Re: [android-developers] creating a complex tablet app
If you're angry now, just wait until they start changing public APIs and pulling stuff from under you, breaking your app freely in the process. ;-) On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 6:30 PM, bergstr sell.bergst...@gmail.com wrote: Hello, 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. 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. 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. 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 developer feed in youtube, 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. thanks, chris -- -- 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. -- -- 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.
[android-developers] creating a complex tablet app
Hello, 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. 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. 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. 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 developer feed in youtube, 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. thanks, chris -- -- 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.
Re: [android-developers] creating a complex tablet app
On Sun, Feb 17, 2013 at 12:30 PM, bergstr sell.bergst...@gmail.com wrote: Hello, 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. 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. What do you think is the biggest problem here? It sounds like what you have is not really a complex app per se, but a complex UI. Is it just that you're complaining about fragments (which I don't disagree, are sort of hacked up and not entirely well documented). Can you provide an example of misbehavior that appears? Generally when people say they have these kind of unpredictable behaviors, it's people misunderstanding lifecycle events (that stem from Android's unusual semantics of its app lifecycles). If so, what could be done to improve it? I'm confused, why would a phone OS imply Android is unfit as an enterprise programming platform? 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. Ah, yes, these (things reappearing from nowhere) things generally come from Android's semantics on the application (and other) lifecycles. Kris -- -- 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.
