bergstr wrote: > > I have a rather complex app that runs on tablets only. The complexity > stems from the fact that the app allows navigation in a tree to an > arbitrary depth, where each node in the tree may have a different > appearance (depending on the node type). In addition, I have 3 tabs, that > allow changing between the navigation view, and 2 other views. On the left, > I have a list. This scenario forces me to dynamically create and replace > fragments all the time. >
A number of apps have similar profiles. > > First, let me say that I started this project expecting that programming a > UI like the one described above would be about as demanding as on a desktop > platform. I have 20 years of experience in creating desktop or web apps on > different OS's using 3 different programming languages, so I thought I had > seen it all. Little did I know. I can now say that the Android UI framework > is the worst I have ever seen. In my opinion, it is absolutely unfit for > fairly complex applications. It is a phone OS, period. Dont even think of > using it as an "enterprise programming platform". > You make two different claims here, one that the Android UI is terrible and the other that it is unfit for enterprise applications. The first claim is opinion and therefore unsupportable. The second is a rather pointless objection to a system that is intended for running on mobile devices and it's wrong anyway. Given that enterprise apps are tiered, and many, many companies like LinkedIn and Facebook and IMDB andGoogle themselves program enterprise apps just fine on the Android platform, the market seems to have disproven your claim.. Surely you don't think HTML is superior to Android Java for UI programming, yet it has been a part of enterprise apps since the term "enterprise app" was born. > I have spent almost one year now creating my app, and I am still > encountering random misbehavior from fragment management (fragments > re-appearing from nowhere, duplicate action bar entries). When I hear the > name "FragmentManager" I shudder. I must say that for the first time in my > professional life I am at the point where I consider to simply give up an > effort that has already cost me an arm and a leg. > In money? I'm sorry you had such a bad personal experience with fragments. I know quite a few Android programmers who produce highly complex enterprise clients using fragments in a matter of weeks. Sometimes new ways of doing things can be a struggle to learn, as one forces new patterns and ways of thinking on oneself against the inertia of years of doing something another way. Some people fall into the trap of blaming the tools for their difficulty, whining that they suck or don't implement the proper cognitive model, and impede their progress even further. No matter how good you are on the accordion, you might be defeated by the violin. But for those with the talent and the perseverance, enlightenment and the concomitant skills can be attained. But even the best of programmers on the best of platforms with the best of tools encounter, oh, how did you phrase it?, "random [sic] misbehavior". > My suggestion to Google, if you ever want to see good tablet apps appear > (no wonder there arent any), is this: get some good, experienced designers > on this project - not the teenagers that appear on the android [sic] > developer feed in youtube [sic], let them gather requirements and design > and implement something that really makes sense and works. Its not that > difficult - it has been done many times before. > Including on the Android platform. Including by Google. -- Lew -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to android-developers@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to android-developers+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
