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Notes from Google I/O 2012 session - " What's New in Android ( 4.1 ) "

The official page for this session is here . The session is specifically about the latest iteration of the Android OS, i.e. Android 4.1 / JellyBean.

Google has now also made available the entire changelog, which is another good source of information about JellyBean .

Below are my notes from this session, organized by category.

Performance, Memory

Using V'sync + Triple buffering to make overall performance much better ( or much butter - as google likes to call it ! ).

Non-editable TextViews use less memory.

New Memory inspection APIs introduced for the application to be able to better inspect system memory, and then respond to it.

RenderScript updates.

Ability to cancel Database queries.

Widgets

Android Widgets can now be hosted in third-party launchers.

Widgets can respond to size changes. In Android 4.0, while re-sizing widgets was possible, intercepting this event was not possible. However, intercepting this change is now possible with Android 4.1, and consequently you can do stuff like update layouts etc.

Widgets can now have different layouts for portrait mode, versus landscape mode.

Layout

The new layout called as 'GridLayout' which was introduced in Android 4.0 for Activities / Fragments, is now also available for Widgets.

GridLayouts were specifically created to solve the problem of deeply nested layouts for certain use cases in a more performant manner.

TextureView : Enhanced SurfaceView essentially.

The above layouts are not Android 4.1 specific, but were actually introduced in Android 4.0 .

Animation

Multiple Animation related updates to make animations easier.

Activity Animation updates. Now, you can easily animate the 'zooming out' expansion of activities from a specific point + dimension on the screen. Android 4.1 JellyBean is replete with examples of this functionality / behavior.

ClipBoard

ClipBoard can now hold styled text, I.e. Not just raw text.

Navigation

Now you can manually create synthetic task stacks ! This is huge in my opinion. Also, this update is available within Google-developed Android compatibility package, which goes all the way back to Android 1.6, so this should be available for us as well.

Automatic 'Up' navigation support for Activities, in context of Action Bar.

Still no official Action Bar support within the Support package. Romain Guy recommended using ActionBarSherlock for this.

Internationalization

18 new locales, support for right to left text – Arabic, Hebrew.

Accessibility

Enhanced in a major way. For visually challenged folks, you can perform gestures which will gradually traverse, and describe the various views to you, without looking at the screen. Once you choose the right area / view that you want to interact with, you perform another gesture ( double tap ) anywhere on the screen to execute the action. This way, you don't have to figure out exactly where to tap. Also included is accessibility support to make complex Custom views more accessible. All of this exists in the support library, and therefore works all the way unto Android 1.6 !

Security , Permissions

From now on, Apps that need to use external storage, need to explicitly request for this this permission. While this is not mandatory, at the moment, it will become mandatory in the future.

Networking, Throttling, $

Android already supports determing whether user is on a WiFi network, or is using a regular cellphone network. However, this is a coarse-grained approach, for example, what if the user is on a metered Wifi HotSpot network ? In this case, the user can specify which networks are metered, and you can now query this setting from within your application before performing a network-intensive operation.

MultiMedia

Media Codec updates.

Audio Latency improvements.

NFC

Large payloads over Bluetooth, tap for pairing support.

Play Store

You can respond to user comments, but this is for 'Top Developers'.

In-App subscription support.

New seller countries.

Entire Team can now access Android developer console.

Sales report are now available.

Android Expansion files -> Initial APK file can be unto 50 MB, and it can then be remotely augmented with extension files unto 4 GB.

Incremental APK updates are now available, automatically ! Average saving ( data ) of 66 % per download, per Google stats.

Unlocked devices now available directly from Google.

DevTools

Emulator is much faster now, to the extent that you can run games on the same with good performance.

Can test hardware acceleration, via Emulator.

Sensor and multitouch support using physical Android devices. In this case, you actually run you application on the emulator, but can feed all sensor data + multitouch events using a connected Android device for thorough testing.

'Lint' Tool for automated checks of your code against Google recommendations.

Tracer tool for Open GL ES.

Device Monitor Tool. This is basically a newer version of DDMS, with a better UI.

System Trace tool.

Better NDK support.

Support for creating standardized types of Applications.

Layout editor updates.

Notifications

New attribute introduced – priority. Support for opportunistic notifications. Opportunistic notifications are those which do not appear when the Notification drop-down is unexpanded, but show up once the user has pulled down the notification menu.

bigContentView – 256dp tall ( 4 times previous contentViewSize )

Notification Actions: you can add upto 3 buttons within your notification, from which the user can perform an action directly. If you want to add more than three buttons, you can use Custom Layouts.

Styling updates with regards to Notifications.

Notification sort order is first by priority, then by time.

Users can now long-tap and find out which application posted a notification. If the user is annoyed by notifications coming from an application, they can just switch off the notifications from just that application.

