Develop Bugs

[DEV] XDA FaceBook App for WinMo

Hello
​
We are at the very beginning stage of development of new FaceBook app for WinMo.
If any developer/graphic designer wants to join, please feel free to do so
Please reffer to this google code project site:
http://code.google.com/p/xda-winmo-facebook/
To join the group, PM xda member: joe_coolish
Donations:
Promised Fullfilled
sinoo - $10 + $10
thekrautdog - $5
PS: The poll is from the old post. You can still vote on whether you want a new FB app.

Follow updates on Twitter! Use the #xdafb hashtag to spread the word!
Here is an article on what kinds of feedback we're looking for when helping test the public beta: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=9227274
[UPDATED 12/7/10]
BETA 4.1!
**update** If you were caught in the infinite automatic-update, things should be fixed now. Also, I forgot to disable the Compose button in the inbox. It will crash the app if clicked on. Hopefully by friday I can have another version that has this part working
Photo Albums! Pictures can now be viewed in XDAFacebook.
Big pictures will open up in the default browser for the time being. Once I make a good photo viewer, I'll replace that.
Also, the settings menu has a whole section dedicated to photos. Feel free to play with the settings, but numerical values == 0 or <0 will cause the app to crash! There is no safty net for this!
There is a number for concurrent image downloads. This number should be between 6-10. Any more can cause slow down, and less and the effect seems non-existant. I've gone as high as 25 and felt pretty good about it. But I haven't dared push it to the limit!
New albums had a few bugs so I held back on this release. It will be coming soon!
Older Posts! Feel free to browse the older posts I've successfully gone about a days worth of posts back w/o any lag.
Searchable Friends List! I added a search box at the top of the friends search list
Memory Management! Special Thanks goes out to Corwin9S. He helped me look at the memory usage. I reduced the CPU cycles by ~30%. It still takes up about 3-6 mbs of RAM. This is caused by Form Allocations, DLL imports, etc. Most of the space is just allocated space that I can't get rid of. I will try to find more ways to make the RAM usage go down, but from what I've been told by some people at MSFT, this numer isn't uncommon or bad. CPU cycles are what count and that's what I'm trying to optimize
GUI fixes! I finished the drop-downs, so they look a little more professional. I also added the numerical counters. There are still more that can be done on them, so I will continue improving their apperance and performance.
Rollup of bug fixes
And finally SPEED!! This version should be the fastest yet. Rendering times are super quick and load times seem to be back to where they belong.
Instructions for Localization:
Please create a blank language file (instructions are above) and edit ONLY the text in between the quote marks "". The quotes need to remain!
Verify that your text doesn't fly off the screen. Anywhere that the text is too long for the graphic, try shortening the word or pick a different one (if that's possible) if not, let me know (via picture) and I'll make the necessary changes.
Once you have a translated file, save it as <Language>.txt and upload it to your device. Place it in the same directory where you got the Blank.txt.
Please share your translations!
ALSO! Since the app will be transforming and new features will be being added, the translation process will be ongoing.
If you click "Create Blank Language File" and you already had an alternate translation loaded and working, the Blank.txt will only have the new strings in english, so you will only need to translate the changes.
Unfortunately, after a couple of hours searching the web and looking at platform SDKs, I have learned that poking is not supported by the Graph or REST APIs (what I use to interact with facebook). I've been looking, and I might be able to hack something that might work, or I could have the option to support Pokes via SMS. I need your feedback. Which option (or both) sounds the best? Does anyone even Poke anymore?!
Wall posting is very basic at the moment. I will be making an advanced text editor that has more options for posting links, privacy settings, etc.
I also changed the road map a little. Let me know if that works for everyone!
Hope everyone likes the new updates!
I also wanted to make a road map of releases leading up to the final release of Version 1.0:
BETA 4.X
This beta release will focus on posting data to Facebook and making sure everything works well.
This beta release will also include newer GUI pieces, such as Inbox!
BETA 5.X
This beta release will focus on Chat!
BETA 6.X
This beta release will focus on App Completeness! Or making sure all the functionality of a full Mobile Client have been implemented
RC 1
This release candidate will focus on Bullet-Proofing! All minor bugs should be worked out
RC 2
This release candidate will only happen if major bugs are discovered in RC 1
Release 1.0
Hopefully all is well!
That is the road map I have planned. I don't anticipate Beta 3 to be out very long (unless there are major bugs). I want to get to beta 4.X as soon as possible. I also might mix and match But that is the proposed roadmap to Release 1.0!
Devices that this beta has been tested on:
HD2 WVGA
BUGS!!!
Authorization should be working, but using the new URL is a lot cleaner (I think). Go here to authorize directly. Once you see the browser transfered to "Success" then try the application again
Friend names that are really long hang off the edge.
I've fixed this bug for the next release, long names will be clipped with Ellipsis
And the status of this beta is:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
ENJOY!

Skinning instructions
Design instructions:
Download screenshots.zip
modifiy images in favorite image editor (that supports .psd and layers)
post concept image in thread/send us the .psd file
(OPTIONAL) Make skin with concept
Skin the XDAFacebook app instructions:
Download zip file
extract all images and place them in the \Program Files\XDAFacebook\Resources folder
launch application
enjoy!
Ok, instructions on how to skin the app are as follows:
Find the image that you want to replace.
Create new image and give it the specific name.
Special "tags" at the end of the name give the image special features.
copy the images to the \Program Files\XDAFacebook\Resources directory
list of tags:
_alpha this will take the first pixel of the image and make it the images "Alpha Channel". Make sure that the image is solid in that color and that there are no artifacts!
_trans_### where ### is a number (ie 200, 100, 10. Not 001). This number represents the total opacity for the image. The higher the number, the more opaque. Range 255-0.
_trans_png. This only works with 24 bit PNG files!!!! This is also very resource intensive, so make this a last option. This will preserve the images alpha channel. It is the only way to make partial transparencies.
List of files: This list will increase and until final release is up for change!
header 480x50
house 50x50
XFPanelHome 480x552
alphabar 50x648
the dimensions are based on 800x480 res screen. If someone wants to experiment and give me dimensions for other resolutions, please do so!
If you have any questions about where these images are, let me know and I'll tell you
Good luck and send me the zip with your skins and I'll post the best ones here

One more expecting a decente facebook app
At this time I just use opera or skyfire cose the MS app is realy useless for me ....

Happy to see someone here. The worst in official facebook app is there is no event for video or apps.

