Use Apache Cordova? - Web App Development

Hey everyone! In response to a recent suggestion by a colleague, I've determined Cordova may be the best course of action for my current project. The reason we determined this, is because what I'm developing is already a web-app, that is complete, in which I can make a responsive style for mobile browsers & use Cordova to use a webview to access the app. So I'm looking for advice from experienced developers to see if this would be a viable option.
Let me start by giving you a run-down of the project. The project is called SecurSend. It is a private messaging platform that allows the user to submit sensitive information, without the worry of being monitored or keylogged. The end-user will compose a message which will generate a unique URL to the content, the recipient will receive this URL, and when accessing the content, it is permanently destroyed from the server. I don't currently have the site live, or it'd be much easier to show you, but the premise is security.
There is no current mobile theme for the site, however, it wouldn't be too difficult to implement. For something like this, do you feel Cordova would be the best option? Also, if you have any advice on Cordova, I wouldn't mind!

AutonomousHC said:
project is called SecurSend. It is a private messaging platform that allows the user to submit sensitive information, without the worry of being monitored or keylogged. The
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re: the app:
thinking some combo of xmpp + OTR and webrtc might do it
(OTR adds end-to end encryption to xmpp and as browser support for webrtc improves there's peer-to-peer udp possibilities in webrtc)
Re Cordova:
. not yet sure but from looking at some javascript-based apps I've seen done with it what I've seen of it looks like an easier place to start for installable web apps (curious too)

Yes cordova is great for this. The only thing Cordova is not great at is high performance games but that is changing soon.

wowbro said:
Yes cordova is great for this. The only thing Cordova is not great at is high performance games but that is changing soon.
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This sounds like an interesting concept, but I have heard you don't get the full native experience with Cordova (the UI seems different than that of native applications).
Do buttons and dialogs look the same as native apps?
Can you, for example, create transparent action bars, or side bars?
Or, notifications or watch faces for Android Wear?

wowbro said:
Yes cordova is great for this. The only thing Cordova is not great at is high performance games but that is changing soon.
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Alternatively, you could use Steroids.js which has most native features built-in -- even Native UI components, MAPS API, Camera API, etc.
Cordova can achieve this, but as stated before, you will suffer some performance issues (especially Android 4.4 and lower)

I believe that doing web apps is the best for trying new ideas on all major platforms. The effort is very low compared to native development and performance is sufficient.
Ionic Framework has great performance and is continuously improving.
Though I wouldn't recommend web apps for games I recently released an open source zombie game called zland (zland.io).
Maybe React Native could be interesting for you as well. You will get true native performance.
With React Native you can share a code base between platforms but have to rewrite platform dependent thinks.
They recently released it for Android so you can deploy to both iOS and Android.
I estimate the effort somewhere between web apps and native apps.

Related

WP7 -IS- Backwards compatible (well almost)