Comments, questions and feedback are appreciated !

#Android #JellyBean

Enabling Android Webview to Ignore bad Certs..

Recently, in a small project I wanted to display a mobile optimized website inside of a WebView in a native Android App. So, I created the WebView and proceeded to load the website in it, and Voila ! it did not work ! I tried a few different settings for the webView, but each time I got a "Website not available" error.

Subsequently, I opened up the website on my desktop browser, and it worked great. Then, I opened up the website in the Android browser, and it opened up fine in either case. This was fairly baffling to me. [ Later I realized that in either case, I had set my browser to ignore bad SSL Certs ]

I was using a Custom webViewClient for loading the page, but was over-riding only three methods:

onPageFinished(WebView view, String url)

onPageStarted(WebView view, String url, Bitmap favicon)

onReceivedError(WebView view, int errorCode, String description, String failingUrl)

I had hoped that in-case of *any* kind of error, the onReceivedError would get triggered, but it was not getting triggered. After a little head-banging, I decided to take a deeper look at which other webViewClient methods I could over-ride and found some interesting ones.

onReceivedHttpAuthRequest(WebView view, HttpAuthHandler handler, String host, String realm)

onReceivedSslError(WebView view, SslErrorHandler handler, SslError error)

onTooManyRedirects(WebView view, Message cancelMsg, Message continueMsg)

So, I proceeded to over-ride the above three methods as well. In my subsequent test, I found that the method "onReceivedSslError" was getting triggered ! This was excellent, because now I had a clue of where the problem could be, and which direction to proceed in. I subsequently went to my desktop browser, and stock Android browser, and made sure that I got prompted in-case of a bad SSL Cert. After that change, I could see that the stock Android browser, gave me a Dialog with three options, kind of like the image below.

The above image communicated to me that the SSL Cert was not trusted, and that all I would need to do to make it work, would be to 'intercept' this Dialog within the WebViewClient, and ignore the bad Cert.

After a little bit of digging, I found this post ( image above is sourced from the same ) from Damian Flannery's Blog which mentions

engine.setWebViewClient(new WebViewClient() {

public void onReceivedSslError (WebView view, SslErrorHandler handler, SslError error) {

handler.proceed() ;

}

The single bolded line of code above, will make sure that the webView will ignore bad Cert warnings, and continue to load the website. I made the above change, and it was all good after that.

Hoping that this post could save someone's time when faced with a similar issue in the future...

State of the Android

A non-techie post highlighting where Android is, and where it is headed. Will be updated in due course of time as Android evolves and the use cases explode. :-)

Android is "getting armor-plated".

Android is "headed for the Desktop".

Android will "power NASA's mini-satellites".

Android will "give you Terminator vision". :p

Android will "help you control your TV".

#Android

Enabling Xcode like Auto-Complete in Eclipse...

1. Open Preferences in Eclipse. ( Command Key + , )

2. Type "Content Assist" into search box.

3. For each Editor that you wish to have code completion:

Ensure "Enable auto activation" is checked.

Put all characters into "Auto activation triggers for *" e.g. .abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ_0123456789

Set "Auto activation delay" to 500 (or whatever works for you).

Thanks to Matt

#Eclipse #XCode

Android Resources of note

A short collection of Android related resources that I like to visit / read:

Android Developer Website - http://developer.android.com/

SO Android Q&A - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/android

Romain Guy's Blog - http://www.curious-creature.org/category/android/ - Great posts, especially on Android UI / Views related stuff.

Reto Meier's Blog - http://blog.radioactiveyak.com/search/label/android - Nice posts on how to write well-behaved Android Apps.

Mark Murphy's Blog - http://commonsware.com/blog/ . He also goes by the Handle "CommonsWare" on SO, and his posts ( http://stackoverflow.com/users/115145/commonsware ) there are highly rated.

#Android

HTML5 Financial/Trading Apps

While HTML5 is the future, some vendors have already started to promote / create HTML5 based financial / trading apps. Here is a sneak peek at some of those. These will be updated over time as new apps become available.

1. Kaazing App

Link: http://demo.kaazing.com/forex/

Blog Entry: http://blog.kaazing.com/?p=641

#HTML5

Commenced the use of 2FA for my Google account

Security works best when it layered. Therefore, in order to protect your online accounts, it is best to have a strong-password, and to ensure that you always login from trusted computers and/or via trusted networks ( and preferably using SSL ). However, with most of the online services today, as long as someone has your userid and password, it means that your account can be accessed. In other words, your password is a single-point of failure, and no matter how strong it is, if it gets keylogged or phished, then basically your account is open. One of the ways of preventing this is by using something known as two-factor authentication, which needs additional piece of randomly generated information to complete the login process.

