Design, write, and build Tank Fence, an interactive 3D game

Who this book is for

Learn OpenGL ES is ideal for mobile game and interactive app developers who want to know more about the OpenGL ES engine and and use it to build more sophisticated, graphically-rich games and other apps. While the code is developed on Android, iOS developers will also find this book invaluable.

Table of Contents
1. Why OpenGL ES?
2. UI for games: Keep it simple
3. First Steps: Mobile Game App Development
4. 3D Modeling
5. Functions, Shading, Light Source and Objects
6. Carrying Further: Collision Detection

Beginning Android C++ Game Development

Beginning Android C++ Game Development introduces general and Android game developers like you to Android's powerful Native Development Kit (NDK). The Android NDK platform allows you to build the most sophisticated, complex and best performing game apps that leverage C++. In short, you learn to build professional looking and performing game apps like the book's case study, Droid Runner.In this book, you'll learn all the major aspects of game design and programming using the Android NDK and be ready to submit your first professional video game app to Google Play and Amazon Appstore for today's Android smartphones and tablet users to download and play.

The techniques contained in this book include building a game engine, writing a renderer, and building a full game app with entities, game levels and collisions. As part of the tutorial you'll also learn about inserting perspectives using cameras and including audio in your game app.

What you’ll learn

How to build your first real-world quality game app for Android smartphones and tablets using the power of the Android C++ APIs as found in the NDK
How to do professional level, quality game design, starting the Droid Runner case study that's used throughout this book to illustrate the key concepts
How to build a game engine
How to write a renderer
How to build the Droid Runner game app with entities, game levels and collisions
How to insert perspectives using cameras and more
How to create or integrate audio into your game app
How to submit to the Android app stores like Google Play and Amazon Appstore

Who this book is for

This book is for game developers looking to get into Android development for the first time, as well as Android game developers who have never used the Native Development Kit (NDK).

Section 1 : An Introduction to Android and Game Programming
1. An Introduction To Game Development
2. An Introduction to the Android Game Development Ecosystem.
(A First Game: HelloDroid)
3. Game Design For Beginners - Droid Runner
(Case Study begins: Droid Runner)
4. Building a Game Engine
5. Writing a Renderer

Section 2 : Building Droid Runner Game App
6. Game Entities
7. Building Game Levels With Collision
8. Virtual Cameras
9. Lighting and Materials
10. Game Audio
11. Self-Publishing 101

Appendices:
A. Developing with the Android NDK and Eclipse.
B. Android Hardware
C. C++ and Design Patterns
D. C++ Math

Connecting your Android App to Azure Mobile Services (including Android Dev Tools setup)

Chris Risner and Nick Harris have a set of excellent Mobile Services videos in the Windows Azure area of Channel 9 here.

The video in this post is for those of you who have no experience with the Android Development Tools (ADT). You'll get some errors with the latest build of the ADT unless you follow the ADT setup instructions in this video.

I'd suggest following along with this video to set up the ADT and then watching Chris and Nick's excellent set of Mobile Services videos to extend your knowledge.

Source: http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Connecting-your-Android-App-to-Azure-Mobile-Services-including-Android-Dev-Tools-setup

Learn how to use the Android NDK, by creating an image processing application

The Android Software Developer Kit (SDK) used by the majority of Android application developers requires the use of the Java™ programming language. However, there is a large body of C language code available online. The Android Native Developer Kit (NDK) permits an Android developer to reuse existing C source code within an Android application. The tutorial,Reuse existing C code with the Android NDK by IBM 12 Apr 2011, introduce how to create an image processing application in the Java programming language that uses C code to perform basic image processing operations.

The tutorial is available in PDF format (773 KB | 42 pages) also.

Reuse existing C code with the Android NDK

Android Design for UI Developers

Google I/O 2013 tutorial, Android Design for UI Developers:

In this tutorial video, will explore the arsenal of tools available to Android UI engineers that let developers implement some of these important guidelines, including responsive design with multi-pane layouts, metrics and layout grids, and core navigation components.

Enable Developer Options for devices with Android 4.2 and higher

On devices running Android 4.2 and higher, the Developer options is hidden by default. To enable Developer Options, go to Settings > About phone and tap Build number seven times, the detail steps may various depends on model.

Here is the steps to enable Developer Options on HTC One X running Android 4.2.2:

- Open Settings, select About.

- Open Software information

- Open More

- Tap on Build number 7 times

- You are now a developer!
- The Developer Options will be in Settings.

Some tips for android-er

October 2013

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Android Tutorial

Android, an open source operating system for mobile devices (Smartphone and tablet), led by Google. The Android SDK provides a set of tools and APIs to develop Android applications, using Java. So, if you know Java, Android programming is easy :)

In this series of tutorials, we show you the list of basic tutorials to get you start program Android easily.

Note
All Android tutorials are developed in Eclipse 3.7, and tested with Android 2.3.3.

P.S This is just the initial version of Android tutorials, will keep publishing more in future.

1. Quick Start

Get you start in Android programming.

Android hello world example
Tools and SDK to develop Android applications.

