Starting IOS Dev

I did it! I just got myself a Macbook pro and will start IOS development using Swift.  I want to also create an IOS version of my app.

How to go about it?

First, I need to get used to my Mac. Been working on either a Windows or an Ubuntu Linux environment, and it is a bit different.   So far, though, I am loving it!

Developing an Android App

I have finally started working on an Android app. I found out that the easiest way to go about it is really to just start with the documentation given by Google as found in http://developer.android.com/index.html.  First thing would be to do the basic tutorial in their Getting started page, then work next on the Notepad Tutorial found here: http://developer.android.com/training/notepad/index.html.

Next step is to start working on your own app, and once stymied -- look through the documentation for help or see if your problem was already answered in stackoverflow.com.

The Whats and Whys of my Favorite Apps

• Aldiko - a really nice ebook reader
• ES File Explorer - easy way to check the contents of my smartphone's files and folders
• BBC News - nice news site
• Calendar - nice interface to track my schedules and appointments, can synchronize with other calendars
• Cam Scanner - take photos of documents and transform them into pdf files
• Dropbox - a place to keep documents, photos that you can also access from your other devices, such as your laptop or Ipad
• ConvertPad - easy conversions from one scale of measurement to another, i.e. kilos to pounds
• Viber - call and send messages, even picture messages to mobile phones over wifi
• Flashlight - a handy flashlight with lots of other cute lighting applications
• SportsTracker - tracks my sports activities, like running and walking
• Shush! - shuts off the phone volume for a specified amount of time, nice for when you want to listen to a talk or watch a movie, without needing to turn off your smartphone
• Quickdic - nice offline language translator that I use for english-german and vice versa
• TheWeatherChannel - nice and clear weather reports
• myFitnessPal - tracks my calories and exercise with the end goal of my losing weight, i.e. calories in less calories lost from exercise must be < calories needed to achieve a certain weight goal
• Out of Milk - task and grocery shopping reminders
• Flipboard - nice magazine type app to read up on interesting stuff
• TripIt - tracks trips, i.e. flights, hotel bookings
• Moneywise - tracks daily expenses
• IMediaShare Lite - connects to smart tv and other smartphones for sharing/playing media
• NavFree - GPS that works offline, used when you travel to another country where you do not have mobile data coverage, though the best online one is still Google Maps

My Favorite Android Apps

When I first got my Android Smartphone, a Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the first thing I did was do some research. I googled "best free Android Apps" and started downloading them into my phone, and checking them out.  Some started out to be promising and interesting, then further updates annoyed me by getting pretty demanding, and asking for tons of information that, to me, had nothing to do with what their app was offering -- I immediately uninstalled those. Some just didn't work. Some were not really very useful.  But some were exactly what I was looking for, what I needed, and wanted - some seriously cool apps!

A year after, here is a list of some of my favorite apps, in no particular order. Basically, they should provide a pleasant, clean and predictable interface, should be intuitive to use, should be correct and comprehensive in what they do, should not be taking up all my memory all the time, and should not stress me by demanding for uncalled-for permissions.  In my next blog I will describe each, what they are useful for and what I like about them.

Aldiko
ES File Explorer
BBC News
Calendar
Cam Scanner
Dropbox
ConvertPad
Viber
Flashlight
SportsTracker
Shush!
Quickdic
TheWeatherChannel
myFitnessPal
Translate
Out of Milk
Flipboard
TripIt
Moneywise
IMediaShare
NavFree

I wanna be an Android App Developer!

After a long hiatus from tech blogging, I am back, and this time I wanna be an Android App Developer!!!

I have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus Smartphone that I got about a year ago just for that very purpose. I just never got around to it. Now I have the time -- just moved to a new place, getting settled in, and trying to be disciplined enough to get started. First off, did a quick survey of Android Dev Resources, and realized that the best resource is in fact the Android Developer Platform in http://developer.android.com/about/index.html.

I have an Ubuntu OS which I totally adore, and with which I can do so many things with.  I had my Eclipse and Java JDK already set up in my system (you can refer to http://developer.android.com/training/basics/firstapp/creating-project.html if you still don't have this setup).  I just needed to start up my Eclipse, then install the Android ADT (Android Development Tools) Plugin through the Help->Install New Software, Add, then enter the repository name: https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/.

Now I'm all set! 

I have quite a few ideas for apps, but first I need to say "Hello World!"

Java Db Stack to Python Db Stack

With the move of our system from a Java environment to a Python environment, the database stack needed a corresponding change. Our original backend consisted of the following:

• a Postgresql relational database with Postgis extensions -- to handle data requirements including geospatial data,
  
• JDBC -- an API to handle connectivity to the database,
  
• JTS (Java Technology Suite) -- a library to handle spatial data and operations in Java,
  
• Hibernate -- a library to handle Object mapping to a relational database, and
  
• Hibernate Spatial -- a library that extends Hibernate to include handling of geospatial objects.
  

For Python, the corresponding stack retains the Postgresql/Postgis database backend with a different set of Python tools:

• Pyscopg2 (corresponds to JDBC),
  
• Shapely (corresponds to JTS),
  
• SqlAlchemy (corresponds to Hibernate), and
  
• GeoAlchemy (corresponds to Hibernate Spatial).

So far, the transition is quite straightforward, with the corresponding set of python tools providing practically the same functionality available for the Java set of tools.

Testing goes on...