Since February 2011, Google has enabled access to to two-factor authentication for their services to common users. After about 2 weeks of deliberation, I decided to bite the bullet and activate two factor authentication on my account. If you are a heavy user of Google Services, you may consider it worthwhile to enable this feature on your Google account as well. It does add an extra step in the login process as part of increasing your account security, but may be worthwhile if your Google account is important to you.

The details of how to setup your Google account to use 2FA are here, or here.

#Security

Blurb on Mobile UI design

I got these thoughts on mobile UI design as I was working on a recent mobile web app project, and using my own app during the design phase:

1. *Every* action that a user takes, is an opportunity for you as a developer to enthrall, engage and please the user. Similarly, *every* action by the user must have a very clear reward for the precious time, effort and attention provided by the user in performing that action.

2. Strict focus on getting the maximum done, with the minimum number of clicks is not an optional feature, but a required feature for a mobile app.

3. Any step more than the absolute bare minimum required to finish an activity will prove to be a hurdle to continued user adoption.

#UEx #Mobile

Small Business - Success Factors

The following factors, in my opinion, are some of the key driving factors for the success of a small organization. While it is true that the same factors are useful for an organization of any size, the factors below apply more to a smaller organization than a larger organization, due to the lack of dedicated functional resources which are usually available in a larger organization.

* Cross-functional training

In any organization, 'silo'-ization of information is a problem. 'Silo'-ization is a term I use to describe creation of distinct storehouses of knowledge / information about the company, and it's processes. Some of it is unintended, simply because it is a tad impractical to know everything about everything in your organization. However, sometimes it is also intentional. In the latter case, there can be several driving factors: 1. Employee insecurity in imparting information which they think may be hazardous to their continued employment 2. Employee inertia to hold on to an existing skill-set and to not evolve with time. 3. Lack of good communication within the team leading to distrust, 4. Or just plain old laziness. This problem gets compounded as 'silo'-ization increases and usually has an adverse impact on efficiency and viability of an organization as a whole. To counter these

* Leading from the top

While leadership from the top is key for an organization of any size, I believe it has a special meaning in case of a small company. In a small company, you typically get to know people more intimately than a small organization since one has to wear many hats at the same time. Therefore, top management personality traits can have a significant impact on the employees.

* Documentation

Documentation is essential for:

- Maintaining project history over time.

- Keeping a record of KPIs ( Key Performance Indicators ) over the years and trending them to evaluate current performance.

#Business

This link contains a comprehensive listing of inbuilt Android Drawable Resources ( android.R class ) which can be used directly in your projects. Use of these can also increase connsistency of the user experience, in reference to the default apps.

#Android

Tools And Services

An (incomplete) list of tools and services that I use, and love to use.

Category = Security ( Windows )

* Microsoft Security Essentials = Microsoft's free real-time antivirus solution which taps into Microsoft's threat libraries to detect / prevent attacks.

* SuperAntispyware = A good solution which has helped me on atleast three instances.

* MBAM - Malware Bytes' Anti Malware = Another solution like SuperAntiSpyware. I typically use these programs in parallel.

Category = Storage / Backup

* DropBox - the best Sync solution I have come across. DropBox just works.

* Adrive - excellent for storing large amounts of Data. Provides 50 GB of free storage space.

Category = Developer

* Eclipse IDE - extremely customizable and has a plug-in for almost anything that you can imagine ! Some of the typical use-case scenarios are: For pure Java development, GWT development, BIRT Report development, Android development, Syclo development etc.

* MS VWD - Microsoft's free tool set for Web Development.

* Fiddler2 - a tool for capturing HTTP Request/Response Headers, indispensable for web service and/or HTTP development. Other similar products: Firebug extension for Firefox does this ( and much more ). Similarly, Wireshark/Ethereal can be used deep analysis of port traffic.

Category = Browser

* Google Chrome - the best/quickest browser I have come across. Has a very rapid update cycle which is good from a security perspective. Also comes with a wide array of extensions which can be used to extend the browser functionality. One of my favorite extensions is the Secure Sites extension. This extension attempts to establish a secure connection ( HTTPS, instead HTTP ) with every site that you visit which allows for safer browsing. Also, it was excellent Javascript debugging tools and Firebug Lite as well.

[ This list will be expanded in due course of time ]

#Tools

What makes Smartphone ( and development on the same ) so important ?

A few reasons off the top of my head.

1. Mobiles are getting extremely powerful, and more people are looking at ways to replace laptops with them, and / or augment the existing use cases for laptops. The diversity of uses to which mobiles have already been applied are frankly mind-boggling: from being used as satellite controllers to being used as supercomputers ( sort of ) to enabling extremely vivd and engaging augmented reality games / apps . The future holds tremendous possibilities.

2. As per some studies, more people will access the internet using devices with a form-factor much smaller than traditional computing platforms.

