[Q] Making WP7 Apps? - Windows Phone 7 Software Development

I'm sure this question has been asked through other forums (similar threads were shown) but I couldn't find one for WP7.
I recently picked up the HTC Surround and so far I'm really enjoying it. One thing I'm missing are some apps that I had on the iPhone. Namely, WunderRadio. I don't know if, in time, they'll make this app for WP7 handsets but to be honest I'd like to try to make my own. Conceptually, the idea seems simple: have a list of streaming stations, allow the user to scroll through them, then pull the right information when a station is selected and stream it.
However, I have absolutely NO background in programming so I may very well have oversimplified the process I'm aware it's going to take some time and real effort but I do have some time on my hands and would love to give back for once. I'm hoping to refine my skills enough where I could start writing more applications. The marketplace leaves a lot to be desired when looking for apps. I'm hoping to find some books or free resources to help me get started. The cheaper the better
Any tutorials, videos, free resources would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
-- 127 views and no replies? Am I asking in the wrong forums or people really don't want to help?

There's a ton of resources on create.msdn.com and the MSDN blogs. Here is their jump start post:
http://create.msdn.com/en-US/education/catalog/article/wp7_jump_start
However, I get the feeling that writing a solid streaming radio station isn't something that's going to be easy for someone not only unfamiliar with mobile/WP7 programming, but programming altogether. You're certainly welcome to try, I'm just saying, it won't be easy.

Thanks Deeko, I'll start there.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with WunderRadio but that's basically what I'd like to accomplish. I guess I'll start with some simpler projects that aren't as involved.
Thanks again.

Related

[REQ] Timetable program that's finger friendly

Hi guys,
Unfortunately it's that time of the year again where students go back to their universities and begin the process of temporarily absorbing material so that they can pass exams in order to get a piece of paper (Certificate) =P.
I have been looking for a program that will list all of my lectures/tutorials in a way that will integrate with TF3D, but unfortunately, most of the programs do more than I need and don't really look nice. I don't want to use the Home Screen for this because it would be too cluttered, and I don't want to use the Calendar for this because I want to reserve this for important/once-off events.
I am wondering if anybody would be willing to make me/teach me how to make a program that will simply list all of my lectures/tutorials for the day? Ideally it will be accessed through an additional tab in TF3D (using Singh's 15 tabs? or something else?). I am thinking that the list will give the subject name/title, location and time details. There is no need for things like assignments, due dates, etc, as this can be done through Calendar. Preferably this program will also be finger-friendly!
Is there something I can use to program it myself (I have basically no programming experience)? Or is someone able/willing to help me? I am willing to help out with the interface.
I think that this may be a relatively simple program to write, but I have no idea how to do it. Or is there something out there that does this already? I have searched the forums for "timetable", and also Google for "timetable windows mobile app", but nothing seems to suit.
Thanks guys!
Okay, by the number of views on this thread, I can probably guess that this is something that people are interested in...
...but nobody seems to know how/interested in doing it =S.
I am also thinking that this can be expanded into other uses, say, a To-Do list that's available at a glance, or a shopping list. I think it would be look best if it looked like the other TF3D tabs, both icon-wise as well as the theme wise (ie: see-through/big entries/smooth scrolling).
If anyone is willing to point me in the direction of how to make an app like this, I am more than willing to give it a shot. I only have a basic understanding of Visual Basic (from high school, lol ). But I can give it a shot.
Can someone point me in the direction of how to make this app? Or better yet, do it for me?
My bad about the double-post, but nobody seems to want to post!

