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An iOS Developer Takes on Android

nfarina.com

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Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#81

Post by rimantas »

scottjad wrote: post #77

> Apple has made it pretty easy to start writing iOS apps. Of course, Step One is “Buy a Mac.” Easy! Then just download the free Xcode Installer from the Mac App Store, and start writing code when it’s done. > Android is a bit more involved. You can download the SDK easily, but to actually start writing code, you’ll want to setup Eclipse and install Google’s ADT Plugin. Buying and setting up a new computer is "Easy!"…

You don't need to sing up for develper program to start hacking for iOS. But if you want to run your code on real device or make it available in App Store you will have to do that. Setting up new Mac is really that easy. You can just launch Mac App Store application, press a button to download Xcode and when it's done lauch the installer.

Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#82

Post by bad_user »

If you're starting Android development, just save yourself the pain and just use the IntelliJ IDEA community edition.

The Android plugin included doesn't have fancy UI stuff, like for designing interfaces or visually editing the XML configuration files, but it does have code-completion of XML tags and properties and it works better as a code editor, being less painful.

Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#84

Post by nfarina »

scottjad wrote: post #77

> Apple has made it pretty easy to start writing iOS apps. Of course, Step One is “Buy a Mac.” Easy! Then just download the free Xcode Installer from the Mac App Store, and start writing code when it’s done. > Android is a bit more involved. You can download the SDK easily, but to actually start writing code, you’ll want to setup Eclipse and install Google’s ADT Plugin. Buying and setting up a new computer is "Easy!"…

My sarcasm may have been too subtle there; I definitely think it's a bummer that you have to own a Mac to develop for iOS.

Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#85

Post by FaceKicker »

qeorge wrote: post #28
flyosity wrote: post #2

As an iOS developer, this is probably the best comparison between iOS and Android development that I've read. I'm pretty scared of Eclipse and the slow-as-hell emulator doesn't sound fun, but coding layouts that don't involve lots of "how tall is this text for this given width?" calculations is a welcome addition.

I jumped into Android development about a month ago, and after a slow start its really been fun. I hated Eclipse at first, but it gets a lot better with time. The emulator though - don't bother. The author is not exaggerating about several minutes to load. Just buy an Android phone and debug on that, or you'll spend more time cursing at the emulator than coding.

I've found that booting the emulator does take a minute or two (I don't know about "several", but that's besides the point), but you don't have to restart every time you make a change or anything. It's just a once-per-session thing unless you accidentally close it.

Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#86

Post by to3m »

tomjen3 wrote: post #69
gmac wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, the attitude is refreshing. Nice quote: Java is a high level programming language. It’s unproductive to have an opinion about it.

Depends -- with that attitude we would still have assembler.

That's a fair point, but if your goal is to create something that people will pay for, targeting a popular platform with an infrastructure based around Java, what will having an opinion about Java buy you? Very little. You can like it, or you can not like it, but you'll have to use it anyway, so your time would be better spent thinking about something other than how much you like it or (as is probably more likely...) not.

Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#87

Post by discreteevent »

gmac wrote: post #25
ThomPete wrote: post #17

What a wonderful approach to development. Skip the ideological critiquing and start shipping some awesome products.. I guess that is really what separates the great developer from the good developer.

Agreed, the attitude is refreshing. Nice quote: Java is a high level programming language. It’s unproductive to have an opinion about it.

Indeed. There is a fine line between sharpening the saw and procrastination. What usually clears it up is drive. It would be handy to have a ghost from our grandparents generation at our shoulder when we are about to go off on another whinge about an imperfect world who says "Get on with it!"

Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#88

Post by juliano_q »

Thanks for this article it just made me feel happy. I so tired of flame wars regarding IOS x Android that I barely read Engadget anymore. Many people dont understand why I have a Macbook, an Android phone and an iPod, looks like you MUST took a side and be an evangelist.

Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#89

Post by masklinn »

stonemetal wrote: post #58
masklinn wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Another smaller issue would be that the Android emulator is basically running "ARM hardware" on top of x86 Uh... no shit? That's exactly what the "emulator" part of "ARM emulator" means. > it's not just a fake simulator like the one for iOS It's not a fake simulator, it's a simulator period. There's nothing fake about it.

Note what you quoted. He said Android emulator this could be emulating just the OS portion of Android with a jvm that targets x86. Instead they ship an actual ARM emulator and do not emulate Android. From what I understand of iOS development they do it the other way. They compile to x86 and emulate the iOS system calls. They don't emulate an ARM and run the real iOS on it. Therefore the Apple way is a little fake, it…

> He said Android emulator this could be emulating just the OS portion of Android with a jvm that targets x86.

That's exactly what the iOS simulator does. It would not be an emulator in that case. It would be a simulator. Like the iOS simulator.

> From what I understand of iOS development they do it the other way. They compile to x86 and emulate the iOS system calls. They don't emulate an ARM and run the real iOS on it.

Hence being a simulator.

> Therefore the Apple way is a little fake, it is possible for behavior to differ between emulated iOS and real iOS.

It's not fake, it's a simulator. That's the whole point, and that's why it's called "simulator" not "emulator".

Re: An iOS Developer Takes on Android

#90

Post by masklinn »

stonemetal wrote: post #59
jrbj wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are people down-voting this parent? The iOS Simulator is specifically refereed to as a simulator NOT an emulator. It simulates the iOS on top of OS X and makes no attempt to be an emulator. It is a decent simulator.

My guess is people are down voting for tone, and the fact that he didn't even read what he quoted.

> and the fact that he didn't even read what he quoted.

Of course I did. An Android emulator can only mean Android running on top of an ARM emulator, otherwise it's a simulator (like the iOS simulator). Emulators are always about hardware unless otherwise specified.

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