This would be great. I'm really missing a good Facebook app on my lovely HD2.

+1 for a new Facebook app!

+1
im mortified when Blackberry users asked me about FB applications for WM

+1
Any word on developement?

+1 too

+1
new FB application for WM

New apps FB
+1
the current ms FB not worth to use

I could be a waste of time because the microsoft is developing the app too. If they manage to make the app more usable than the coding of the "new" app was useless.

Guys
Didn't you read my post?
I am not the one developing the app. I am not a developer at all.
I jsut wrote appubator an email asking them to make a new FB app for WinMo (since there was a possibility like this). They have not replied ever since though Maybe they did not like the idea.
Maybe we could something to convince them do do the app OR!
Try to make our own application. This place is crowded with talented and awesome coders and graphics so I think we can definitely put something together. What do you people think?
I am graphic myself - If there are coders who decide to do go for it, I would like to help with visage of the app and the overall design and UI.
Who's in the NewFB_Boat? Any coders?

Introduction to development
Hi,
I've start research on the net and found this.
http://developers.facebook.com/docs/guides/mobile/
Actually there is no SDK for Windows Mobile provide by Facebook only for iphone and android.
But there is a lot of explication about how facebook work.
http://developers.facebook.com/docs/api
So the first thing is to wrote ourself a SDK we can use as a library for our program.
I'm going to search if we can exploit official Facebook library instead.

Dude, you are genius
I wonder why FB guys dont include WinMo...maybe they do not find winmo very profitable?
Maybe somone with good marketing knowledge could shed some light on FB management to make understand why WinMo FB app would be great lol

I ve download everything need to start development. Tomorow i ll take a look at this and post some comment.

i have a funny feeling the only reason they show the APIs for Iphone and Android is because the SDKs are open source.
but i would love a fully functional facebook app that would let me do everything, without the limitations of sense or the WM facebook app

Sopis said:
Guys
Didn't you read my post?
I am not the one developing the app. I am not a developer at all.
I jsut wrote appubator an email asking them to make a new FB app for WinMo (since there was a possibility like this). They have not replied ever since though Maybe they did not like the idea.
Maybe we could something to convince them do do the app OR!
Try to make our own application. This place is crowded with talented and awesome coders and graphics so I think we can definitely put something together. What do you people think?
I am graphic myself - If there are coders who decide to do go for it, I would like to help with visage of the app and the overall design and UI.
Who's in the NewFB_Boat? Any coders?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi;
I'm one of the founders of appubator.
I really appreciate your interest in our company. Sorry about not responding to your e-mail. We haven't see it come through - which address did you send it to?
We've been following this thread for a while. In short, a deep, detailed app like FB isn't something that we would do. First of all, we likely couldn't charge for it. If we did, its likely that FB or Microsoft would do one better than us and then we're out the time and money to develop it.
We're more about developing many apps (perhaps 100/year), that are smaller and easier to code, and selling them on multiple smartphone platforms.
If you have any ideas for apps you'd like to see - please visit the site at www.appubator.com. Register and submit your ideas. We're reviewing them more quickly and should be able to get back to you pretty quickly with a go/no-go.

Hello igolfchip
I am glad you have responded.
I have sent my APP idea to this address: [email protected] as it was written in the article about your company.
I fully understand you. Well, at least I gave it a shot
I have only one note though - If MS (or FB) would do a better app than you would, why they still havent made it yet?
Hopefully, we will be able to do something.
@Fredz - glad to hear that This all seems it is moving somewhere

[UPDATED 02/18/10] A call to all chefs!!!

Hi there!
There are members here who have successfully cooked for the Vogue with each one using the kitchen that he prefers, while there are many others who have researched for hours and still have trouble setting up a kitchen.
Anyone who tried to do this without prior knowledge surely remembers how much effort is needed to learn all the steps, since the cooking process is quite complicated and there are many new things to learn. Even if one managed to setup a kitchen he might still have no idea how to port a new build to the kitchen. I have also found it difficult to learn what exactly do you need to keep from the original ROM that was shipped with the device and which of those old files can we get rid of. And the list goes on and on...
Many would love to enjoy the thrill of building their own custom ROM with the programs that they find useful, and to be able to tweak it the way they prefer.
I'm calling here on all of you who have experience cooking for the Vogue to please share your knowledge here.
If you have a kitchen setup that you would like to share, I'm sure that many members would love to make use of it!
See post #18 for a description of ROM XIP SYS OEM and LANG. Thanks to egzthunder1.
UPDATE 02/18/10
From my own personal experience and as others have mentioned in the first few posts of this thread, the easiest kitchen for a new chef is the PPCKitchen.
STEP 1: You can register at ppckitchen.org and download the latest version of the kitchen. After installing the kitchen you will need to run the updater. It will take a few seconds while it connects to the server. After that you will have an option of downloading different files. In order to cook a working ROM you will need to go to ROM Kitchens\Vogue and download the following Vogue Carrier Kitchen files, Vogue Kitchen Core, Vogue Drivers. (I don't believe you need Generic OEM Kitchen files in the above directory). Of course you will also need at least one of the Windows Mobile builds from the same directory (ROM Kitchens\Vogue).
Although the builds that show up in the updater are pretty new, yet the latest builds will not show up. In the future after having successfully cooked a ROM with one of the more stable builds from the updater, you can go get the latest builds from the PPCK website at Windows Mobile Build Discussions\Test SYS Builds. *Advanced PPCk Users only*. For now I would stick to the builds that show up in the updater.
There are also OEM files that you can download with the updater. These files have different programs that you will be able to add to your ROM. You can download PPCKitchen OEM's, PPCKitchen 240x320 OEM's, Non Freeware OEM's (don't get exited it's only a trial!), and User submitted OEM's. You don't need any of these so you can download them and check if you want the programs that's inside, if not you can delete the whole file from your kitchen folder that's in your PPCK folder.
The kitchen is very easy to use and you can now build a basic ROM.
I hope to add more to this mini tutorial within the next few days.

I agree 100%, I think it would be great if some of the experienced chefs could drop some knowledge on the rest of us, if not only so we can keep pumping out new ROMs for our Vogues.

Head over to PPCKitchen.org they have a tutorial and everything you need to cook roms, its also the easiest to use in my opinion.

As you may have noticed over the past few days, I have been trying to keep the forum a little cleaner by asking people who open new threads with questions to simply ask them in a sticked Q&A thread. This request also falls under that same premise. Please do not open new threads asking questions. Threads should only be opened to contribute to the site (roms, kitchens, skins, guides, apps, etc). Thanks.

