Getting started can be tough.
Obviously we are just getting started with Cisco Cius specific content, but don't worry....that's the beauty of Android. Because the Cisco Cius device is an Android 2.2 device, there is an almost overwhelming amount of information on the Internet about application development. My team is facing the same challenge as you. The best way we can help is by providing some information that helped us get off to a good start.
The
Android Developer site is a great resource, but can be overwhelming as you try to get started. A better first step might be to simply get to know the Android from a higher level.
The
Android 2.2 User's Guide is a really nice document. It is written using the Nexus One phone as an example, but much of the information will apply to Cius as well. My favorite section is the "Android basics" section. In that section you start to get a taste for the terminology used in the Android world. Things like Widgets, Status Bar, Menus, etc. are very well defined here. You can also start to see what is considered "normal" in Android. Deviating from the norm sometimes has it's place, but providing a consistent look and feel has tremendous value as well, and is one of the key advantages of Android and Cius.
If you want to look a little deeper, check out the
Application Fundamentals section of the Dev Guide. Understanding the four application components is key. Those components are:
- Activities
- Services
- Broadcast receivers
- Content providers
In that same section you find some really important information about the lifecyle of each of the components. You will notice that each component type has a slightly different lifecycle. A common source of misbehaving applications relates to improper handling of the various application states. A simple best practice is read the doc, and do what it says.
Finally, we can start to put it all together by exploring that part of your application that will be seen by the end user. The User Interface or the complete User Experience is what truly defines an application. A single Application (Activity or Task) can have multiple user interfaces in the form of the main view, widget, status notifications, settings page or combination of all of these. Start with the
User Interface section of the Dev Guide and if you still want more, take a look at the
User Interface Guidelines.
As always, feedback is the best way to influence what we deliver to our developer community, so please let us know what you think.
Larry M.