Tim Layton - Technology Tips and Tutorials

Google App Inventor for Android Lesson 2 (Your First App)

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:48:00 +0000

In this second lesson I show you how to build your first application using the Google App Inventor for Android development environment.

I walk you through the process and steps needed to make sure your environment and system is configured correctly before moving on to more complex applications. We will use the emulator to test our new application as opposed to plugging in and testing on a local phone.

Tim

Getting Started with Google App Inventor for Android and the Emulator

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:31:00 +0000

In this first lesson I show you how to download and install the new Google App Inventor for Android app along with the android emulator from the android SDK so that you can test your apps on the emulator versus having to connect your phone.

In the next lesson I will show you how to build the first demo application and run it on the emulator that we installed in this lesson versus having to plug in your phone.

Tim

Database Design Using Filemaker Pro 11 - Lesson 1

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 04:12:00 +0000

I am creating a new series of tutorials focusing on relational database design and programming using Filemaker Pro 11. In this first lesson I go over the basics for people that may not be familiar with Filemaker Pro 11.

In this series I plan to design a real-world database from the ground up walking you through the entire process to include the table design and relationships all the way through to the reporting. I am not sure how many lessons will be in this series so you can search here on my blog for filemaker or you can visit my playlist on YouTube.

Tim

iPhone SDK Programming - Lesson 6 (Creating Custom Classes)

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:05:00 +0000

In lesson 6 I show you how to define your own custom classes in XCode using Objective-C 2.0 and the iPhone SDK. In this lesson you will: Create a New Class - Create Objects - Instantiate Objects - Call Methods. Be sure to watch all three parts for the entire lesson.

Lesson Part 1 of 3

Lesson Part 2 of 3

Lesson Part 3 of 3

Tim

iPhone SDK Programming - Lesson 5 (iPad SDK)

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:50:00 +0000

With the release of the iPad over the weekend I figured it was only appropriate to develop a quick lesson regarding this amazing device. In this lesson I will briefly discuss the iPad developer documentation and quickly walk you through developing a simple "Hello World" app iPad style.

Tim

iPhone SDK Programming - Lesson 4 (Installing SDK)

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:23:00 +0000

In lesson 4 I walk you through the very simple process of locating, downloading and installing the iPhone SDK from the Apple developers website.

iPhone SDK Programming - Lesson 3 (Developer Docs)

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 15:20:00 +0000

In this third lesson Tim Layton covers the importance of the Apple developer documentation and provides several tips and insights before moving into the coding part of the next series of lessons.

Tim

How to Create a Dropdown Combo Box in Access

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:23:00 +0000

A very useful feature in Access or any database is the ability to create data combo dropdown boxes within our application. Data dropdown selection boxes are a great way to make data entry easier and fool-proof for our users.

In this video tutorial I walk you through how to create a new dropdown selection box bound from one table to another and how that impacts the relationship of your tables in your database.

Video Tutorial:

If you have any questions feel free to send me an email.

Tim

How to Create Data Validation Rules in Microsoft Access

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 04:42:00 +0000

I get a lot of questions about Microsoft Access, so I wanted to create this video tutorial on how to create data validation rules and logic in Access database tables. Data validation is a very important issue when dealing with data integrity in databases. As we know, people can misspell or even put a space in a row before entering the correct data and it creates all sorts of unique challenges when it is time to query or manage our data. I hope this tutorials helps you think of ways to use validation within your own projects.

If you would like more tutorials on Access, just send me an email and I will be glad to create more.

Video Tutorial:

Tim

How to Create a Ringtone for Your iPhone in GarageBand

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:35:00 +0000

In this video tutorial I walk you through the basics of how to create your own custom ringtone in GarageBand for your iPhone.

Video Tutorial:

If you have any questions, please let me know.

Tim

Attention - Security Flaw in Adobe Acrobat/Reader 9.2

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 08:01:00 +0000

According to a post by Adobe, there is a security weakness in the latest version of the PDF reader. An updated post on the Adobe blog indicates that a security advisory has been officially posted regarding a critical vulnerability in Acrobat Reader and Acrobat 9.2 that could cause a crash of your system (Windows, Mac and Unix) and allow an attacker to take control of your system.

For the most up to date information you should refer to the Security Advisory for information on mitigating this vulnerability. Adobe will update the advisory.

For the current recommend solution please visit this link at the Adobe Knowledge Base.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Tim

Should You Upgrade to Windows 7?

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:20:00 +0000

With the recent release of Windows 7, I have had many people ask me if they should upgrade or not. It is sort of a loaded question with as many questions as there are responses. However, I will provide a few key points that may help you decide.

