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Apps App idea to learn android development.

A

AndroidApper

Newbie
Hey guys I am very new to android and here is what I am planning to create as my first app to learn.

The idea is, I will have some service running in tomcat on my machine and I will write an app that makes web service calls to this service and gets data and displays it.

My question was, is this a feasible idea? How difficult would it be? Apart from the learning curve involved?

Thanks in advance.
 
Aside from learning programming (a few years to get far enough to have some idea of what you're doing), it's probably doable, but something you'll probably change your mind about doing once you learn more about programming. If you know programming, it's so much easier to just write code for the environment it's going to run in (Android, in this case). And if you don't know programming, no app is going to turn you into a programmer.
 
Rukbat said:
Aside from learning programming (a few years to get far enough to have some idea of what you're doing), it's probably doable, but something you'll probably change your mind about doing once you learn more about programming. If you know programming, it's so much easier to just write code for the environment it's going to run in (Android, in this case). And if you don't know programming, no app is going to turn you into a programmer.
Click to expand...

Well by learning curve I meant android development learning curve ;)

I am a programmer since.. past 9 years now :D so programming is not an issue.
 
Rukbat said:
Aside from learning programming (a few years to get far enough to have some idea of what you're doing), it's probably doable, but something you'll probably change your mind about doing once you learn more about programming. If you know programming, it's so much easier to just write code for the environment it's going to run in (Android, in this case). And if you don't know programming, no app is going to turn you into a programmer.
Click to expand...

I would disagree. I was a self taught code monkey for a decade, as a professional. I learned by having something to get done (an application) and teaching myself the language to accomplish it. I'm not saying anyone can do it or that they will be the next Bill Gates, but it can be done. I was taught one language (COBOL) and coded prefessionally in Java, JavaScript, HTML, ASP, Visual Basic, VB.Net, C#.Net, & RPG. All of which I taught myself in order to get something done.
 
so coming back to the original question, the first thing that I want to try out is to host a dummy webservice running inside tomcat, on my laptop and see if I can access it over the internet from another machine.

I believe once I connect to the internet, my laptop will get a unique ip address correct ? so that way I should be able to access the webservice..
 
Do you know java already? Do you know how to do the tomcat setup and install?

I might suggest using something like Google's app engine to be your app server to simplify.

Don't try to do too much at once. But that said I think you have the right idea of a simple app. It should be good for learning.

But I would start with

1) Write a "Hello World" Android app.

2) Get whatever server you use to return some static JSON. Make it a plain HTTP GET

Don't bother with webservice stuff. All you really want is a REST API. Webservices are awful and meaningless.** And, most importantly will over-complicate the "learning Android" part.

3) Get your Android app to load and display that content. Start with the Android HttpURLConnection and make your min API 9. HttpURLConnection | Android Developers

4) Next steps: have a look at Android Loaders, Fragments, and Sqlite

5) Finally: Make a billion dollars and donate some to me when you are rich :)



** my opinion
 
Alostpacket is on the right path. One small step at a time.

(When you connect your computer [or router] to the internet, the way you're connected now, you already have a unique IP address. ALL devices on any given network [and the internet is one given network] have unique addresses. You define which data goes to which computer in your house by forwarding the port that service uses to the computer using it - another "one small step" you have to learn about.)

Unforgiven, no disrespect meant, but a code monkey isn't a programmer. Code monkeys write code. Some programmers never write a single line of code.
 
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