ThemesDroid - Website Progress Updates, Dream Theme Warehouse

i would love to see a website specifically for g1 themes. with images of all themes, all linking back to the developer. as well as all themes and other downloads being hosted on local server, instead of having to use FTP services like megashares etc.
if anyone with web development/programming experience would be interested in assisting me it would be appreciated, and i think a site of this nature would benefit the android global community as a whole.
may i also state that i have a server with enough bandwidth and server space to handle the high traffic volume that follows a site like this.
i see some great possibilities with this, but in order to get it off the ground i will need some help.
I would love to say yes but my web dev skills have never been used in a real environment.
I would like to see something like this get off the ground. Its such a great idea.
although i do not have a crazy lot of time i do have an extra website that i currently do not use. Its good for a little less than a year and i "could" use iWeb or something to put a site together since it would take crazy less time. Its unlimited everything so i could host the .zip files right on it and just have people download from there. If enough people would use it though. I would def have to have everyone's permission though as i am not getting in trouble with people over something like this. if its something some of these Theme devs would enjoy i could use my current site on DreamHost and allow the download straight from the site with Pictures. Could have a page for each one of them too. Let me know as i would be willing to do this so it would be 100% easier to find things.
Email me at [email protected]
I would be willing to put the time in too since i could add an Ad at the top for some income towards the renew cost if necessary. And i do know what i am doing but it would def have to be a use site not just something 10 people use. www.edgewoodcma.org is my newest site i got up and running for a church.
thats pretty much the idea, it doenst really matter which server is used, however i do have a little over 2 years on mine, but it is unlimited just as yours is. however i do not think a page made in iWeb or something will work quite as nicely as something designed for dynamic updating by many devs.
im looking into a PHP CMS engine that will allow devs to name their .zip files and upload with a thumbnail of the theme. and have the site automatically post the new theme with the naming convention used in the .zip and show the thumbnail as a link to the direct download from the server.
i wanted to try and stay away from another forum site, as well. this is the forum site for android pretty much, we may have a discussion area in the theme site, however the downloads and updates will be on another portion of the page as to eliminate the need to sift through threads to find the themes you want.
The reason i posted that i would be willing to make and update the site is so that useless things will be kept out. I would be willing to accept all photos and .zip files in my email then post onto the site so that duplicates and useless things are kept to a minimum. I would also make multiple sections showing what update you are running (i.e. RC33, ADP 1.5, Dude, ect) and a complete breakdown so that it is as easily as possible to do things. The reason i would use iWeb is because of its simplicity. You could update a site within 2minutes for whatever is needed. I could update anywhere in a matter of minutes which would mean more thing up and running. Just an idea though as i too am wishing it was far easier to locate things instead of sifting through hundreds of posts to find the one decent theme out off 100.
that sounds great, will iWeb allow you to create dynamic websites for the dev to upload his work? or will you manage the whole thing as a static database (updated when devs send you their work)?
if you wish to create this, then please do. i shall continue to look for a permanent, maintenance free*, catalogue of themes. but until an engine is created for that purpose your offer sounds perfect. the android community desperately needs someplace organized to find these themes.
thank you for your offer, if you would like any sort of graphic help just let me know and ill do my best.
Dynamic sounds best, you could accept members (ie theme creators) and only have have control over posting themes and updates to their own themes?
We are actually working on this right now. Just purchased themesdroid.com a couple days ago.
We have a dedicated server we are going to be running it on. We are actively developing the site now. Perhaps we should combine our efforts.
awesome, let me know if you need any help, or any server space etc.
id love to help in any way i can.
--peace
It does seem like a good idea, although I have read in the past something about "why have many resources in many places"...one central location for it all is great, so it would have to have many advantages for it to work. I know instant thumbnails would be 1 (forums it doesnt work like that). Local files is another. Purchasable is probably something considerable.
Ive built for big corps before, and know a lot about that stuff. If you guys need help with doing anything I know almost any solution. Something like "if you donate you get extras" or something, and only those that did donate can get certain things. Helps the developers for their time and effort (like the apps, makes sense).
We are currently investigating a couple options for ThemesDroid.com. We have started working on a download site from the ground up, but we are also looking for possible alternatives. Does anyone know of any decent open source CMS/DMS systems? We have not seen anything that was worth a darn, but if anyone knows of a good one then there is no sense in reinventing the wheel.
kronarq said:
We are currently investigating a couple options for ThemesDroid.com. We have started working on a download site from the ground up, but we are also looking for possible alternatives. Does anyone know of any decent open source CMS/DMS systems? We have not seen anything that was worth a darn, but if anyone knows of a good one then there is no sense in reinventing the wheel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you looking for in this CMS/DMS system?
well php-fusion is always a safe choice, there was something new... what was it.. http://expressionengine.com/
Ive always found Joomla to be the most flexible system to date, complicated but it will do 'everything' your looking it to do. It has great theme support as well (great flexibility for customizablity). Very secure too.
@malaeus, sorry to say but php-anything is almost always a bad choice, they have many loops/hackable holes.
Xoops is good too. Drupal is good. Or if you have a M$ server (asp), dot net nuke is good, has many add-ons for great flexibility.
Just some suggestions for you guys (btw, all those are free [opensource like android ]
I've been building Drupal sites for years now... if you guys need help, let me know.
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/6613/demo1z.png
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3173/demo2.jpg
Started it 3 hours ago, thats how quick and easy it is. Its just a demo to show you what you can do with it. If you like cool, if not I at least recommend you check out joomla, thats what I created that with (there is no "starting from ground up" with it, its just there to "put the stuff in"). That template is free too (there are plenty out there, I also make my own which takes time). Just threw it together because I had the last three hours off from work and wanted to play with it again.
Drupals good, but I just dont think it has the best of plugins, they are ....awkward or something I dont know.
@kdf2883: Something geared towards downloads. Something preferably lightweight compared to Joomla/Drupal etc
@theslam08: I currently have a test of Joomla + DocMan I have been playing with, but Joomla seems like overkill for what we are doing. It doesn't all our needs so we would still have to modify it yet it does a bunch of junk we don't need. Then there's the usual update every week or get hacked bit...
We are leaning towards just doing everything from scratch. I could have a Joomla site up in a day or two or we can give it a couple weeks to build our own system from the ground up. What do you guys think?
for something like this, we may want to try something as simple as wordpress. each post would be a new theme, images and text would include server direct download link. its at least one of the most compatible backbones i can think of.
i have little to no experience in drupal and joomla etc. however when it comes to the design aspect of the website, thats closing in on my specialty.
@slam nice job on that layout btw. especially considering time spent.
Look at the Lock 2.0 themes site. They use WordPress and in my opinion it's a mess.