Barogi44 said:
Head over to PPCKitchen.org they have a tutorial and everything you need to cook roms, its also the easiest to use in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also have been using the PPCkitchen and agree that it's the easiest, but I have found that it's also somewhat limiting and think it would be a good idea if those using the Ervius VK or any other kitchen would be able to help others.
egzthunder1 said:
As you may have noticed over the past few days, I have been trying to keep the forum a little cleaner by asking people who open new threads with questions to simply ask them in a sticked Q&A thread. This request also falls under that same premise. Please do not open new threads asking questions. Threads should only be opened to contribute to the site (roms, kitchens, skins, guides, apps, etc). Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, didn't mean to make a mess while your trying to clear things up. It must be frustrating, sort of like cleaning up the floor and having somebody walk in tracking dirt on the freshly cleaned floor!
I just thought that this would be a Tutorial type of thread where members could come and add their little bits of knowledge until we would have a lot of info gathered in one spot. Personally I still think that it's not another simple Q&A thread, although your welcome to disagree and to remove this thread if you want. I'm still hoping that this thread will become a guide for all newcomers to cooking.

When I get home tonight, I will give you a heads up on how i use PPCKitchen. I cook for personal use only and don't publish roms. In short, all I do is use is a modified version of Vin's Generic_OEM. By modified, I take out things I don't need and insert things I want. When I used to flash manila roms, this was critical as his MANILA folder has every thing needed. Now that I don't use MANILA (I replaced it it SPB Mobile Shell 3.5.3 (I LUV IT!). When a new WM build comes out, I simply pop them files in the appropriate places and run it. I am currently in love with 23529.
If your interested in what I'm doing, you can start by downloading Vin's Generic_OEM from his 28014 Thread. Just search for Generic_OEM in the thread.

Lewy1 said:
Sorry, didn't mean to make a mess while your trying to clear things up. It must be frustrating, sort of like cleaning up the floor and having somebody walk in tracking dirt on the freshly cleaned floor!
I just thought that this would be a Tutorial type of thread where members could come and add their little bits of knowledge until we would have a lot of info gathered in one spot. Personally I still think that it's not another simple Q&A thread, although your welcome to disagree and to remove this thread if you want. I'm still hoping that this thread will become a guide for all newcomers to cooking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what your intentions were and I do not disagree with you. But there are a few things that need to be considered for making a "cooking guide" for this particular section of the site...
*There are only 3 (4 at best) active chefs for this section: Nag, Barogi, vin (if he decides to fully return), and myself. I believe that NFS will not return (personal unfounded belief).
*Most of the above chefs use PPCK. I am not saying that they don't use others like VK, but the info on cooking will be pretty much the same that you can find in the PPCK website.
*There are a slew of tutorials floating around the site (not just the Vogue section, but throughout XDA), which have a lot (and I do mean a lot) of information on how to cook.
*Cooking with other kitchens is far more involved than simply dropping build packages into PPCK. You can even get down to the nitty gritty of hex editing your rom to get more stuff out of it (ie, there is a hex change in the BA roms that allow you to have more ram available).
*Lastly, since the Vogue uses newer style roms (nbh, as opposed to older formats like nbf), learning how to cook from scratch would be kinda a waste of time (believe me, I spent the last month learning how to port a newer rom to the Blue Angel and it isn't as simple as you may think).
One of the mods (I can't remember which one right now) has a series of posts with tools, tutorials, and a bunch of other things needed to cook. What we could do is simply make a one or two post sticky with the links to the different tutorials on xda as well as on other sites (ppcgeeks has a 1100+ pages thread that talks about cooking and porting). I will see if I can get my hands on those and get them in here if that is ok with you.

egzthunder1 said:
One of the mods (I can't remember which one right now) has a series of posts with tools, tutorials, and a bunch of other things needed to cook. What we could do is simply make a one or two post sticky with the links to the different tutorials on xda as well as on other sites (ppcgeeks has a 1100+ pages thread that talks about cooking and porting). I will see if I can get my hands on those and get them in here if that is ok with you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that's perfectly fine with me. I have seen most of the stuff that you mentioned and was actually thinking along the same lines as you. If I can I will add my own little bit of knowledge like links to the various kitchens and so on. By the way there is a new kitchen, Oskitchen with new UI by airxtreme (original kitchen by Ondraster). It looks like it will be easy to use and has just been modified for the Vogue, and I'm hoping to give it a try tonight.

Lewy1 said:
Thanks, that's perfectly fine with me. I have seen most of the stuff that you mentioned and was actually thinking along the same lines as you. If I can I will add my own little bit of knowledge like links to the various kitchens and so on. By the way there is a new kitchen, Oskitchen with new GUI by airxtreme (original kitchen by Ondraster). It looks like it will be easy to use and has just been modified for the Vogue, and I'm hoping to give it a try tonight.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I did see that one. I had tried oskitchen before and it isn't too bad (still preferred Ervius though). However, this new UI seems a little more user friendly...

Start out with PPCK. It works well, most users will not notice the limitations.
Biggest thing with making your own ROM's is getting all of the Reg edits that need to be included.
Good Luck! PS Start with build 23529 it seems to be really stable and fast!

First post updated with mini tutorial.

Lmiller1708 said:
Biggest thing with making your own ROM's is getting all of the Reg edits that need to be included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps we can use this thread to gather up those types of regedits in one place. It would also be good to have guides for new cooks on how to add things like EzInput 2.1 (with working vibration) and Long Press End Key, BT Pan and Alarm functionality (while plugged in). Most of the newer roms have old or incomplete implementations of these features. vin was the last person to get many of these features all together in one place. With the age of the Vogue many of the cooks are trading up to newer devices and much of that knowledge is getting lost.

codf4ther said:
Perhaps we can use this thread to gather up those types of regedits in one place. It would also be good to have guides for new cooks on how to add things like EzInput 2.1 (with working vibration) and Long Press End Key, BT Pan and Alarm functionality (while plugged in). Most of the newer roms have old or incomplete implementations of these features. vin was the last person to get many of these features all together in one place. With the age of the Vogue many of the cooks are trading up to newer devices and much of that knowledge is getting lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking bout me ?

egzthunder1 said:
Are you talking bout me ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No sir, not trying to single anyone out. I've tried pretty much every rom released here and on PPCGeeks I haven't tried your latest ones labeled MetroPCS. I'll flash you latest tonight and try it out for a few days.