Applications that were made for Windows Mobile 6 are compatible with Windows Phone 7 Series. The interface of the new mobile operating system has been changed though, so the user interface for these applications will have to be changed as well.
"So there is no reason why programs written for Windows Mobile 6 cannot run on the new version of the OS", said Maarten Sonneveld of Microsoft Netherlands to Tweakers.net. "The interface is complete different though, so the applications will have to be changed somewhat before being ready for Windows Phone 7 Series".
It is still unclear how developers can port their user interfaces to the new version of Windows Mobile. Microsoft will only disclose how applications can be developed and distributed at their developer event Mix2010.
Microsoft announced it’s new OS on Monday afternoon at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The OS is primarily aimed at synchronisation and integration with Microsft-services like Windows Live, Bing, Zune and Xbox Live. Aside from those Windows Phone 7 Series can also synchronise with Google-accounts and facebook.
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Source
So in summary, while none of the current applications will run on it, the underlying non-UI APIs will be compatible. So if understand correctly, porting would just a case of redeveloping the UI then recompiling, rather than starting completely from scratch. This acts to filter out apps with no more developer support, and promote a consistent UI.
Doesn't sound too bad to me.
That might explain why TomTom was seen on that screenshot of WP7 running on the HD2 (although, it could be a fake!). TomTom takes control of the screen, so uses no WM interface elements. So, it might be able to run full-screen apps/games without changes.
But, who knows...
elyl said:
That might explain why TomTom was seen on that screenshot of WP7 running on the HD2 (although, it could be a fake!). TomTom takes control of the screen, so uses no WM interface elements. So, it might be able to run full-screen apps/games without changes.
But, who knows...
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I was just thinking the same except if you use the included .net controls, there's no reason that the OS couldn't just reskin them automatically to be at least somewhat more in line with the WP7 styling.
This would be excellent if it's true - and I can't see why it wouldn't be. The UI may be new but why throw away a perfectly good underlying core.
What would also be ideal is if the "multi-tasking" involved an app being set to pause in the background by default, but with a "keep me running" API call available for apps that needed it. I'm sure most apps hog resourses not because they need to but because the developer hasn't really thought about how the rest of the device performs when his app has been left running.
Makes sense, WindowsCE core is still the same
Zaim2 said:
Applications that were made for Windows Mobile 6 are compatible with Windows Phone 7 Series
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Absolutely wrong statement due to incorrect translation. Original: "De interface van Windows Phone 7 Series is totaal anders, waardoor er in elk geval iets aan de applicaties moet gebeuren voordat ze geschikt zijn voor Windows Phone 7 Series"
Even google translates it correctly:
"The interface of Windows 7 Phone Series is different, which in any case something should happen to the applications before they are suitable for Windows 7 Phone Series".
We have some "ms confidential" documentation dated January 2010 that proves that none of the existing apps would be compatible with WinPhone7. And the only programming suite that is available to "generic" application-writers is Silverlight+XNA. Native apps are prohibited. Only OEMs and MO are allowed to create them (and even they have a set of limitations).
We would not have even source code compatibility - as all our C++ apps have to be converted to .NET.
mamaich said:
We have some "ms confidential" documentation dated January 2010...
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What the heck? And you say that only now? What else is in there? Any word about how background tasks are handled? Please give us some more information, or maybe, can you upload that documentation?
freyberry said:
maybe, can you upload that documentation?
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Obviously I cannot. As it would reveal the person who provided it.
Just to prove that such info really exists - see attached screenshots.
I really hope that the community would force MS to change such a dumb idea to limit independent software vendors to create only managed apps. Prohibiting C++ as a developing language, and "hiding" Windows API from programmer would force lots of developers to abandon this platform. The main reason of success of old WinMobile OSes was the ability to recompile "desktop" apps to WinMobile with just a minor set of changes (ANSI->Unicode + some interface changes).
P.S. I don't read PMs.
Obviously I cannot. As it would reveal the person who provided it.
Just to prove that such info really exists - see attached screenshots.
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Well, there's certainly a way to remove that information. But anyway, what about background tasks? Are third party applications allowed to run in the background?
mamaich said:
Obviously I cannot. As it would reveal the person who provided it.
Just to prove that such info really exists - see attached screenshots.
I really hope that the community would force MS to change such a dumb idea to limit independent software vendors to create only managed apps. Prohibiting C++ as a developing language, and "hiding" Windows API from programmer would force lots of developers to abandon this platform. The main reason of success of old WinMobile OSes was the ability to recompile "desktop" apps to WinMobile with just a minor set of changes (ANSI->Unicode + some interface changes).
P.S. I don't read PMs.
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Wow, I can't believe noone has picked up on this
freyberry said:
Are third party applications allowed to run in the background?
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OS itself supports multitasking, see attach. But "Windows Phone OS 7.0 Application Platform" that we'll be forced to use to create apps may force our application to be paused in background. I never programmed Silverlight and XNA and can't tell how multitatsking is made in them.
