Android Tutorial 91

Certifications for developers is not a new thing. For example, Microsoft offers a  wide range of certifications not only for developers but for almost anyone who works with their products (Office, Skype, Microsoft Server etc.). Oracle , Cloudera , and a plethora of other IT companies make certification programs for their products as well.  These (in theory) help employers to connect with those who search for work in their field. It's (should be) kind of a confirmation that you have these skills that you're talking about. But in practice, it doesn't work that well, many certified programmers don't know much about real software development process and don't have the necessary experience to start working in a team of qualified developers. So, employers did understand that and ceased to pay attention to certificates. The most important criterion in employment is what applicant really did and can do, his portfolio and capability of learning from mistakes and failures....

The best (and the easiest as well) way of learning is by doing. But to get the idea of what you need to do you need someone to tell you (this is the main purpose of this blog). Google Code Labs are doing exactly that. In codelab, you go through the lesson and build a small app that contains some feature like Google Sign in, Android Pay, Face Detection etc. There are also codelabs that teach you to use new tools of SDK and Android Studio like ConstraintLayout. At the moment, I've tried one codelab called " Build a Material Design App with Android Design Support Library " and have learned about ViewPager and NavigationDrawer also you can learn how to implement flexible space with image during this code lab. One flaw that me and my friend noticed is the lack of comments in the code. Most of the codelab you will be asked to copy/paste/rewrite some code to make things work the desired way. But for me, it was an encouragement to learn about used thing trough reading ...

Today apps are more and more bound to the users context and developers seek for the way to provide a unique experience for each and every user. One of the first apps that were designed to do so was Google Now a Google's smart mobile assistant that was meant to provide the user with information like weather, traffic, flight delays even before the user needs it. To make this kind of apps, you need to be aware of user context. What is around him? Is it raining? What is he doing? To answer these questions, you need to use sensors, a bunch of APIs and do it all in the background. It means that your app will drain the battery and affect the system health even if it's not accessed at the moment. Bad influence on the battery life can be the cause of your app deletion from user's smartphone. But these battery and performance optimizations can be a cause of pain for the developer. You need to develop the main idea of your app to make it clear and straight. And here comes Aware...

What is Firebase Firebase is a cloud service provider for mobile and web developers. It was originated as real-time database service in 2011 and still it's the crucial characteristic of it. But with it, Firebase offers the huge amount of features. Like built in Analytics, App Indexing, Hosting, Authentication, brand new Dynamic Links, Notification handling, Crash Reporting, and AdMob. Most of these are totally free. There also paid plan  featuring testing and Google Cloud Platform integration. These features are new and were presented at Google I/O 2016, for me it was one of the most exciting parts of the keynote. I didn't put it in My Top 8 Announcements From Google I/O 2016 , though. Because I think it worth to write a separate post about. What I like the most about it is that it gathers almost all backend that you need for your mobile or web app in one place and manages everything for you. You don't need to connect your app with Google Analytics, AdMob, a real-tim...

For last 4 years, Google I/O is one of the most important yearly events for me. I always watch it with admiration of a child. Google I/O 2012 was really great and the keynote was astonishing. Google Glass presentation alone was enough to blow my mind. Google I/O 2016 started May 18 and lasted up to May 20 and I think it was much better than the last two. Google announced many new things and some of these I really can call innovative (such as Clear All button in recent apps screen, thank you Google). So let's review some of the new announcements. Virtual Reality Comes To Your Phone On the keynote, Google presented brand new virtual reality platform called  Daydream . It's built on top of Android N and allows you to go virtual with just your phone.  The main idea is that virtual reality should be accessible for anyone, anywhere. And Google Cardboard showed us that it can be. And now Google taking it seriously. They presented specs for phones that they call Daydream-rea...