just uploaded 28230. Try that one and let me know if you like it...
btw, I was joking... don't sweat it. I don't get so easily offended

tharris297 said:
When I get home tonight, I will give you a heads up on how i use PPCKitchen. I cook for personal use only and don't publish roms. In short, all I do is use is a modified version of Vin's Generic_OEM. By modified, I take out things I don't need and insert things I want. When I used to flash manila roms, this was critical as his MANILA folder has every thing needed. Now that I don't use MANILA (I replaced it it SPB Mobile Shell 3.5.3 (I LUV IT!). When a new WM build comes out, I simply pop them files in the appropriate places and run it. I am currently in love with 23529.
If your interested in what I'm doing, you can start by downloading Vin's Generic_OEM from his 28014 Thread. Just search for Generic_OEM in the thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if you sent this over via PM but I'd be interested in reading it too. I tried replacing the Generic_OEM.rar in the kitchen folder with the one from vin, but the kitchen won't startup after i do that.

codf4ther said:
I don't know if you sent this over via PM but I'd be interested in reading it too. I tried replacing the Generic_OEM.rar in the kitchen folder with the one from vin, but the kitchen won't startup after i do that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The reason is that Vin's packages are not "kitchen ready". What he posted is in essence a dump of the Mega rom. The packages have to be worked on in a one by one basis to get them to work with PPCK. There is a nice guide on how to do that in the forum at PPCKitchen.org.

Hey Lewy1,
You are off to a good start. I have been giving your idea some thought and if you truly want this to be a "learning resource" for new chefs, you may want to start by describing a few basic concepts as well.
[highlight]ROM[/highlight]
In essence the Operating System with all the necessary files and programs that make up for what you have on your device. This contains things that are general to all devices as well as certain files and folders that are specific to each particular device (hence, the reason why you cannot flash a rom from a Blue Angel into a Vogue and vice-versa). Once a rom is obtained by dumping it, the dump will have a bunch of folders and files, which need to be turned into something "cookable". There exist several applications that can (and must be used) in order to accomplish this.
After all the things in the "dump" are sorted out and manipulated, the rom will essentially turn into 4 main parts: XIP, SYS, OEM, and Lang packages.
[highlight]XIP[/highlight]
The XIP is what holds the core of the OS. This is what holds the Native Kernel of the particular device as well. In order to port a rom to a device, one cannot simply replace the XIP with a new one. The XIP of the new OS must be "implanted" into the XIP of the base rom of the device. The reason for this is that there are many files that can simply be replaced in the XIP, but some must remain untouched as they hold key elements for the proper functioning of the device (Native Kernel).
[highlight]SYS[/highlight]
The SYS folder will have packages with software that the device may or may not need to run properly. This holds things such as the Shell (your UI), Office, core applications, etc. A lot of these packages can be removed from the SYS in order to make space for other apps that the chef maybe interested in having. However, great care must be taken when removing/adding packages since some packages are needed for the device to even be able to boot. Likewise, having too many packages will render the rom un-flashable since most devices have a specific size of rom that they cannot go over. In the case of latter devices, the available space for rom has gone up dramatically. For instance, the Vogue has roughly 90 MB of space for the rom. This is more than plenty to cook a lot of apps without too many issues. There are older devices such as the Blue Angel, where the size of the rom is limited to 32 MB, which forces most cooks to remove packages and compress things as much as possible to even have a bootable rom (keep in mind that most of the time, builds are coming with more and more space requirements).
On top of all this, there are the resolution requirements. Most packages will come with a second folder of a similar name with the resolution added. For example, Base will have another folder called Base_96DPI. The chef will have to be careful on what he/she puts to be cooked as having different resolution packages can make the device either not boot, or look weird (out of scale images) if it does boot
[highlight]OEM[/highlight]
The OEM normally holds fixes and programs that the cook could not fit in the SYS. It also hold drivers, sometimes even Language packs among other things.
[highlight]Lang[/highlight]
These are language and location specific modules. The chefs use the location modules to make roms for different languages and locations. It is usually a four character code that determines which country/language the rom is made for. For instance, 0409 is WWE.
There are many other basic concepts (such as Virtual Memory allocation) that could be discussed, but for now, these basic definitions should help the average person understand what they are dealing with when they see a new set of packages coming out on PPCK,
Hope this helps the cause

egzthunder1 said:
Hey Lewy1,
You are off to a good start. I have been giving your idea some thought and if you truly want this to be a "learning resource" for new chefs, you may want to start by describing a few basic concepts as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Great Info I'll add it to the first post.

[SENSE][WM][WIN] Manila & Windows Mobile Developer Interest Poll?

I'm trying to gauge interest in developing manila/sense tabs, I'm looking for:
1. people interested in working on the facebook tab
2. people who want to make other tabs
3. people who are app developers who want to tie into tabs
4. we also need some people comfortable doing window apps
(I think we need help getting started with the Manila Kitchen GUI tools - currently command-line). There is plenty of guys who have worked on the tools and know tons about manila, just need a framework in which to tie into.
Please state if you are expert or beginner or willing to learn.
I think in most areas, support can be given to most to get them started (even if it's not your area of expertise) and will probably prove a good learning experience.
Now, just need to work out how to make this a poll...
OK, you can select more than one option at time:
- Expert can be considered Expert/Intermediate skill, i.e. you've made something and it works quite well.
- Beginner would be someone who has done small tweeks or done simple programs.
Ahh, forgot window app developers, in this case, register your interest (if you are), in the TouchFLO/Manila/SenseUI social group (a great bunch of guys who helped me from knowing nothing about sense):
Project: Manila GUI Kitchen Environment.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=223

Links are not working for me :/

I'd be interested in working on a Phone tab. something that included not only a call history, but some dynamic icons that showed (at the very least):
Missed calls.
Voice mail.
SMS/MMS
Email
It's amazing to me that this was on earlier versions of Manila/TF3D but isn't on the newer versions. This entire concept was supposed to be designed for a pda/PHONE converged device, but the phone side of it has been weakened on every upgrade.

