I just ordered an Android smartphone and want to start playing around with creating my own applications. Now the question is which language to use, the native Java or Python using SL4A (former ASE).
I tend to Python, as I know it much better than Java, but I'm wondering what I would be missing using a "second class" language on Android. On the SL4A website it is also stated to be alpha quality software, which is not exactly encouraging.
I'm also not quite sure what the limitations of the scripting environment are and if they would be problematic.
At the moment you cannot create a releasable program with Python (or any other scripting language) using SL4A. I have heard rumours that this is something Google is working on, but even if they do enable it Python apps are likely to be slow and power-hungry compared to Java. Also the scripting API only gives you access to a limited subset of the native Java API. I would not consider using SL4A for serious development work at the moment, only for one-off scripts and prototyping.
Take a look at Scala. It is a statically typed language on the JVM, but uses type inference to remove most of the noise that you get in Java. It also fully supports functional programming, and has a lot of pythonish features. Because it is statically typed it is as efficient as straight Java with none of the disadvantages. IMHO it is the language that Java should have been in the first place.
A lot of people are blogging about using Scala on Android, so Google around for more information.
More likely will depend what type of applications you will develop.
I would start with Java to become familiar with Android SDK. Anyway first you need to look into some examples, tutorials. Most of them are done in Java, and only a few, probably on the dev site of SL4A for that.
Also there is native development Android NDK, that can be programmed with C++.
But anyway Java rules for general applications.
Adding an update to Dave Kirby's answer:
Issue 55, Distribute scripts as APKs, in the issue tracker at SL4A deals specifically with that.
There is a solution being worked out (may be complete by now) described at SharingScripts. The only issue seems to be that you need to have a interpreter APK already installed.
you may want to check out Ruboto it is a framework for developing Android apps based on JRuby which means your JRuby code can call Android APIs and can also be called back from the Android Java side.
Here is an introduction article .
Consider ising Kivy, if you want to write Android apps with Python. The process of packing script to .apk file is described here.
The problem is, resulting .apk will be big (~7Mb for 300Kb data). It is obvious, because you need to pack there Python runtime and all libraries.
Another solution I have heard of, is Pygame for Android, but it works on lower lewel, so you need to draw graphics manually.
Unfortunately, I have not tried any of this ways yet, but it looks, that I'm going to start using kivy soon.
Related
as i'm still learning, i'm not sure what tools, frameworks, even languages i'm gonna work with..
so i'm working on a simple project that got windows side and android side.. that obviously needs at least 2 languages to get it done, but it's impossible that i can learn those languages and know how to deal with their frameworks to get the job done
so is there a language i can develop the entire project(windows & android) with, and without need to any other language no matter what or how many tools or methods im gonna use to make it work?
-note: i know java is essential for the android side, so that's the point im talking about.... "entirely"
I would recommend you giving a loot at Flutter, it's not like native windows but it can produce applications for Android, iOS and web with a single codebase. It's really intuitive to use and the apps built with it work really well.
You can also take a look at React Native expect you need a Native app that you have to use Java as the core language if not give a trial to this
I notice you've tagged this with C#. To answer your question: that. You can write Android apps in it as well via a library called Xamarin that Microsoft bought out and has integrated into the platform.
I've learnt python recently and I want to make an app for android. But everywhere on the net, it seems Java and Eclipse are the only ones that can be used.
So, my question is:
1) Can I use python to make an android app?
2) What kind of platform should I use to make an app with python?
Thanks guys!
If you're just looking to run Python scripts, try QPython.
If you're looking to make your Python code run like a native app, or just something more robust than the above, try SL4A.
If you're looking to effectively use Python as a library, and compile an .apk with the Python library included, try Kivy: github.com/kivy/python-for-android.
That said, you'd likely get a lot of benefit from learning Java, and not just for programming natively in Android (which would give you access to a much wider feature set and make your app run more efficiently).
Check out the Scripting Layer For Android, aka SL4A.
Here is a blog for getting started. The blog promises more entries in the series but there don't seem to be any. Still, it is a great starting point. There's quite a few parts to pull together so be patient and check the bottom of that blog entry for dozens of useful links.
If you want to contain everything to the Android device, including the IDE (pretty slick), check this out.
Here's a book from APress that could help with more advanced concepts: Pro Android Python with SL4A
I am a newbie in android apps development. I was wondering which of the two is easier for developing android apps which are more geared towards GPS and GIS related data/activity.