My First App, Need Serious Help :/

Hey guys, like the title says, I'm attempting to create an app, but with little success at this point.
What I want to do, didn't sound all that complicated in my head. I want to make an episode guide for a TV show I like. Nothing too fancy, but I do want it to look WP7-authentic.
First off, I don't know or really understanding coding in the slightest. I was hoping to be able to design most of the app through the on-screen WP7 display, which it seems I can do a lot on.
From what I've gathered, here's what I'd like to do:
Use the "Pivots" as the different story arcs or "seasons"
Within each pivot, Episode # and Title
But I'd also like to go one further and have each episode be clickable, which would take the user to a page containing info about the respective episode. Synopsis, International Titles, Airdate, etc.
It's a big project, I just need a little help getting it going.
Thanks!
dbG33K
what you're describing can be done one of two ways.
1. just display images after images
2. input text into the program
from what im gathering, it should be fairly easy for you to do as this is the sort of beginner stuff in most windows phone 7 programming books. id suggest you look into programming because even the slightest pivots and transitions require code.
now if you were on android or webos, thats different. they have full on graphics based programming thats a simple matter of drag and drop and choose function.
Download Expression Blend. You can do pretty much everything without having to write any code. It includes a "Pivot" template which has a pivot all ready for you, then you just add PivotItems using your mouse. Then you can use the Sample Data feature to mock up how your episode data will look.
The only thing you would have to write code for would be to pull the episode information from a datasource. Bind it to your controls and Expression will have the rest done for you.
http://www.microsoft.com/expression/windowsphone/
Sample Data:
http://expression.microsoft.com/en-us/ee426896.aspx
First thing you'll need before you even open Visual Studio or Blend is a data feed.
An rss feed is ideal, And I'm sure theres alot of them out there for TV listings. Without that, theres little you can do (other than screen scraping websites, but people don't look too kindly on that)
If you can find me a Url for the RSS feed you want to use, I'll be more than willing to help you out
xanderkaiber said:
First thing you'll need before you even open Visual Studio or Blend is a data feed.
An rss feed is ideal, And I'm sure theres alot of them out there for TV listings. Without that, theres little you can do (other than screen scraping websites, but people don't look too kindly on that)
If you can find me a Url for the RSS feed you want to use, I'll be more than willing to help you out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said
I'd be willing to help you out as well. I'm in the process of writing a feed reader to help me make the move WP7 from WPF/Silverlight. The idea I have for the UI is similar to yours and the feed reader (at least in the basic form) will be open source so I've no problem sharing my code...
I appreciate your willingness to help me out, but it's actually a series that has been over for quite a while.
Hey guys, I've gotten much further on my app and have become a little more well-acquainted with coding in the form of using Expression Blend 4. That said, I do have a few questions:
1. After making a few pages, I decided to make a sort of Welcome page for my app. How do I tell it to show that page first instead of "MainPage.xaml"?
2. On that welcome page, I would like to make a button that pulls up the user's E-mail and have it have my e-mail as the recipient.
Thanks a bunch!
This is in the WMAppManifest.xml file within the Properties folder.
for the email look into the email compose task
barryallott said:
This is in the WMAppManifest.xml file within the Properties folder.
for the email look into the email compose task
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That doesn't really help me too much...
What am I supposed to do in the WMAppManifest.xml?
And where do I find the email compose task, and how do I implement it into the app?
EDIT: Nevermind, I figured out both of those questions. A new question, though: How do I take screen shots of the app? I need at least one to submit it to the marketplace, but I don't know how :/
dbG33K said:
That doesn't really help me too much...
What am I supposed to do in the WMAppManifest.xml?
And where do I find the email compose task, and how do I implement it into the app?
EDIT: Nevermind, I figured out both of those questions. A new question, though: How do I take screen shots of the app? I need at least one to submit it to the marketplace, but I don't know how :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download this:
http://www.innovativetechguy.com/?p=13
Make sure your emulator is set to 100% size and uncheck the "Show Device" checkbox in the tool. That will give you the necessary 480x800 sized .png
There's a fair lot you can do using the designer panel, but you will definitely need C# code for what happens 'behind the curtains'. Things like pulling the episodes from the internet and such.
I definitely recommend these tutorials:
Windows Phone 7 Development for Absolute Beginners.
It builds up slowly, but definitely gives you the foundation you need to put together basic applications.
Hey guys I found this thread and after reading it I feel I have a lot in common with dbG33K's tasks & questions. I feel I have a lot to offer WP7 apps as I learn more! I started out in January learning and studying as an absolute beginner (even did the 5 day course online). After a lot of studying, I felt confident enough to write my first BIG app.
I'm pretty good at the xaml part and getting real familiar with c# as I go along. Also, I think I have all the pieces I need, just need help putting it all together. I'm using an API for the data source (i have all the dlls and resources in place even all the c# methods for the API).
I have the UI all put together, now working on the c#. I'm just unsure on the binding part. I know my listboxes and other controls should be binded to a method in c#, but what calls that method? When the page loads that listbox, textblock, etc? Also, what kind of coding is generally used inside the {} of the methods that pulls info from the datasource?
As I have learned a lot aver the past couple of months, I find that I've learned it from examples I've found online, but I'm drawing a blank on this one. Any help would be great!
Thanks!
Do any of you can tellme how can I save text from the text box??
Sent from my LG-C900 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