AdamiX said:
Links are not working for me :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll ask the group admin about it, perhaps you have to join as a member first...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/group.php?groupid=131
Trident said:
I'd be interested in working on a Phone tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can point you in the right direction if you need it, my method for working with manila at the moment, is decompile everything and then use a good search tool to find the kind of code I need. Seems to work quite well and you can find some interesting functions/features, I've also found using the registry is quite handy for experimenting since you can test out calling different apps with different arguments and also jumps to sense pages (which are internal URLs). Also it can give you a view of values which are being used internally.
So far getting interesting results on the poll!
Looks like a good mix of people which is great!
1. Those interested in taking the facebook tab further, I'm just working on a few bits at the moment for it (trying to tie in the last bits of HTC function), but will happily pass it on when people want me to. [I released it much sooner than I planned, but felt mean waiting any longer]
2. Those interested in learning about manila then have a look through my tutorials and that will hopefully get you started (I was a total beginner too when I started them). Please let me know if there are bits missing or bits which don't make sense etc, it's aimed at people who have done a little programming or at least get the general idea. If it's not clear enough then an entry level tutorial would be welcome (I've avoided too much click here, type this type detail because there is too much to explain in one go).
(leave feedback on the tutorial thread)
3. Those interested in developing manila and wm apps for using tabs, I'm hoping to build a "Custom Manila Interface Tab" which will ultimately provide an API type interface for apps. Will probably need a lot of work, so once I've done a basic proof of the concept, which will be very simple and populated via registry keys (i.e. simple list display which can be populated via a normal app) I will then open it up for group development.
4. Those interested in WM app development, hopefully with the new tab it will be easy to get started with some basic ideas and try them out. As the new tab (or it can be used as a sub-page) develops we will need to know what kinds of things we want to display.
i.e. for the facebook tab I can see this being used as a simple way for a external app to list notifications, comments and all kinds of information.
5. Windows application development, let me know if you can get on the group, I really hope that once given a framework a GUI can be put together. The mode9Editor is an excellent example (I think the author is on the group) and the CMD line kitchen is another amazing tool which brought together all the other fantastic tools (again I think most the original authors are there). Given a good start with a solid base, the GUI could become a very powerful tool!
-------
Developing wm is much easier than working with the manila files, and even HTC tend to tie into dlls/exes quite often to do the leg work, but it doesn't appear to be consistent (each module does things slightly differently) so a direct API would be a massive task. So hopefully an interface tab will bridge the gap, it'll probably provide a good point of reference for useful manila functions too. With the addition of a good GUI editor, I'll look forward to having fun making some really amazing apps (no not a fart selector app...).

Great thread meltwater, you may end up being the driving force of a whole new Manila experience

smeddy said:
Great thread meltwater, you may end up being the driving force of a whole new Manila experience
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the guys before me have been that (would have been no hope without the tools), but hopefully we've got some interesting ideas on the table!

Excellent results on the poll.
Here is an update of what's currently happening:
1. Facebook Tab
I'm currently continuing development on the tab myself, since it is still providing me with useful knowledge on working with manila. It serves as a good driving force for me to try out more stuff.
[MOD][SENSE2.5TAB] Basic Facebook Tab - Developer Thread
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=663494
2. Custom Manila Interface Tab
I should be able to start work on this once I've learnt enough from doing the changes on the facebook tab. Currently my understanding of manila isn't quite good enough to tackle this yet, it's a big job particularly when the manila code isn't that easy to work with when there is no api.
The concept here is to make a basic tab where the content can be defined by a normal windows mobile app. This should allow many more tabs to be created, without specialist knowledge of manila code.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Something similar to this, but populated by an external app.
3. Manila/Sense Kitchen GUI
The group still needs someone to help kick off the project with some help in building the basic framework for the application. I really hope that this can be achieved, moving the whole process into a graphical app will really help with dealing with the difficult editing of the manila files particularly when defining the graphical components.
Please feel free to give feedback on what you think about my plans. Also if you want to get started on some simple(ish) stuff, there's bits in my tutorials etc.
Ok, trying to get a working development environment for windows mobile, is quite difficult if you don't have a full copy of Visual Studio. For now I will use a trial version, but after I'll post/link to tutorials on how to do it without Visual Studio and some initial steps for Windows Mobile development.
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/mobile/WiMoSansVS.aspx Is a good starting point...

Hi everyone,
Thanks for filling in the poll. There are plenty on here who would like to know how to get started etc with manila, windows mobile development etc.
Short of writing a "how to" which covers everything, which I don't have time to do at the moment, what do people need/want to know to get them started???
This thread can be a simple Q&A section if people need help with the initial steps...

I would love to help but I have too much going on for now :/

This thread may not get noticed but since I started it to talk about and get developer interests I will post here anyway.
Since I've released the latest version of the facebook tab I have started work on my 2nd Tab Project. (Still developing the facebook tab v2.0 too).
The new tab will work along the same lines as Custom Manila Interface Tab concept but for now I have a specific application in mind. Hopefully we can keep this one open and the basis of the tab can be extended and reused to form other tabs working on the same principles.
So what do I need?
Well I have the very basics of the tab working, so I need some windows mobile developers to assist with creating a supporting app which will feed the data to the tab. They will need to handle xml data and potentially HTTP GET requests (I guess), we can go as fast or as slow with it depending on the developer(s) (I've got some ideas on how to start off slowly just like I did with the facebook tab, so beginners would be able to do it, they just need time and willingness to learn). I might start writing it myself but my time is limited and it would be nice to have this tab open to everyone (unfortunately I get too attached to my code/ideas when I've been working on them too long so want to avoid getting in too deep with that part - that is what happened with the FbTab).
What is it?
Not quite ready to announce what the tab will be but I've carefully chosen a good project.
What now?
PM or post here and I'll get back to you.
I'm not sure yet how this will work, but probably create a google code project so that anyone can contribute. Will create a developer thread for the project and once things are up and running a release thread to handle the releases/support etc.
Ideally, this project will be open as possible and allow new developers to have a go. There is plenty which can be done, by all ranges of skill levels. It would be excellent to have a wiki attached to the project which explains how it is put together etc, would be great to provide a stepping stone for future developers to get working with windows mobile and sense.
Also need suggestions on where to host the project, GoogleCode, CodePlex etc require change management software which I'd like to avoid. Perhaps something like 4shared maybe or dropbox?

wow
wow very good.

New to Winmo developement, but willing to seriously learn
meltwater,
I am new to the Winmo developement, but am taking it up in a serious manner. I am willing to take on new tasks with some support. I have the full version of Visual Studio 2010 and can allocate alot of time currently to any projects that you are looking for. Again, I would need to have some support, or be pointed in the right direction, but am very willing to assist. I will do what research I can and ramp up to begin as soon as possible.
One note..I am currently enrolled in school for programming, part of the cloud of programmers that work with Microsoft through VS 2010, and am working to become more proficiant with the WinMo SDK.
Can I help?