WinPhone 7 == Zune Phone. Both are based on CE kernel, and they should have lots of common in implementation of multitasking, clipboard, etc.
OS itself supports multitasking, see attach. But "Windows Phone OS 7.0 Application Platform" that we'll be forced to use to create apps may force our application to be paused in background.
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The question is, can we write applications that are not automatically suspended when sent to the background? What are the policies on this?
It says multiple processes can run at the same time, but it does not say whether they get suspended automatically.
Is there any info on this? Maybe in the "Scheduling" section?
I’m not sure this is a big deal. I can see them saying a lot of native C++ apps may have compatibility issues. I could go either way on it with the limited amount of information I have on this. I’ll have a better opinion at and after MIX
Note that this could be old documentation, and it’s pretty annoying you're leaking confidential documentation. Personally, I hope you get into trouble for breaking your contract - they trust you and you're posting it? Yuck.
To be fair, though, every app we’ve written has been managed, and Microsoft hasn't t said P/Invoking is verboten, so what would be the problem?
There’s probably exceptions for games and the like, and the documents you've scanned even say a waiver is available to use the Native APIs. So I don’t know what you're complaining about…
Microsoft's dev teams have been listening to developers - why not get them to chime in and also give them a chance to hear you. Posting confidential Microsoft documents, assuming those are real, is not the way to get them to listen
Best,
-Auri
freyberry said:
The question is, can we write applications that are not automatically suspended when sent to the background? What are the policies on this?
It says multiple processes can run at the same time, but it does not say whether they get suspended automatically.
Is there any info on this? Maybe in the "Scheduling" section?
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Personally, I like Android's approach to this, where Services can run in the background, but UI apps are allowed to be "put to sleep" while other apps run. But then again, we may see a lot of that come into play come MIX and "Answer Time"
Best,
-Auri
Well, I am now both excited and nervous -I think I will just cool my jets until MIX10 and just enjoy the eye candy for now. At worst - if the interface is nice, but the core is crap I am sure some of the boys here at xda will make us an inteface port for 6.5.x that acts and looks like the new hotness with the old compatibility. - lets see MIX
AuriRahimzadeh said:
Note that this could be old documentation, and it’s pretty annoying you're leaking confidential documentation.
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Docs are dated 2010.
I'm not leaking the documentation. I'm sharing the information that anyway would be opened in some days, maybe weeks.
And screens are posted here just as a confirmation of my words. You may think that these pics come from my mind and are made with photoshop - it is your opinion.
I really think that WinPhone 7 would be a failure similar to desktop Vista. Of cause some people would like it, but most would stay on WM 6.x and wait for the next version.
Regarding P/Invoke. As far as I've seen, "unsafe" operations are prohibited in XNA and Silverlight. Otherwise we would be able to call coredll funcs and run native apps (and do everything else that is allowed in our chamber).
mamaich said:
Docs are dated 2010.
I'm not leaking the documentation. I'm sharing the information that anyway would be opened in some days, maybe weeks.
And screens are posted here just as a confirmation of my words. You may think that these pics come from my mind and are made with photoshop - it is your opinion.
I really think that WinPhone 7 would be a failure similar to desktop Vista. Of cause some people would like it, but most would stay on WM 6.x and wait for the next version.
Regarding P/Invoke. As far as I've seen, "unsafe" operations are prohibited in XNA and Silverlight. Otherwise we would be able to call coredll funcs and run native apps (and do everything else that is allowed in our chamber).
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Mamaich any though of a WP7 ce6.0 bsp for all the current cortex A8 devices running on a ce5.2 bsp, will the new kernel support them natively or will extensive bsp/bootloader hacking be required?
P/invoke surely is a limitation of .NET CF, rather than Silverlight/XNA libraries?
I think it would be a bit stupid to remove P/Invoking, because it's just not realistic to rely on .NETCF alone which has soooo much stuff stripped out to minimize size.
Will we be seeing a whole new .NETCF so soon after 3.5? I highly doubt it...Unless MS have been working overtime the past year
Shame, time to stop mobile development altogether if this is true. When we developers are considered as dumb earning pipes for companies who in their arrogant big ways think they have all the wisdom, and app developers only make annoying software that makes their precious leaky OS'es crash, it's time to move on. i would have been talking about IPhone, Android etc, but sadly we must add Microsoft to the list also.
Then there's the $1195,- and airplane tickets we have to pay to get to the Mix2010 in oder to maybe maybe get to be a "partner" with access to limited native API's (probably only reserved for the big companies) and don't even bother talking about giving away 30% of our earnings to a company that last year made how many billions of profits was it ?
Time to start an XDA OS based on REAL Linux maybe ? NVidia have a nice dev-board available for $400,- with Tegra on it. That's what I call developer friendly.
Cheers !
Regardless of how this will play out, I'm pretty sure of two things:
1. Closing down the OS may be beneficial for the majority of users by bringing stability, ease of use, UI consistency, etc. Even though I don't like it.
2. Because the OS itself is multitasking, any and all restrictions may be hacked around, and a "jailbreak" will be possible.
Depending on how this whole thing will be implemented, jailbreaking and using "illegal" apps may be a major PITA (think iPhone 3GS/tethered jailbreak) or as easy as a few registry tweaks/installing additional certs/whatever. If Apple didn't chase JB with every update it would be a rather good platform for both mainstream "ordinary" users and those who want rather unusual things from their phones.
We'll have to wait and see how it evolves really to make a final judgment.