I see python being predominently used for GIS related applications/programs. I have also heard/read that Python is easier to code and learn to code. In addition, I am not looking for an complicated applications other than simply logging acceleration, GPS data along with triggering camera activity.
What IDE would you suggest me based on your answer?
I was playing with Eclipse IDE for Java to develop some "Hello World Apps".
This post seem to be old to me and the answers does not seem to consider the GIS aspects.
My advice is unless you have a highly compelling reason that has been peer-reviewed, do not fight the Android platform. That means you should just use the standard Java Android APIs.
I've programmed a couple of apps that make use of the Android GPS hardware. You will find many examples and guides using Java.
If you find some compelling reason to use python for your back-end of an enterprise system, that will still be possible.
As far as IDE advice, I prefer IntelliJ IDEA, having used both eclipse and IDEA. Eclipse is great, though I find the IDEA UI and features to be easier to learn and use. No doubt they are both fantastic and complicated software that will at times frustrate you.
The answer is Java as Java is Android's language.
There are other options like Mono with C#, Python, C++ with NDK, C++ with Marmalade, etc
Most official android docs are about java and C++ with NDK.
Python on Android is mostly used by python fans in rooted environment.
If you wish to make commercial and release it in Google Play market then you should use Java in such application.
I am thinking about picking up android development in my free time. I see that development is possible in Java and C++ but the latter is limited.
I am much more comfortable with C++.
So my question is what limitations exist with C++ on Android? Will I be able to develop full apps with it, or will I eventually have to learn Java?
Pick the right tool for the job. The right tool for android is java, and occasionally c++ if it's really needed. Android runs on several different CPUs, and you'd be required to deal with fun stuff like compiling for platforms that you can't really test on - at least if you want to make apps for anyone but yourself.
It's all dependent on what you want to do, but the general rule of thumb:
C++ is for speed (for example games).
Java is for UI and general Android programming.
You cannot code an entire Android application using only C++, the android SDK is written in Java and that is what you will have to use.
This said you can still use C++ for heavy stuff.
I am in the concept phase of an application that is going to have a lot of Audio/Video input and output. I want to do it in Java; but somehow am not fully convinced yet. What do you think? How bad could it be? And any advices?
Why I am thinking Java:
It's the language I'm most comfortable with.
Easier cross platform migration would be a bonus.
Cannot afford commercial platforms (like .NET) or not good enough in other free alternatives (like Python)
I'm also slightly inclined towards C++/Qt; but that would take more time for me as I'm not great in that and I am a bit worried about maintainability.
If you're interested, check out Xuggler. It exposes all the power of FFmpeg, but as a Java API that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. The advantage is you get all the power of FFmpeg but from Java. The disadvantage is it requires the FFmpeg native DLLs/shared-libraries to be installed.
Easier cross platform migration would be a bonus.
Audio and video means you will be dealing with dedicated native libraries and JNI-wrappers for each supported platform; in this case, the cross-platform argument for Java does not really apply.
I believe that when you want to write an audio/video application, the programming language you will use is the second most important thing. The most important thing is the audio/video framework your application will use since this is what defines your capabilities.
I am aware of two popular generic video frameworks that can be used to accesd most multimedia types: Directshow and ffmpeg. Directshow is tied with windows, so only ffmpeg is left.
Ffmpeg has versions in both windows and unix and, although it is written in C, it can be used from a lot of languages.
There is even a number of java wrappers for ffmpeg (for instance, take a look at xuggle)!
C++ would be the first choice because of performance concerns often present in Audio/Video processing as well as the range of available libraries for video/audio.
You do make a good point about being familiar with Java. If you are pressed for time, this is even more important. However if you can spare some time for learning, C++ would be well worth it.
Regarding .NET: The .NET SDK with everything you need is freely downloadable. Get hold of a free IDE such as SharpDevelop and you are up and running. It's Visual Studio that costs money, you don't need Visual Studio to do .NET development.
Rusty.in,
How about trying to do JavaFX Media API. Recently, the version of the JavaFX is 1.2.0 with GUI Application as well. It supports the Swing. The grammar is based on the script style; however, you can deploy the existing Swing components into the JavaFX.
I hope it helps.
Tiger
Rusty, what did you wind up doing? I too have a video app I'd like to do, but really would prefer Java/JavaFX over C++. The thing about the using Flash and/or the current JavaFX video support is that Flash video playback is not frame-accurate. I really need to be able to stop/start/step on individual frames like you can with QuickTime.
Has anyone tried doing playback with Xuggler and Java/JavaFX?