You should ask yourself the following questions before upgrading:

Do you or your organization really need Windows 7?
How will you specifically benefit from upgrading?
Would it be wiser to forecast the upgrade a few months or more out so the initial problems will be addressed by Microsoft?
If you are still running XP, Microsoft ended mainstream support in April of 2009. However security fixes will be provided through 2014. Hows does this impact your decision to upgrade to Windows 7 or possibly another operating system?
Will the new administration tools in Windows 7 be important enough to your organization to make you consider upgrading?
Do you have peripherals such as printers, scanners or other devices that are critical parts of your business? If so, are you sure there are Windows 7 drivers available?
Do you need the built-in support for touch screen monitors offered in Windows 7?
Will the upgrade to Windows 7 force new hardware purchases?
Since there is no direct upgrade path from XP to Windows 7, will this impact your decision?
Are there any application compatibility concerns?
Is your IT staff trained to support and administer Windows 7?

This article should help you start thinking about the basics when considering an upgrade to your desktop operating system. Please send me your comments, thoughts or experiences regarding Windows 7.

Tim

Android - Lesson 4 - Fixing Emulator Crashes

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:23:00 +0000

I have received a ton of questions about how to fix emulator crashes. I have personally seen it myself as well, even running the latest release of everything (Eclipse, ADT, SDK, etc). The problem can eat a ton of your valuable time and the fix is oddly enough very simple.

I really don't know why the error occurs, but I do have the answer of how to fix it and it is quite simple. When creating your AVD devices, simple specify an SD Card of 16 Mb and that will take care of it.

In the video tutorial I will you through how to do this. So, now you can get back to learning Android development and stop wasting time on irritating and time consuming issues.

Video Tutorial:

Tim

Android Development Google Groups

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:19:00 +0000

As a developer it is important to learn from others as well as share your knowledge. The two most popular Android groups that I would recommend for learning and sharing are the Google Android Beginners Group and the Android Developers Group:

Here are the links:

Android Beginners Group

Android Developers Group

And, if you would like to stay up to date on all things Android you will likely find that in the Discussion Group.

All of my Android Development Video Tutorials are available here on my blog with additional notes and comments that you may find helpful.

I look forward to your comments and input.

Tim

Android Video Tutorial Playlist

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:48:00 +0000

I have created a video playlist on YouTube for my Android programming tutorials. The playlist is an easy way to watch the videos in order. All of the videos are also available here on my blog with additional notes and comments that you should find very useful when watching the video lessons.

All of the videos are titled "Android - Lesson X - Title" where X is the lesson number and Title is a short description of the content.

My approach is to start at the very beginning (Lesson 0 - getting setup and configured) and progressing through each lesson by building on the last.

You can go to the playlist directly on YouTube via this link.

You can view the playlist in a single video window by using the left and right arrows that are located at the center of the video window to navigate to the next or previous lesson:

I look forward to your comments and feedback.

Tim

Android - Lesson 3 - Using XML and Configuring Your Phone for Testing

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:41:00 +0000

In lesson 3 I build on the simple Hello Android app we built in lesson 2. The text-based UI we used to create the simple UI is not practical in the real world. Using XML to layout your screens and views is how you will do this.

Also, I show you the changes you need to make on your Android phone to allow testing of your apps on your own device as well as the change to the manifest file that is required.

Video Tutorial:

Tim

Android - Lesson 2 - Hello Android!

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:51:00 +0000

This lesson is very important for new Android developers. In the first two lessons I walked you through how to ensure your development environment is installed and configured correctly and now I will walk you through the steps to create your first Android application.

The video tutorial includes:

1.) Configuring a RunConfig (required to launch your app)

3.) Writing our first program "Hello Android!"

4.) Testing the your app with emulator.

Let's get started!

Video Tutorial:

Tim

Android - Configuring Eclipse - Lesson 1

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:31:00 +0000

In the first lesson I covered what you need to install for your Android development environment and walked your through that process. Refer to this lesson here if needed.

In this lesson I will show you how to configure Eclipse for Android development and how to setup your AVD (Android Virtual Device) as well as how to update your SDK packages before moving on to writing your first application.

Video Tutorial:

Tim

Getting Setup for Android Development

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 23:14:00 +0000

I get a lot of questions about getting started with Android development so I thought I would publish a short summary of what you need to get started.

To get started go check out some of the videos on the Android developer site.

Video Overview:

Operating System
You can develop Android applications on Windows, Mac and Linux. And all of the tools you need are free! Yes, free. No annual fees, or expensive IDE's to purchase. In a nutshell any version of windows starting from XP on will work, Mac 10.4.8 and above and Linux. It wouldn't hurt to have an Android phone to test on, but it isn't absolutely required. It would be a very good idea to test your apps on real devices first because the emulator is just that--an emulator. Also, if you are an every day user of an Android phone you are more likely to be able to related to your users and create useful or entertaining applications that might appeal to them.