Advantages over iPhone

Seeing as WP7 will be almost as crippled as the iPhone, let's see ways in which it will be better, besides replaceable battery and memory card(and it's not certain every OEM will follow up on those either). So far it has two weaknesses that only the iPhone has: Lack of multitasking and apps must go through the marketplace.
In order to pick up iPhone users it will have to offer some advantage that the average iPhoner will notice.
Some advantages:
Information at a glance a la today screen with the hubs. iPhone has nothing like this.
It will (supposedly) have some degree of multitasking.
Two more hardware buttons.
Its funny since I've had my HD2 I've not really used multitasking and when I had my iPhone only not being able to use Spotify in the background bugged me so maybe certainly for me multitasking isn't a be all and end all.
Having read lots of stuff about WP7S, the conclusion I have come to is this...
There will be two types of apps
1. Apps with no need to run in the background
2. Apps that do need to run in the background
Examples of type 1 are games, spreadsheets and word processors.
Examples of type 2 are IM apps like palringo, and music streaming services such as pandora.
What will happen is that when you develop an app, by default it will not have the rights to use the background APIs. In order to gain access to them and have an app run in the background, you'll need to ask Microsoft to provide the access and make it a type 2 app. Microsoft will only allow this if you can convince them it is necessary for the functioning of your app.
Type 1 apps will simply pause when the user switches away from them. They will remain in memory but will be unable to execute any code until the user switches back to them, whence they will resume execution. This will ensure the app cannot hog any CPU and cause the UI to stutter or slow down. This is definitely a good thing.
Type 2 apps are given access to particular APIs to allow them to, for instance, download updates or postings on IM systems. This will be strictly controlled and priority will always be given to the UI, again to ensure it remains smooth and responsive.
That's my take on what's going to happen, and we'll see if I'm right at MIX 2010 next month.
So your answer is - yes it will multitask but only when it is truly needed. Which to me is the best of both worlds. It will ensure a smooth user experience whilst still allowing background operations.
Jim Coleman said:
In order to gain access to them and have an app run in the background, you'll need to ask Microsoft to provide the access and make it a type 2 app. Microsoft will only allow this if you can convince them it is necessary for the functioning of your app.
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Lets hope theyre not too stingy with giving out access to these API's!
The hubs/services (I'm not sure what MS is calling these) system looks good; getting new relative options available on multiple hubs just from installing a single app (like they demo'd with Facebook) should make all the apps work together much better than on an iPhone. I already want to try to make one to generate a music playlist based on past plays, and another to find lyrics to the currently playing song; If I understand the system properly, these would automatically integrate into any 3rd party apps using the appropriate media API's.
Also the context-sensitive search looks to be awesome.
One disadvantage: possible lack of native code execution and probably no OpenGL support - making it harder for iPhone app developers to port their existing apps to Windows Phone.
weesals said:
One disadvantage: possible lack of native code execution and probably no OpenGL support - making it harder for iPhone app developers to port their existing apps to Windows Phone.
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why the heck should iPhone devs have an easy migration to WP7 if WM 6 devs don't?
weesals said:
Lets hope theyre not too stingy with giving out access to these API's!
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The impression I'm getting so far is that they will be very stingy indeed. The only people who will ever get access to non-standard API's will be phone manufacturers and networks, and even they usually won't get access to the native API's most of the time. Microsoft will not publish any documentation about native API's. To get access to them the manufacturers will have to apply to Microsoft on a case by case basis. If Microsoft judges that a native API is required (and if there actually is one that might help) then only at that point will they release any information, and a condition of this is that they will vet the resulting piece of software to verify that the native API is being used correctly, and forbid the release of the software if it isn't.
What we don't know yet is where multi-tasking sits within all this. Is it a standard managed API, an extended managed API, or a native API?
why must every phone be compared to an iphone...personally I never liked the iphone, never will...only good thing about iphone is the apps..otherwise it sucks..and high end smartphones should not be compared to it!
The only thing I like about iPhone is how I use the virtual keyboard to type text.
I have tested HD2 and iPhone in a store, and from my own perspective, iPhone is more responsive and accurate compared to HD2.
I hope WP7 can be better than those 2 platforms in this task.
giggles33 said:
why must every phone be compared to an iphone...personally I never liked the iphone, never will...only good thing about iphone is the apps..otherwise it sucks..and high end smartphones should not be compared to it!
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gogol said:
The only thing I like about iPhone is how I use the virtual keyboard to type text.
I have tested HD2 and iPhone in a store, and from my own perspective, iPhone is more responsive and accurate compared to HD2.
I hope WP7 can be better than those 2 platforms in this task.
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that isnt aways based on the OS or software, but the quality of the touch screen.
Jim Coleman said:
Having read lots of stuff about WP7S, the conclusion I have come to is this...
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This definitely seems like the best thing to do for multitasking in WP7.
We are going to need a task manager though...
As for comparing to the iPhone:
-WP7 will be available in different hardware configurations, giving the consumer a choice in the style and capability of their device.
-Xbox integration, which will most likely include Arcade games (ported for playability of touchscreens)
-Better hardware standards
-Not quite as locked down (hopefully)
RAMMANN said:
why the heck should iPhone devs have an easy migration to WP7 if WM 6 devs don't?
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Because that's where the money is.
Seems people are struggling to come up with any, maybe something magical will appear in the next few weeks, although I doubt it, the advantages of WM seem like they will be gone with WP7, people on forums like this and blogs have been asking for a windows mobile iphone [without being an iphone] and it looks like they're going to heed the demand.
The most important advantages are gone.