Mxdadevolper said:
meltwater,
I am new to the Winmo developement, but am taking it up in a serious manner. I am willing to take on new tasks with some support. I have the full version of Visual Studio 2010 and can allocate alot of time currently to any projects that you are looking for. Again, I would need to have some support, or be pointed in the right direction, but am very willing to assist. I will do what research I can and ramp up to begin as soon as possible.
One note..I am currently enrolled in school for programming, part of the cloud of programmers that work with Microsoft through VS 2010, and am working to become more proficiant with the WinMo SDK.
Can I help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds perfect, just the sort of thing I'm after.
I'm no where near being expert anyway, as I've mentioned a few times, the facebook tab is my 2nd windows mobile app, the 1st being "hello worlde", however I've learned tons doing it and I think it's not too bad (a lot of it is still unreleased). I have a long background in embedded software though.
One thing, visual studio 2010 is no good for windows mobile development, it only supports windows phone 7 not windows mobile (MS killing WM dev much?). Fortunately you might be able to get a FREE student licence via MS Dreamspark, although sounds like they might be able to provide what you need. The work I am doing is in C#.
I put together a little of the support code for the tab last night and the concept appears to work fine. I'll start up a project thread soon, still trying to work out what is the best place to hold/manage the code, want to avoid change management systems:
I don't want to install extra software to handle it
It creates an extra barrier to people having a try
This means codeplex, sourceforge and gogglecode aren't suitable. At the moment 4shared seems like a good choice (simple online storage area) or DropBox which I also use (which could be easiest).
Opened up the developer thread, project details will come soon.

meltwater said:
That sounds perfect, just the sort of thing I'm after.
I'm no where near being expert anyway, as I've mentioned a few times, the facebook tab is my 2nd windows mobile app, the 1st being "hello worlde", however I've learned tons doing it and I think it's not too bad (a lot of it is still unreleased). I have a long background in embedded software though.
One thing, visual studio 2010 is no good for windows mobile development, it only supports windows phone 7 not windows mobile (MS killing WM dev much?). Fortunately you might be able to get a FREE student licence via MS Dreamspark, although sounds like they might be able to provide what you need. The work I am doing is in C#.
I put together a little of the support code for the tab last night and the concept appears to work fine. I'll start up a project thread soon, still trying to work out what is the best place to hold/manage the code, want to avoid change management systems:
I don't want to install extra software to handle it
It creates an extra barrier to people having a try
This means codeplex, sourceforge and gogglecode aren't suitable. At the moment 4shared seems like a good choice (simple online storage area) or DropBox which I also use (which could be easiest).
Opened up the developer thread, project details will come soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds Great!! I'll be looking for the thread and details. I also have been working in C#, so I think that we'll learn alot together.

Count me in... can supplement SenseSDK if needed!
Ed

eboelzner said:
Count me in... can supplement SenseSDK if needed!
Ed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully a lot of the new tab will be within sense itself with a hidden support app to drive it, although later on it will probably use the SDK for configuring and managing things. Although that is only a rough idea at the moment. (will send you some details - will update the dev thread tomorrow and announce the project).
However, the facebook tab v2.0 is attempting to make extensive use of your sense SDK and greenhacks extended controls. I've currently pushed my ability to the limit with the interface though, hopefully when greenhack releases the latest extended controls I can fill in some of the missing holes. Still experimenting with the GUI aspects and possible concepts for how it should work. Will have think about the GUI again, there are a few areas which I've not quite been able to do what I was aiming for, which the Sense SDK might be modded to achieve.
I'm kinda aware though that a lot of the effort to implement the features for the facebook tab v2.0 will already be done by the Xda Facebook app being produced (so eventually we may tie it in to the tab after v2.0). The new project will hopefully help me expand what I can do with sense and allow better integration of apps.

New RSS Tab project is GO GO GO
[MOD][SENSE2.5TAB] RSSTab - Developer Thread
Thread has all the files ready to go, just not sure what people are waiting for...is it that scary?

Really?
meltwater said:
Also need suggestions on where to host the project, GoogleCode, CodePlex etc require change management software which I'd like to avoid. Perhaps something like 4shared maybe or dropbox?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why on earth would you want to avoid Source-code Version Control? SVN, GIT, and even CVS are an absolute God-send to any development group. i can see one or two pro's to avoiding it if you're the only developer on the team, but any more than 1 dev contributing code to a project turns it into a nightmare without a SVC ...

phalacee said:
Why on earth would you want to avoid Source-code Version Control? SVN, GIT, and even CVS are an absolute God-send to any development group. i can see one or two pro's to avoiding it if you're the only developer on the team, but any more than 1 dev contributing code to a project turns it into a nightmare without a SVC ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well can't that be handled by a decent web-based on which does it on the server side?
I know you are totally right, version control is very important (I've used many on a professional basis), but do I really need to force all the developers (and myself) to install full SVN programs?
I was hoping there would be a web based version control system which allows you to check in/out files purely using a web browser.
Any suggestions would be appreciated...I've only used closed corporate solutions before so new to open-source.

CVS idea
Guys,
Can we use CodeBeamer for something like this? From what I'm reading this might allow us the versioning control. It could be downloaded for free for up to 6 users.
Any thoughts?
Here's the link for the version that I was thinking of.
http://www.intland.com/products/cb-mr/overview.html

RAIN: .NET/WP7 Applications Hacking (+Dis/Assembler)

What the TOOL actually does is unpack a xap file, show its content and let you edit them.
As simple as that. It includes some internal editors.
GITHUB
Here are the features of .NET Rain:
- Unpack/Pack a valid WP7/Silverlight XAP file.
- Integrated binary and text editors.
- Integrated image viewer.
- Integrated .NET DLL disassembler/assembler and editor, allowing you to edit the types, methods, properties, resources and each method's set of IL instructions in an assembly.
- Ability to edit assemblies directly in C# and then compile it back directly from the program UI.
- Of course, giving you the freedom to open each XAP entry with an external editor. Editing is intuitive and simple.
- Besides working in the context of a XAP package, you can also edit single files.
- You can manually edit the contents of the XAP by adding, removing or swapping files, besides in-place editing.
I'm planning to add a few more features.
I know about Reflector but it's way too overpriced... I don't find it user-friendly as well.
I will keep Rain donateware. Once I release a stable version, its development would pretty much depend on your feedback and donations.
Here are some cool resources I've found on the net for those of you who are interested in something more than the end result:
Open-source alternatives to Reflector:
Common Compiler Infrastructure (CCI)
Mono Cecil
ILSpy (Very, very cool stuff... there's a lot of code back there!)
Dotnet IL Editor (DILE)
Monoflector (not active since April 2011)
IL.View
Other resources:
TypeView.cs
Jason Haley's notes on disassembling .NET
Adrian Bank's recent blog post summarising a number of Reflector alternatives, including several options not mentioned below.
Mark Lichtenberg's detailed blog post comparing several of the open source alternatives (DILE, ILSpy and Mono Cecil using MonoDevelop) to Reflector.
Keep an eye on the second post for updates!