The full list of requirements can be found on the Android site.

Software Tools and SDK Android development is accomplished via Java, so you will need a Java programming environment. This is comprised of the Java Development Kit (JDK) and the highly suggested Eclipse IDE is recommended along with the Android SDK. I would strongly suggest that you follow the suggested path at first and if you choose to go in another direction, do so at your own risk.

Step 1
Ensure you have the Java Development Kit (JDK) and if not, go download it from Sun and install it. The easiest way to check is to open a command prompt or terminal window and type "javac". If you don't get an error then you know you have the JDK installed. Even so, you may want to add the -v switch to check what version you are running and update if necessary. The JRE (Java Runtime Environment) is not enough to do Android development, you need the full JDK.

Download the JDK from Sun.

Step 2
Get the Eclipse IDE for Java EE Developers (~188 Mb). The reason you need the Java EE IDE is because it has two very important plugins already installed (JDT and WTP). If you are just starting out this is the easiest path to take and honestly it really doesn't hurt to have the other EE components installed anyway.

Download Eclipse

Step 3
Go get the Android SDK and install it in a directory of your choice. The SDK is basically a bunch of files containing the classes and other files for the SDK. This is a manual install, so just unzip it in a directory of your choice. I would suggest that you locate it in a logical place because you will need to add its path to the Eclipse development environment as well as update your PATH variable.

Download and Install SDK

Be sure to read up on the notes regarding the way the SDK now operates.

Notes on Installing the SDK

Step 4
Next, you will need to launch Eclipse now that the JDK, Eclipse IDE and Android SDK is installed. In this last step you will be installing the Android Development Tool (ADT) plugin for Eclipse and getting your IDE configured for development.

You will need to update your PATH variable to include the path to this SDK/tools directory. This is where the SDK tool binaries live and you will need them moving forward. If you don't know how to update your PATH variable for your platform, just google it. To test to make sure you have your path updated, open a terminal or command window and type "android". If the Android update manager appears then your path is correct. Just cancel that for now and move to the last step.

The ADT (Android Development Tool) extends the capabilities of Eclipse to let you quickly set up new Android projects, create an application UI, add components based on the Android Framework API, debug your applications using the Android SDK tools, and even export signed (or unsigned) APKs in order to distribute your application.

Here are some notes from the Android development portal about installing and configuring the ADT that you may want to review. I find these to not be completely in sync with the latest tools and software, but it is a source of good information.

To update Eclipse with the ADT plugin follow these steps:

1. Launch Eclipse.
2. Select Help, Software Updates.
3. Select the Available Software tab.
4. Click the Add Site button.
5. Add a remote site: https://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

If the site fails, try http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/eclipse/

6. On the Available Software Updates tab, check the Android site you just added.
7. Press the Install button.
8. Follow the installation instructions and install the Android Plug-In.
9. Restart Eclipse after the software update completes.

After you install the Android SDK Eclipse Plug-In, you should update your Eclipse preferences to point at the Android SDK. This is VERY important... so don't forget.

To do this, launch Eclipse and choose Window, Preferences (or Eclipse, Preferences on Mac OS X). Select the Android preferences and set the path to where you installed the Android SDK.

And, you are ready to develop some Android applications...welll, almost! There are a couple minor details such as adding a AVD (Android Virtual Device) for testing with your emulator and how to setup and configure your first Android project inside Eclipse as well as making some changes to your Android phone and the manifest configuration file so that you can test on your device. I will cover these important topics in my first tutorial "Hello Android!".

New Update for Windows Vista Developers:

This tip was provided by one of my subscribers.

After installing Eclipse, Android SDK, and ADT, I found the emulatordid not work, with ADB giving the error message that the AVD could not be found. Everything seemed to work otherwise: I could run Eclipse, set up new AVDs, created apps, etc. I just couldn't get the AVD manager to remember where it created the AVDs, i.e., it was looking elsewhere.

Eventually, I figured out that if my home directory (folder) is not the default in the C: drive (mine is in my data partition D:\, rather that the default root in C:), then the Environment Variable ANDROID_SDK_HOME needs to be set to the D:\ directory. This works even if android-sdk-windows is installed in C:, but the .android directory is stored in D:\. For Windows Vista users, this means you have to use regedit.exe and add ANDROID_SDK_HOME as a string variable (set to D:\ or whatever is the new home directory location) under the following
registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment

This variable is what AVD Manager uses to find the .android folder.

Resources
There are many resources on the Android Developer Site, but here are a few that you will find very helpful when getting started.