[XDA-TV SOURCE CODE] WP7: JSON & BINDING (Episode 3)

The video is up today if you'd like to follow along, otherwise download the source and learn how to use a JSON API and Bind Controls and use Static Resources, GZip Requests vs WebClient and how to easily make a Panorama App.
Questions? Want to see a certain thing created? Tell me!
Please put a direct link for this in the video, it is not obvious where to search for it, and vice versa.
Also I have some comments for your video:
I really really dislike that you call your variables stuff like TheSource rather than describing the variable with what the actual source is. So if it is a Source with Friends, I would call it FriendSource.
You also have other bad and inconsistent naming conventions throughout your sample.
You also assume a lot of things in your video when explaining things. Such as the viewer knows what the data contract is that you are using and how you generated it, or from where you found out what properties it had to contain. You also didn't really explained what the Data Contract deserialization did, which can be very confusing to people and they would probably think: "What is this black magic?!".
Though I don't necessary think that stuff like this should be a part of the video, otherwise it would be super long, but it would not hurt posting links to where to find more information about these things. These things are not as obvious to new developers as they are to you.
This might seem as a lot of criticism, but you are doing better and better on the videos!
Thanks for this. Im writing a few json apps will no doubt help me with best practice
WP7: JSON & BINDING (Episode 3)
http://www.xda-developers.com/windo...art-3-oauth-tokens-and-json-xda-developer-tv/
Cheesebaron said:
Please put a direct link for this in the video, it is not obvious where to search for it, and vice versa.
Also I have some comments for your video:
I really really dislike that you call your variables stuff like TheSource rather than describing the variable with what the actual source is. So if it is a Source with Friends, I would call it FriendSource.
You also have other bad and inconsistent naming conventions throughout your sample.
You also assume a lot of things in your video when explaining things. Such as the viewer knows what the data contract is that you are using and how you generated it, or from where you found out what properties it had to contain. You also didn't really explained what the Data Contract deserialization did, which can be very confusing to people and they would probably think: "What is this black magic?!".
Though I don't necessary think that stuff like this should be a part of the video, otherwise it would be super long, but it would not hurt posting links to where to find more information about these things. These things are not as obvious to new developers as they are to you.
This might seem as a lot of criticism, but you are doing better and better on the videos!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello
I would first like to thank you for your feedback and appreciate your suggestions and will definitely take note and ensure I am more specific on strings and item controls. Our next video was actually on how to make Classes for your JSON API (except now it's on Maps/Nokia Drive + New WP Apps/News) but I get maybe 8 Mins for actual video, 30s for Intro and max ideally 10Min for the whole video. So, can't put everything in, I wish but I will surely alert everyone if they don't know how to do it to visit a specific site or wait for the next video. I will definitely keep these items in mind.
As for my videos, that's nice of you to say. We're actually going to be throwing in stuff besides programming & review our forums WP Apps and talk about them as well as any news like the others with Android. If you have any suggestions, happy to hear them and give you credit.
Thank you again for all the feedback!
- Lance
meandu229 said:
Thanks for this. Im writing a few json apps will no doubt help me with best practice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am so happy to hear that! That's great to hear. One more video coming around JSON actually, might be even more helpful to you.
Keep me informed about your App, I would also like to talk about it when you're done.
- Lance