3. App Stores are extremely lucrative, provided you can make a good app. There are literally millions of people who can access the distribution channels, hence can be targeted. Another fact is that App Stores are indexed extremely rapidly by search engines ( Google at a minimum ), leading to decent 'search'-ability ( not necessarily visibility though ) even without excessive marketing. More marketing muscle behind a solid app is always welcome, but the point is that even without the same, you can hope to write a decently popular app.

4. Several of the companies, today, are yet coming to grips with the upcoming future and need a consistent mobile strategy. Due to the upcoming trend of 'mobilization', they will need people with skills to 'take them mobile'.

5. The advertising of future will be 1. highly personalized, and 2. hyper-local, which is again commoditized / democratized due to the mobile technology, since mobiles are always with you AND can also capture your location information ( i.e. if you allow them to), enabling permitted apps to provide you with localized, hyper-contextual info ( and ads. ). Advertising is about context, and location is an excellent signal for determining relevance and context....

#Mobile

TRIRIGA Application Platform versus TRIRIGA Applications

For a significant period of time, I had a confusion between the TRIRIGA Application Platform, and TRIRIGA Applications. In addition to my own confusion, I also found that several other people whom I met, were equally confused about the same. The difference between the two is that the Application Platform represents the underlying technology like the Data Modeler, Workflow Builder, GUI Builder.

TRIRIGA Applications, on the other hand refer to the objects created using the Application Platform, like the Workflows themselves, the created Business Objects, GUIs, Queries etc. As a rough rule, all the 'builders' form a part of the TRIRIGA Application Platform, while the rest of the elements can be considered to be Applications themselves, which have been created to address specific business needs, like the Real Estate Application, Project Management Application. Also, the TRIRIGA Applications version, by definition, refer to the out of the Box Applications provided.

In certain cases, like the WPM Applications, the difference between the Platform, and the Application is blurred.

#Tririga

The link describes a technique to setup Tumblr with Google Analytics to obtain detailed usage statistics - for free.

#Analytics

Tech Blogs / Feeds / Forums

A short collection of Tech Blogs and Feeds that I like to visit / read:

HackerNews - http://news.ycombinator.com/

Gizmodo - http://gizmodo.com/

GigaOm - http://gigaom.com/

Engadget - http://www.engadget.com/

LifeHacker - http://lifehacker.com/ - I like this blog due to the wide variety, and depth of articles.

TechCrunch - http://techcrunch.com/ - Mostly for Apple / Google related news. Caution: Some posts can occasionally get high on opinions, and less on analysis.

RWW - ReadWriteWeb - http://www.readwriteweb.com/ - For all things Web 2.0

IBM developerWorks - http://twitter.com/developerworks - IBM's excellent feed on open source projects.

#Blogs

Interesting group for Tririga Developers, created by Eric Glass of Serco. It is refreshing to find a group like this, in the vast vacuum of open discussion forums on TRIRIGA despite the decent sized user base.

"This project provides open-source extensions, applications, and useful utilities for the TRIRIGA Application Platform. In addition to providing useful functionality in its own right, the open nature of the various subprojects can be valuable tools for learning how to develop integrations with the TRIRIGA platform."

#Tririga

Business Process Mix

In general I have come to a realization that every organization needs to have an optimal 'business process mix'. Firstly, what is a business process ? A business process can be defined as a sequence of elemental steps, which are required to 'get a task done'. In terms of computer science, a business process is essentially an algorithm, i.e. a well defined sequence of steps which is required to transform an input to a desirable output.

I believe for that for the 'de-risking' of day to day operations of an organization, having well documented business processes is essential. This helps in making the organization less dependent on a particular individual / resource for it's day to day operations. This helps in increasing employee / management confidence in running a sustainable organization. A sustainable organization is one which is 'fault-tolerant', i.e. which has built-in redundancy. This means that the absence of a resource will not overly affect the core operations of the system / organization. A sustainable organization always tries to make itself redundant. It clearly identifies the core-strengths and functions performed by it's resources, and tries to duplicate / cross-pollinate these functions all throughout the organization.

It seems to me that smaller organizations have a much higher need for documenting business processes, than larger organizations. This is because smaller organizations, by definition, have fewer resources and hence the responsibilities per resource increase. This increase in responsibilities leads to higher risk, per individual resource. This increase calls for a more aggressive business process documentation approach in smaller organizations, than in larger organizations. On the other hand, I have heard that it can take forever to get anything done in larger organizations, due to the highly structured processes. This can also be called as the 'meeting for a meeting to organize another meeting' syndrome. In such cases it would seem that it is important for someone at the top ( or the bottom, or at any layer in the hierarchy ), to be able to see through all the layers of management from top-to-bottom, and devise newer / more streamlined business processes.

#Business

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