They've made an exact copy and think it is enough. But it's not. When you try to catch up, you have to be better.
There's almost nothing WP7 is better at. It's an exact copy of iPhone OS with a better UI on top, but lacking the thousands of applications. That's not going to be enough and I really can't think about a reason why consumers and developers would be excited about this.
(and don't get me wrong - I LOVE the UI - it's just not enough)
Free Microsoft Office (Document viewing, creation, downloading, and editing)
Abobe Flash Player 10.1 is coming
File downloads (possibly)
Apps like a Wi-Fi router and file manager will likely come and be allowed
XBOX LIVE! Enough said.
Zune integration and support (I'm a Zune user)
1GHz Snapdragon is the processor minimum (This will lead to awesome apps and games)
WVGA display minimum (You might not care too much about this one, but I've seen the difference, and it's AMAZING!)
Bing search (That's just my preference.)
Contextual search (A handy feature, I suppose.)
There is not an app collection of 100,000 with most of which being totally useless. This means that you"ll be able to find the good apps.
Even if Microsoft won't allow apps like a Wi-Fi router and file manager, all we would need to do would be to get all WinPhone7 users on XDA to install the XNA Game Studio (and possibly the Win Phone7 SDK) and we could simply upload .ccgame files to XDA instead of .cab files.
giggles33 said:
why must every phone be compared to an iphone...personally I never liked the iphone, never will...only good thing about iphone is the apps..otherwise it sucks..and high end smartphones should not be compared to it!
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I know! Why must smartphones always be compared to a simple feature phone! I've tried the iPhone/ iPod touch (3rd generation) at Best Buy stores, and, let's just say, they froze more and gave out more errors in 5 sec. than 5 WinMo devices did combined over the course of 2 hours. The iPhone's keyboard isn't too great either. It's (the errors thing) 100% true.
Jim Coleman said:
There will be two types of apps
1. Apps with no need to run in the background
2. Apps that do need to run in the background
Examples of type 1 are games, spreadsheets and word processors.
Examples of type 2 are IM apps like palringo, and music streaming services such as pandora.
What will happen is that when you develop an app, by default it will not have the rights to use the background APIs. In order to gain access to them and have an app run in the background, you'll need to ask Microsoft to provide the access and make it a type 2 app. Microsoft will only allow this if you can convince them it is necessary for the functioning of your app.
Type 1 apps will simply pause when the user switches away from them. They will remain in memory but will be unable to execute any code until the user switches back to them, whence they will resume execution. This will ensure the app cannot hog any CPU and cause the UI to stutter or slow down. This is definitely a good thing.
Type 2 apps are given access to particular APIs to allow them to, for instance, download updates or postings on IM systems. This will be strictly controlled and priority will always be given to the UI, again to ensure it remains smooth and responsive..
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This is the right answer. Anybody who calms down would see that this makes sense. More Apple-like approval process for Type 2, free reign for Type 1
Shasarak said:
The impression I'm getting so far is that they will be very stingy indeed. The only people who will ever get access to non-standard API's will be phone manufacturers and networks, and even they usually won't get access to the native API's most of the time.
What we don't know yet is where multi-tasking sits within all this. Is it a standard managed API, an extended managed API, or a native API?
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Yeah, you're talking about native vs managed stuff, which is not the same as simply allowing an app to have a background process. True, AT&T and HTC will have to apply to for native API use for stuff relating to making calls, etc, but that was only about OEMS and network operators.
Regular 3rd party guys, of which there are many, will be expected to get a way to do what they need on the device. Pandora we've seen in Music, you can expect apps like Palringo showing up in People
burnblue said:
This is the right answer. Anybody who calms down would see that this makes sense. More Apple-like approval process for Type 2, free reign for Type 1
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Just because it makes sense doesn't mean Microsoft will act like that. In fact, I'm sure they will not.
The mass market will not benefit from every joe having all the API's because it's going make programs that cause glitches/crashes/memory leaks, etc. They are doing what they think is best for mass market and that is make sure things work well on the device and everything is user friendly with the least amount of hiccups possible. So that means more restrictions on us.
^^^ +1
Jim Coleman said:
What will happen is that when you develop an app, by default it will not have the rights to use the background APIs. In order to gain access to them and have an app run in the background, you'll need to ask Microsoft to provide the access and make it a type 2 app. Microsoft will only allow this if you can convince them it is necessary for the functioning of your app.
Type 1 apps will simply pause when the user switches away from them. They will remain in memory but will be unable to execute any code until the user switches back to them, whence they will resume execution. This will ensure the app cannot hog any CPU and cause the UI to stutter or slow down. This is definitely a good thing.
Type 2 apps are given access to particular APIs to allow them to, for instance, download updates or postings on IM systems. This will be strictly controlled and priority will always be given to the UI, again to ensure it remains smooth and responsive.
That's my take on what's going to happen, and we'll see if I'm right at MIX 2010 next month.
So your answer is - yes it will multitask but only when it is truly needed. Which to me is the best of both worlds. It will ensure a smooth user experience whilst still allowing background operations.
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This neither solves problems nor guarantees anything though. Poor code is still poor code. Too many apps running is STILL too many apps running (slows the UI). MS can police neither. So, your #2 solution really makes no sense and has no advantages. MS has no way of predicting who will run what app and when on their phones. What if a user chooses to run several "Type 2" apps? Will you get some sort of error message? Will the MS police arrest you for ruining the UI experience? What happens after several years of approved type 2 apps hitting the market? Now were back to the same problems of WM.
Dude, we're talking about 1Ghz+, 512MB+ RAM phones here! You can run lots of apps without slowing anything down. Really, the "multitasking slows down the UI" argument is utter bull****. A good OS handles multitasking in a way that doesn't slow down anything. Restrictions are only necessary if the OS itself sucks. A good OS doesn't need them.

Is there a project management app on Android?

I'm unfortunately going to have to post this in a few places because I don't know where it's going to get the most exposure, but I'll start here because I have a Desire.
I need an app to manage the various projects that I have going on. In some ways, you can think of it as a todo application which has subtasks, projects/groups, action lists, sorting via time till due/time taken/project/importance etc.
If you have the time, check out this site where there guy goes through a number of options and criteria for a good GTD (getting things done) application.
I've tested:
OpenLoops
Astrid
Goals Todo
For starters, Astrid cannot sort by tag/project and non have sub-tasks.
I'm really hoping there is a project management app out there and someone can help me.
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.ssi.gtasksbeta
mouth said:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.ssi.gtasksbeta
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i use it also...
Is this purely an offline GTasks? (I couldn't really see much in the way of features.) If it is, GTasks is quite a basic todo manager, let alone project manager.
Projects feature for Astrid is currently in development. Don't expect it all that soon though.
-------------------------------------
Sent from my HTC Desire
Someone suggested Got To Do + Toodledo. Seems to have much going for it. Testing it out now.
ActionComplete?
Cleargrey said:
I'm unfortunately going to have to post this in a few places because I don't know where it's going to get the most exposure, but I'll start here because I have a Desire.
I need an app to manage the various projects that I have going on. In some ways, you can think of it as a todo application which has subtasks, projects/groups, action lists, sorting via time till due/time taken/project/importance etc.
If you have the time, check out this site where there guy goes through a number of options and criteria for a good GTD (getting things done) application.
I've tested:
OpenLoops
Astrid
Goals Todo
For starters, Astrid cannot sort by tag/project and non have sub-tasks.
I'm really hoping there is a project management app out there and someone can help me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tested 'action complete'
Their website: http://actioncomplete.com/android
Review of it: http://www.androidtapp.com/actioncomplete/
It's free and was built around GTD system afaik. It allows for sorting and projects with 'actions' and 'waits' within them. Good luck
You might want to try Thymer.
It's online and I believe it's not free but they have a beta running for Android.
I'm also looking for something similar. My only real requirement is sub-tasks though.
Got To Do seems nice, but to get sub tasks you have to pay for a pro license for ToodleDo, after you pay for the app itself. I'm sure its not expensive, but still...
Action Complete doesn't seem to have sub tasks.
I've also checked out Astrid and OpenLoops.
I thought the whole idea of GTD was to break a task down into smaller sub-tasks so you can "get things done".
I think I was actually using ToodleDo on my iPhone, but I don't recall having to pay to get sub tasks. Perhaps that is new.
Any methodologies in mind? Any back end software like MS Project Server or open source PM apps / servers in mind? I.e. how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?
cosmicharade said:
Any methodologies in mind? Any back end software like MS Project Server or open source PM apps / servers in mind? I.e. how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How far? Currently I don't need to intergrate with any MS software (or similar) though if it was offered and useful I wouldn't say no.
What I would like to have as a high priority are:
1. Ability to manage different projects (obviously).
2. Ability to plan projects - form project trees, some may have tasks, some may have notes, some may have links etc.
3. An online/desktop backup/sync. Simply because I hate the thought of all my information being in one place.
4. A UI that is easy to assess what is going on and what is coming up.
There are obviously other things required but it's difficult to list everything which is why I attached that site that pretty much lists most of them.
@Powder79, I just looked at Thymer. It looks a bit too basic but thanks for the suggestion.
Currently I'm trying out Toodledoo + Got To Do. It seems to have most but it really does suck for giving your tasks/actions a quick look to see the state (active/waiting/reference/etc). It just has date due and overdue.
If you imagine a bastard love child of Astrid (Android), Goals ToDo (Android), Toodledoo (online), Projekt (Symbian) and Mindmanager (desktop) then you will have my perfect project manager application.
Oh, and a desktop widget for easy viewing.
I don't ask for much obviously.
Project manager
Me too is looking for a good project manager.
Yet haven't found one that handles Values/Visions.
Values/vision is like a direction, it can't be completed. There should be mesure of how well one is living the value/vision.
And projects/goals to hold the direction.
And tasks to complete project. Yet, have only seen project at best.
Need, with overview:
Value1>Projects>Tasks
Value2>Projects>Tasks
Value3>Projects>Tasks
and so..
Sorry to bump up an old thread but anyone interested in a simple project management / to do list tool might like to take a look at my app: Organisa Lite. Its on Android Market currently. It offers some features I think some people might find useful - such as updating the android calendar with chosen dates and organising notes in a hierarchical manner. The user interface is unique too: you can minimise and maximise projects and sub-notes as required and manage everything from the one screen.
I'd like to make Organisa Lite completely free and add a Pro version with much more advanced features but I need some initial confirmation and support that it is what people want in the way of paid downloads.
Mobile Project Manager (MPM)
Have youbtried MPM (Mobile Project Manager)? It has unlimited subtasks, predecessor tasks, and allows importing and exporting to/from project management desktop software. Search MPM in the market.
try MPM
Try MPM if you haven't already
Project Management App on Android
I have been a user of Project Management App, "Project Planning Pro" on iOS for long. This award winning app has helped me significantly in my Project management needs.
However, the app is now available on Android platform & I have given it a try. It works like a breeze. Its a totally worthy app to have.
Best of Luck:good::good:
Cleargrey said:
I'm unfortunately going to have to post this in a few places because I don't know where it's going to get the most exposure, but I'll start here because I have a Desire.
I need an app to manage the various projects that I have going on. In some ways, you can think of it as a todo application which has subtasks, projects/groups, action lists, sorting via time till due/time taken/project/importance etc.
If you have the time, check out this site where there guy goes through a number of options and criteria for a good GTD (getting things done) application.
I've tested:
OpenLoops
Astrid
Goals Todo
For starters, Astrid cannot sort by tag/project and non have sub-tasks.
I'm really hoping there is a project management app out there and someone can help me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you gave a try to "Project Planning Pro"
It meets all your requirements. Give it a try..

Is PhoneGap suitable for developing Android app

I want to learn developing Android app. I don't know much about java, however, I am skill at web design. PhoneGap seems an easy way for me to start learning developing mobile app. I'm not sure apps that build upon PhoneGap are good choice?
any help?
While Phonegap may be a tempting framework, try not to fall into it's trap. No matter what you'll do, it will get slow. Trust me, I've been there. Just try to display a table with 200 rows and it starts to lag.
You can forget your web experience because what you'll be doing is trying to get a normal web code to work on mobile. Most things will not work as you would expect it to work in Firefox or Chrome. You'll end up doing frustrating optimizations. 95% of your time will be wasted on shouting with your computer
Nothing compares to the look and feel of a native app, especially a native Android app. iOS did not really have a uniform design before version 7 but Android always had one. And there is no need to try and reproduce it with laggy html pages. Go the native way
Do not forget about browser touch lag http://updates.html5rocks.com/2013/12/300ms-tap-delay-gone-away
There are ways to remove it for example with http://ftlabs.github.io/fastclick/
From my experience - if you can write native app - do it. Web apps are slower and less responsive.
Wicia said:
Do not forget about browser touch lag http://updates.html5rocks.com/2013/12/300ms-tap-delay-gone-away
There are ways to remove it for example with http://ftlabs.github.io/fastclick/
From my experience - if you can write native app - do it. Web apps are slower and less responsive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was of the understanding that Chrome and Firefox for android removed this touch lag with one of their recent updates.. I may be wrong though.
Edit: link
http://www.geek.com/android/google-removes-300ms-touch-input-lag-in-chrome-32-for-android-1579721/
I would also highly recommend Codenameone for creating native apps for BB, IOS and Android that compile from Java..
crisdo98 said:
I was of the understanding that Chrome and Firefox for android removed this touch lag with one of their recent updates.. I may be wrong though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, but Phonegap apps run inside a WebView, not in the browser, and I think WebView still has this lag, even in Android 4.4 where it is based on Chrome 30 (this tweak comes in Chrome 32).
and also note,
WebView in GB behaves lil bit differently than webView in ICS and soo on...
for and android app, almost all of us developer try to support GB/ICS at minimum, but webview are not consistent.
I really am struggling to support my app on GB. and I think on KitKat Webviews are awesome, but the market share of KitKar are minimum so its not much of more use to us until few couple of months more
PhoneGap
According to me PhoneGap is a good choice for developing cross platform mobile apps. PhoneGap gives a extreme support for HTML5 language which enable developers to create hybrid apps with less amount of knowledge of other language.
hire phonegap developer
Phonegap ruled the mobile application development world by launching a platform on which universal app can be developed. The application developed on PhoneGap is widely recognized as cross platform mobile development framework which is known as single app accessible to multiple operating systems. PhoneGap considered being a king of app as its combination of HTML 5, JavaScript and CSS3 to produce hybrid applications.
It really depends on what kind of app you are developing. If it is an app just displays some static data or pic, the phonegap should work just fine.

Transition from Android to Web App?

Namaste my fellow developers.
I am a rather young developer, who started off with Android and have developed about 10-15 apps till today out of which 2 are up on Google Play.
Just to increase my knowledge and sector I was planning to make a shift into web apps. I did learn Java specifically for Android but want to get my hands on the other platforms as well. So my questions, Sirs and Madams, are:
1.Technically, How is Android and Web Apps different?
2.Should I make the transition?
3.How do i start? (some resources would be helpful)
All and Every feedback would be appreciated. Thank YOU!
hi karantrehan, my two cents on the matter
1. you can think of a web app as a web site running inside an Android Webview, with all its files (html, images, javascripts, css, ...) bundled inside the app. The enclosing app just launches an Activity with a webview, everything else is done by html and javascript (although you can bind java code to javascript function to exploit Android's APIs).
2. It depends: I think web apps are a viable choice in two situations:
you're a web developer that want to build an app without having to learn Android
you want to build a cross-platform app, reaching Android, iOS, WP without learning every single language
Otherwise, I would not advise it, I don't see particular advantages... unless you want to learn something new!
3. for the Android integration part, take a look here: developer.android.com/guide/webapps/webview.html
For the html/css/js part.... well, web development is as old as the web itself, there are tons of guides out there Don't miss some helpful projects like jQuery Mobile.
karantrehan said:
Namaste my fellow developers.
I am a rather young developer, who started off with Android and have developed about 10-15 apps till today out of which 2 are up on Google Play.
Just to increase my knowledge and sector I was planning to make a shift into web apps. I did learn Java specifically for Android but want to get my hands on the other platforms as well. So my questions, Sirs and Madams, are:
1.Technically, How is Android and Web Apps different?
2.Should I make the transition?
3.How do i start? (some resources would be helpful)
All and Every feedback would be appreciated. Thank YOU!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Web Apps are made using multiple languages. Front-side/Client-side, they are developed in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Out of the three, JavaScript is the only programming language. HTML is a markup language, and CSS is used for UI and UX. You could also use the Dart language. Dart is a new client-side language developed by Google. Currently, however, no major browser supports it (not even Google Chrome), and so in the end, it gets compiled into JavaScript.
Server-side (backend), there are a multitude of programming languages you could use. Java (through JSP), PHP, Ruby on Rails, Python. Typically you're using PHP and SQL for anything in regards to a database.
Web Apps can be hosted in a browser, or you can submit them into App Stores using things like Apache Cordava.
2. As a developer of any sort, you should always improve and learn new languages. Its better for marketability, improves your skillset, and overall can make you a better developer. So, in the end, the choice is up to you. I would highly recommend you to do so.
3. There are tons of resources available. You can search for tutorials on google or youtube. When I got started, I used w3schools to learn HTML, CSS, and PHP. I would really recommend using YouTube as well if you are a visual learner like me.
1. Like reProgrammed said, web apps are a bit different in that there's a couple of layers to them as opposed to Android apps. The back-end logic that does your database fetches and such is programmed in PHP, Python, ASP.NET (C#/VB.NET), etc. The front-end website, the pages and stuff you interact with, are done with primarily (X)HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. And for databases you've got SQL Server or MySQL, mainly.
2. Absolutely. I'm a developer myself, professionally and as a hobby, and it's never a bad idea to learn a new language or framework or environment. It'll make you a better developer and can get you jobs, or foot in the door, if that's your profession.
3. I don't really have many resources. However, in the past I've used:
W3Schools
MSDN (for C#)
Stack Overflow
Google
And then there's always books. They can get outdated but they can be great resources. I still sometimes refer to my "Android for Dummies" book when I'm working on my Android app, even though I Google search more often. Hope that helps.

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