UPDATES
After quite a while, I announce that
Beta 3 is out!
You'll need the .NET Framework
Download: You can either download from the Google Code project or from the project's website.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
There are still things I'm working on, expect another update in about a week!
Please use Google Code's Issue Tracker for any feedback or feature requests. Any kind of support, be it a donation, suggestion, feature request or bug report, is highly appreciated.
Thanks!

Amazing... Was hoping that someone make this... Great work buddy...
Let me get my hands dirty with the beta version

Nice work. Will this work on unsigned /sideloaded apps also?

sounds very cool. I am surprised this hasn't been out there already. cool

perfect.
i am sure that this tool will help.
actually i am trying to modify some xap's
thanks.

Looks very cool!
Basic decompilation / recompilation of the IL would be neat, but IL isn't terribly hard to read or write (especially for people who already know some assembly).
One thing that would be useful (can't tell if it's there yet or not) would be to support adding folders called .. and files under them (allows path traversal to put files almost anywhere on the system). For bonus points, show the phone's filesystem as it would be after installation (the contents of the XAP unpacked with the root at \Applications\Install\<GUID>\Install\) so people can very easily put files where they want them.
A quick manifest tweaker (things like add/remove ID_CAP_INTEROPSERVICES) would also be cool, though exiting XML is easy by hand anyhow.
All in all, looks very cool. A very convenient all-in-one tool, aside from perhaps a decompiler.

Thanks for the positive replies so far, guys, I appreciate it! However, I'm more into suggestions and when I release a download - some critic. I've made a simple vote for the means of counting the interest, please use that.
GoodDayToDie said:
Basic decompilation / recompilation of the IL would be neat, but IL isn't terribly hard to read or write (especially for people who already know some assembly).
One thing that would be useful (can't tell if it's there yet or not) would be to support adding folders called .. and files under them (allows path traversal to put files almost anywhere on the system). For bonus points, show the phone's filesystem as it would be after installation (the contents of the XAP unpacked with the root at \Applications\Install\<GUID>\Install\) so people can very easily put files where they want them.
A quick manifest tweaker (things like add/remove ID_CAP_INTEROPSERVICES) would also be cool, though exiting XML is easy by hand anyhow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, thanks for the post - you raised a few very good points.
I've already implemented a IL instructions edit form. I'm thinking about IL to C# conversion, but so far I've only made a C# to IL form. The other way around is a bit tricky, but is in my todo list for sure. And after all, yeah - IL is pretty easy to understand, and I've even implemented a simple "instruction description" field for every instruction for the sake of refference.
That second suggestion concerning file path tweaks is a very good idea and hadn't crossed my mind so far. I'll surely put that on the todo list as well!
The "manifest tweaker" is already on that list but I need to figure out the signing algorithm first, since it seems to be related to some data from the manifest.
gentry33 said:
Nice work. Will this work on unsigned /sideloaded apps also?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Umm... no, not really As I said, I've got some things on my todo list and on the end of that list is spending a while trying to figure out the signing algorithm. If anyone can save me some time, that'd be cool.

Indeed such a tool would be very interesting...

great idea...makes it easier than the workaround that I have been trying all along
i am interested in testing / beta ... & will be happy to help

contable said:
Indeed such a tool would be very interesting...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. It would aid in checking to see how obfuscated my apps are

snickler said:
Agreed. It would aid in checking to see how obfuscated my apps are
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... and how to obfuscate them better ...

So I'm clearly not in the first 10 but I hope you'll consider me for a beta. I have literally been searching for a tool to do this for the past week and have ended up settling with a trial version of Reflector. Needless to say your tool sounds much more promising and I would love to test it out.
You can PM me here on the forums but it might be better if you email me. poryhack|at|gmail|dot|com
EDIT: For the record, no, Reflector will not let you edit and recompile/reassemble. It's strictly decompilation, although in theory you can take the decompiled source into Visual Studio and do what you want with it.

Poryhack said:
For the record, no, Reflector will not let you edit and recompile/reassemble. It's strictly decompilation, although in theory you can take the decompiled source into Visual Studio and do what you want with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, now imagine yourself copy-pasting every single piece of code from Reflector in an empty Visual Studio project, extracting resources and manually linking refferences... sounds gret, huh?
By the way, why not count you for a beta? Ten was more... figurative. Also, some of the guys didn't mention anything about willing to beta-test and didn't sound like they would. I'm working on the resource editor for a few more hours and I'm gonna contact you all ;-)
Thanks to everyone who shows and will show any kind of support - a man might be smarter than another, but no man is smarter than everyone else
Edit: I'm very interested in building in hacking-proof tools (besides anything else that might come in handy), so I'm very open for suggestions. I might wanna consider a "thanks to" section as well :-D

ash.rain said:
- Integrated .NET DLL disassembler/assembler and editor, allowing you to edit the types, methods, properties, resources and each method's set of IL instructions in an assembly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This one is sounds interesting... for the hacking purposes As far as I think, the whole purpose of your tool
It's useless from the other listed reasons such as check obfuscation security or explore recompiled code for the training purposes (you can do it with Reflector - its isn't pricey, and has a trial/EA versions).
However, your description of the tool looks cool, would be nice to try. Also, would be nice to have a real Reflector alternative. I hope you'll keep it donateware
Thanks.