Help/Guidance on Expanding Knowledge of C#

I've been taking some classes in C# programming at my University. I'm trying to attain a Computer Science degree and I feel like I've not learned much but a mild foundation for what I can do with C# programming and would like to expand my knowledge, little by little. I feel as though I have a pretty firm grasp on the basics and would love an experienced hand guiding me in the right direction towards getting me better ready for the job market after college. I'm currently applying for internships and would like to be well prepared.
Detayl said:
I've been taking some classes in C# programming at my University. I'm trying to attain a Computer Science degree and I feel like I've not learned much but a mild foundation for what I can do with C# programming and would like to expand my knowledge, little by little. I feel as though I have a pretty firm grasp on the basics and would love an experienced hand guiding me in the right direction towards getting me better ready for the job market after college. I'm currently applying for internships and would like to be well prepared.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best way is to simply use it as much as possible and challenge yourself. I've been working as a developer for nearly 20 years and I'm always finding new things that I don't know how to do. Learning to search effectively is probably the best skill any new developer should hone.
If I were you I'd start out with something not too difficult, like a simple text editor application (make your own version of notepad!) That will give you some basic skills like simple UI design (menus, controls anchored to the form etc.), file reading/writing (good exposure to streams unless you use the quick and easy methods). It's just a general basic all-rounder. Then expand on it - make it so the pages open in tabs. That will teach you about collections (the tab pages, in this instance) or MDI child windows.
There are some great resources available online, but I'll always suggest Stack Overflow. If you don't know it then google it. It's part of the "Stack Exchange" collection of Q&A sites and is probably the most reliable place on the web for programming answers.
Basically, don't try and learn it so you can do it. Do it so you can learn it.
I hope this helps - good luck, and most of all, have fun!
Archer said:
The best way is to simply use it as much as possible and challenge yourself. I've been working as a developer for nearly 20 years and I'm always finding new things that I don't know how to do. Learning to search effectively is probably the best skill any new developer should hone.
If I were you I'd start out with something not too difficult, like a simple text editor application (make your own version of notepad!) That will give you some basic skills like simple UI design (menus, controls anchored to the form etc.), file reading/writing (good exposure to streams unless you use the quick and easy methods). It's just a general basic all-rounder. Then expand on it - make it so the pages open in tabs. That will teach you about collections (the tab pages, in this instance) or MDI child windows.
There are some great resources available online, but I'll always suggest Stack Overflow. If you don't know it then google it. It's part of the "Stack Exchange" collection of Q&A sites and is probably the most reliable place on the web for programming answers.
Basically, don't try and learn it so you can do it. Do it so you can learn it.
I hope this helps - good luck, and most of all, have fun!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I was just thinking of making this my first project as well. I've done some random things such as a Base10 to Hexadecimal generator, in both the console and WPF. I was thinking this might be a good project as well. I just don't like the fact my school hasn't asked too much of us, but from what I've read that's common. I just want to be prepared to enter the job market so that I may hone my skills. I guess I'll get working on researching what the basic requirements of a text editor is, and how to start saving/opening/creating .txt files.

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