Developer Guide

Package Reference Guide

Android Hello World

I hope you found this article helpful in getting you started with Android development. Stay tuned for many more articles and video tutorials.

At the time of this article my T-Mobile Android MyTouch is running 1.6, however 2.X is out in the wild. The reason I mention this is because you will likely want to setup your development for 1.6 and then use the Android SDK manager to add on new code bases as needed for 2.0 and beyond.

Tim

Getting Started Tips for Google Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Here are some quick videos to help you get started with google wave.

Starting a new wave

3 ways to reply to a wave

Use the Shift+Enter Shortcut

Doing a Chat AND Email all within the same wave

Use the spacebar to navigate between unread wave messages

Using Playback allows you to view the full history of the wave.

Spelling Help

Customize your wave workspace

Creating a folder and organizing waves by folder

Adding extensions to google wave.

The google wave help center

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 5 - Inheritance, Importing, Compiling Hello World

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:32:00 +0000

In Lesson 5 we round out the basics of our OOP introduction by learning about inheritance and how to import external classes into our custom Main class.

In the next series of lessons we will move our focus to the Flash environment where I will show you how to use the Flash art tools to create our own artwork and character for our new web application.

View Lesson 5 now:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 4 - Directives

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:12:00 +0000

In lesson four I explain and define directives and walk you through defining your first directive in the constructor method. In the next lesson we will learn about inheritance and importing before compiling and executing our first application: Hello World.

Watch Lesson 4 now:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 3 - Constructor Methods

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:19:00 +0000

In this video tutorial I explain constructor methods in ActionScript 3.0 before moving on to directives and inheritance in the next lessons. In the last two lessons we covered packages and classes.

View the video lesson:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 2 - Configuring Packages and Class

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:57:00 +0000

In this lesson I show you how to setup your Flash environment and your file system to properly configure for taking advantage of OOP classes and packages.

YouTube Video Tutorial:

Tim

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 1 - Packages and Classes

noreply@blogger.com (Display Name) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:07:00 +0000

ActionScript 3.0 - Lesson 1 - Packages and Classes

Objective: Introduce and define packages and classes.

Overview: I will introduce OOP programming concepts to you. We will learn how to define and create a package and a main class in this lesson.

Lesson 2: In the next lesson we will define a constructor for our main class, define some directives, introduce inheritance.

Lesson 3: We will learn how to publish our Hello World application.

Jargon: pseudo-code, stage, display objects, event listeners, instance, instantiate

Pseudo-Code - Your application logic explained in plain English by a series of short statements.

Stage - This is the canvas or main stage in Flash where all the action takes place.

Display Objects - These are special objects within Flash that are seen on the stage. Examples would be movie clips, buttons, etc.

Event Listeners - We code event listeners in ActionScript for the Flash movie to do things like wait for user input or to exchange information between objects.

Instance - An instance is just a copy of an object created from a class.

Instantiate - To instantiate an object simply means to create a copy of the object for use within your application.

Package

A package is a container that holds all of your classes. Classes within the same package can reference one another without importing.

Rules and best practices
A package name is in all lower case letters. This helps you distinguish them from classes that start with a capital letter. The package name is also represented at the file system level as a series of nested folders.

We will use an industry standard to name our packages.

package ourdomainname.packagename

package com.timlayton.lessons
{

}

N.B. - In the lesson you will see that I have a src directory representing the source code files for our program. Under src I have the following nested directories com, timlayton, lessons. This must match your package name or your program will not run.

Syntax
package mypackagename
{

}

N.B. - you will notice that when you type in package into the Flash IDE that it will be blue. This is because package is a reserved word or also known as a keyword. In a nutshell you can't use these as they belong to Flash.

Class
A class can either be part of your programming environment or custom created by you. We will be creating custom classes to bring life to our applications and leveraging the classes within Flash to drive the behavior of our objects.

A class is more or less a template for your objects in your program. You can think of a class as a blueprint created by an architect that is ultimately used by a carpenter to build a house. Once the template is made you can build and use as many objects as you want and you will be assured of their basic characteristics.

A class is defined in a package.

Rules and best practices
There must be at least one class for every Flash application. In reality you will have many more, but you must have at least one. This one class is known as your main class and this is why many programmers title it Main.as as a method of good practice.

A class name must match your ActionScript file name. So if you have a class called Main, then you must have it stored in a file called Main.as.

The Main class must be public. We will discuss the other access modifiers in more detail as we progress, but public simply means that this class can be shared by any other class in all packages for your application.

package com.timlayton.lessons
{
public class Main
{

}

}

N.B. - Notice how I indented the package and class code brackets.

Here is the video tutorial:

Tim