I'd be interested in testing this out.

sensboston said:
I hope you'll keep it donateware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, so am I regarding cigarettes and food
No really, I'm thinking about having a paid version, but I've already promised a free version as well, which will be capable of almost all the stuff. I'm not much of a manager/seller myself, I'm a coder, so I haven't figured out what should I exclude from the free version but also as a coder I know it shouldn't be useless.
And I think you'll all agree when you have some **** done, you can get some financial support for that
But hey, I'm not greedy and sure as hell don't expect to make a fortune out of this. I'm talking something more symbolic. I always put work before bucks, so let's see what will come out of it first ;-)

ash.rain said:
No really, I'm thinking about having a paid version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may recommend you: add "Donate to me" button to your profile first, and publish alpha/beta here. You'll have a free beta-testing (probably, but you may hope) and will not violate the xda rules about commercial software advertising

sensboston said:
I may recommend you: add "Donate to me" button to your profile first, and publish alpha/beta here. You'll have a free beta-testing (probably, but you may hope) and will not violate the xda rules about commercial software advertising
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the best way to go. You'll get support to develop further the app and also better exposure for beta.

After thinking about that a while I think you are right. I'm currently stuck trying to convert IL to C# and as soon as I make any progress, I'm uploading a beta.

android 2.1 app dev environment

i find that i prefer using my nst more & more.. in fact, my swanky but gas-guzzling tablet has been all but discarded, except for watching movies in bed.
i am going to find open-source apps, and recompile the latest sources specifically for android 2.1 eclair, as i find that most devs and google market are removing eclair from their horizons. i am particularly interested in small-sized efficient apps. i do use quite a lot of them, but mostly very old versions.
for this purpose, i want to setup a eclair-dedicated dev environment. i am happy to share all apps that i compile & use myself. hopefully, many others might find useful too.
where i need your help is with advice on how best to setup a tiny/efficient (not bloatware) dev environment, bearing in mind that it will only be used to recompile apks for eclair on b&w eink. i notice that some of you are very efficient in creating extremely small apk, and this is what i want to do.

platform:
on my debian wheezy host, i installed virtual box and created a debian wheezy minimal guest. virtualbox guest additions has significantly altered my perception of virtualbox. i had been using kvm previously.
pre-requisites:
install openjdk-7-jdk
dev environment:
google lists android studio as the only official one. it is huge, bulky, cumbersome bloatware imho. i think this is targetted at the new kids on the block not used to terminal environments. but this seems to be my only option for now, till i hear from you lot of some simpler dev tools.
my requirement is very simple, all i need to do is, change some code somewhere and compile.
so i downloaded android studio, and unpacked it in a directory reserved for my android development. loading it is like watching windows booting up! and then it downloads android sdk, which is another huge bloatware, particularly since it insists on downloading all the crap-lollipop-ware which i have no intention of using.
so my dev environment is almost ready! if anyone has suggestions or tips, or want more detailed instructions/commands, please comment..

Don't forget that the NST only runs 2.1 Éclair apps, as its OS is 2.1 Éclair.
This sounds like a great project - I also prefer my NTG (in fact, I'm on it right now!).

veloo said:
for this purpose, i want to setup a froyo-dedicated dev environment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check requirements for compiling Eclair/Froyo itself, SDK version doesn't matter since it supports all API versions.
Personally I'd use a virtual machine with oldest supported 32-bit *buntu release- better chance that required packages versions will be present in official repos.
EDIT:
This may help, discussion was related to kernel compilation however there should be link to quick tutorial about CM6 (Froyo) compilation- http://forum.samdroid.net/f28/setup-kernel-build-environment-using-virtualbox-windows-7-64-bit-4007/ (sorry if 10-sec advertisement pops up)

thanks folks.. my bad! indeed it is eclair, and not froyo. i have updated my op above.

gen_scheisskopf said:
EDIT:
This may help, discussion was related to kernel compilation however there should be link to quick tutorial about CM6 (Froyo) compilation- http://forum.samdroid.net/f28/setup-kernel-build-environment-using-virtualbox-windows-7-64-bit-4007/ (sorry if 10-sec advertisement pops up)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that discussion seems to be about iphone development

veloo said:
that discussion seems to be about iphone development
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, it's for Samsung i5700 Spica (latest official firmware- 2.1)

all that talk about crosstool toolchain arm-iphone-linux-gnueabi got me confused.. sorry!

No problem. Back then we had to use whatever was available and compiling Crosstool-NG was easier option than to get precompiled Android toolchain.
Anyway check links in the thread, there were tutorials about compiling Froyo from scratch (note: samdroid's wiki is down) and IIRC Eclair had about the same requirements

thx but my objective atmo is not compiling froyo or eclair or any roms. it is purely to compile apps for use on the nook.

I'm aware of that. IMO link provided can help you in preparation of build environment

At work I use Android Studio to build apps, but at home I still just use Notepad++, the Windows tools in the Android SDK and the (ancient) Borland make.
I probably will migrate to Android Studio at home eventually.
Still, coding by hand you learn a lot about things.

In the old days for text editing very large data files I used VE & Vedit plus the old Norton commander file manager, I could select any sort of columns within a text file in VE, hex, plus grep commands. Or ms-word macros with VB APIs if needed too. But these were for huge files from publishers. For most things though I had been using Notepad++ or UltraEdit for years. In recent past I hardly use them, instead I use Sublime Text Editor for almost everything, I like the recent portable version which launches fast. Also if I'm debugging live with breakpoints & watches & changing code in PhpStorm, the open instance of Sublime updates code as I work in PhpStorm. I tried a few modern text editors in the same league which supposedly have bested Sublime, but I keep going back to it for most coding or text. Apart from php and various text formats, Sublime handles & color codes for other types too like html, JavaScript etc. Interesting discussion on modern text/code editors & IDEs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K-TalfLFas

Hey a nice effort to build apps optimized for Nook Simple Touch.
Renate, Marspeople, have already created some nifty apps for our device.
How about you update the OP with links to their apps(with due credit to them and express permission for the same) besides sharing your own collection of NST optimised apps ?

I'm totally noob at this, My little dream it's develope a clock app for the nook but I'm stuck in "hello world" when I try to compile my app in Android Sudio 2.1.3 it throws this error: "uses-sdk:minSdkVersion 7 cannot be smaller than version 9 declared in library" Can somebody help me?
I

Use SDK suite ver. 9 and higher or declare in library, that you're using ver.7.

Necropost, I know, but do you hhave links to posts by the people mentioned, with the apps they've developed?
aiamuzz said:
Hey a nice effort to build apps optimized for Nook Simple Touch.
Renate, Marspeople, have already created some nifty apps for our device.
How about you update the OP with links to their apps(with due credit to them and express permission for the same) besides sharing your own collection of NST optimised apps ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse