The UIImagePickerController class has been the developer’s best friend and worst enemy since it’s introduction into the iPhone SDK in iOS 2.0. For those who have not used it, this class provides a way for an application to have the user select and return an image, whether it be existing from the device’s library or [...]
Aug
18
2010
A Short Note About Modal Presentation
One of the most common design patterns used to transition from one view to another in iOS is the use of the modalViewController property of UIViewController. New views are presented using the presentModalViewController:animated: method, and dismissed using the dismissModalViewControllerAnimated: method. Presenting a new view as a modal view does a number of things that are [...]
Aug
12
2010
Adapting to Empty Views
Android has a pretty flexible framework for displaying data from a database, array, or other list structure using classes called Adapters. There are plenty of great tutorials in the Android docs and throughout the web on how to use adapters to create custom behavior for display this data, so I’m going to focus on it’s [...]
Jun
13
2010
9-Patches Explained
One of Android’s most well-known points to consider in application development is the requirement to support a variety of different screen sizes and orientations in an application. The SDK is full of documentation and tools on how to help the developer best accomplish this goal; one of these tools is the 9-Patch creator. The 9-Patch [...]
Apr
21
2010
Android Layout Relationships
Developing UI layouts for Android is an experience unlike any other. I have developed for both desktop and mobile on a variety of platforms, and the XML structure that Android uses is quite unique. This can bring with it some issues and challenges as it runs contrary to the way many people think about designing [...]
Apr
12
2010
Android Lifecycle Callbacks
I hear people say a lot that the lifecycle callback functions in an Android Activity are confusing. Their names address the events that can occur from a memory management perspective, but they don’t directly address things that the developer really pays attention to. Things like “when is the view done loading into memory?” and “when [...]
Mar
31
2010
Striking the Balance: Interface Builder vs. Code
In my last post here, I touched a little on the need for a balance between building user interfaces in code and using IDE tools like Interface Builder. Today I would like to develop the importance of that concept a little further. People tend to become comfortable with one method or the other after they’ve [...]
Mar
18
2010
UIScrollView has a Secret
Sometimes, it’s not always clear in iPhone development when one should create their interface elements using Apple’s Interface Builder (IB) application, or directly in application code. Oftentimes, with more complex view issues, the answer tends to be a combination of both. When doing this, however, it is not uncommon for little traps to come out [...]
Mar
06
2010
Editorial: Your Reviews May Be Hurting You
Normally, I target developers in my posts, but today I had a special message that I wanted to send out to the user community. I’ve noticed a trend over the past year that troubles me some about the way users are using their reviewing power in places like the App Store or the Android Market. [...]
Mar
04
2010
App Released: Ohm’s Best
Today Wireless Designs released Ohm’s Best for the iPhone, available for download on the App Store. Ohm’s Best is an electronics calculator application that allows electronics technicians and electrical engineers to do circuit calculations using real component values that one can actually find and purchase. This functionality puts reduced design time and frustration right into [...]