2. Fundamentals

Some Android basic stuffs.

Android activity example
Understand Android’s activity, a simple example to navigate from one screen (activity) to another screen (activity).
Android wrap_content and fill_parent example
The different between wrap_content and fill_parent to control the component’s width and height.
Attach Android source code to Eclipse IDE
Android source code is important to understand how Android works, a guide to attach Android’s source code to Eclipse IDE.

3. User Interface Controls

Play with Android UI controls.

Android button example
Use “Button” to display a simple button.
Android textbox example
Use “EditText” to render an editable textbox component.
Android password example
Use “EditText” + inputType=”textPassword” to render a password component.
Android checkbox example
Use “CheckBox” to render the checkbox component.
Android radio buttons example
Use “RadioButton” and “RadioGroup” to render radio button component in the group.
Android toggle button example
Use “ToggleButton” to render a button which has only two states (On and Off).
Android rating bar example
Use “RatingBar” to render a rating bar in stars icon.
Android spinner (drop down list) example
Use “Spinner” to render a drop down box for selecting items.
Android date picker example
Use “DatePicker” and “DatePickerDialog” to render a date picker component.
Android time picker example
Use “TimePicker” and “TimePickerDialog” to render a time picker component.
Android analogclock and digitalclock example
Use “AnalogClock” and “DigitalClock” to render a clock like component, which supports hours, minutes and seconds.
Android progress bar example
Use “ProgressDialog” to display a progress bar in dialog to tell us that your task takes time to finish.
Android alert dialog example
How to display an alert box.
Android prompt dialog example
Custom AlertDialog example.
Android custom dialog example
Custom Dialog example.
Android Toast example
Custom Toast view example.
Android ImageView example
Use “ImageView” to display an image file.
Android ImageButton example
Use “ImageButton” to display a button with a customized background image.
Android ImageButton selector example
Use “Button” and “selector” tag to display buttons’ images depend on the button states.

4. Layouts

Play with Android layout controls.

Android LinearLayout example
Most common layouts, arranges components in horizontal or vertical order.
Android RelativeLayout example
Most flexible layouts, arranges components based on the “relative” or sibling component.
Android TableLayout example
Most flexible layout, arranges components in row and column format, just like HTML table , <tr> and <td>.
Android ListView example
Display components in a vertical scrollable list.
Android GridView example
Display componenets in a two-dimensional scrolling grid.
Android WebView example
Allow you to open an own windows for viewing URL or custom html markup page.

5. FAQs

Some common asked questions in Android.

Java - Library Classes

This tutorial would cover package java.lang, which provides classes that are fundamental to the design of the Java programming language. The most important classes are Object, which is the root of the class hierarchy, and Class, instances of which represent classes at run time.

Here is the list of classes of package java.lang. These classes are very important to know for a Java programmer. Click a class link to know more detail about that class. For a further drill, you can refer standard Java documentation.

SN	Methods with Description
1	Boolean Boolean
2	Byte The Byte class wraps a value of primitive type byte in an object.
3	Character The Character class wraps a value of the primitive type char in an object.
4	Class Instances of the class Class represent classes and interfaces in a running Java application.
5	ClassLoader A class loader is an object that is responsible for loading classes.
6	Compiler The Compiler class is provided to support Java-to-native-code compilers and related services.
7	Double The Double class wraps a value of the primitive type double in an object.
8	Float The Float class wraps a value of primitive type float in an object.
9	Integer The Integer class wraps a value of the primitive type int in an object.
10	Long The Long class wraps a value of the primitive type long in an object.
11	Math The class Math contains methods for performing basic numeric operations such as the elementary exponential, logarithm, square root, and trigonometric functions.
12	Number The abstract class Number is the superclass of classes BigDecimal, BigInteger, Byte, Double, Float, Integer, Long, and Short.
13	Object Class Object is the root of the class hierarchy.
14	Package Package objects contain version information about the implementation and specification of a Java package.
15	Process The Runtime.exec methods create a native process and return an instance of a subclass of Process that can be used to control the process and obtain information about it.
16	Runtime Every Java application has a single instance of class Runtime that allows the application to interface with the environment in which the application is running.
17	RuntimePermission This class is for runtime permissions.
18	SecurityManager The security manager is a class that allows applications to implement a security policy.
19	Short The Short class wraps a value of primitive type short in an object.
20	StackTraceElement An element in a stack trace, as returned by Throwable.getStackTrace().
21	StrictMath The class StrictMath contains methods for performing basic numeric operations such as the elementary exponential, logarithm, square root, and trigonometric functions.
22	String The String class represents character strings.
23	StringBuffer A string buffer implements a mutable sequence of characters.
24	System The System class contains several useful class fields and methods.
25	Thread A thread is a thread of execution in a program.
26	ThreadGroup A thread group represents a set of threads.
27	ThreadLocal This class provides thread-local variables.
28	Throwable The Throwable class is the superclass of all errors and exceptions in the Java language.
29	Void The Void class is an uninstantiable placeholder class to hold a reference to the Class object representing the Java keyword void.