Android

Xamarin utilizes the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) for debugging on physical devices, which are usually connected over usb. While this feature definitely is useful, it would sometimes be more practical if you could do this over WIFI instead. Luckily, that is possible! You can simple switch between using USB and TCP/IP for debugging. To get started, you need to connect your device via USB to the computer you’re debugging from. I’m using Windows, so the commands I’ll execute the following commands from the commandline (which runs as an administrator), but since they are adb commands, they should be the same on Linux or macOS. ...

In my new sideproject CryptoFolio, which I announced in this article, I described that I’d like to use LiteDB to locally store data that I received from the coinmarketcap-API. LiteDB is basically a NoSQL database, in particular a document store. It functions on a serverless file basis and can be accessed via a simple API. While it is quite easy to implement the databases functionality itself, testing the resulting data structure is somewhat more difficult. But to be sure that my data is saved correctly, I needed a way to explore the database located on the android device. Therefore, I use the following approach: ...

Today I would like to introduce my current side project. I’m currently developing CryptoFolio, an app that allows you to keep track of your investments in cryptocurrencies. Functionality & MVP The first release of the application will allow you to view the current rates of the top 100 cryptocurrencies with the highest market capitalization. You can then add investments, where input, output and the date of the transaction is recorded. ...

Android runs on a variety of different devices. In order to improve the way your app looks on different phones, depending on their screen size and resolution, Android offers the possibility to use different layouts for different screen sizes. This is the topic I’ll discuss in this article. Summarizing the Demo Application First of all, I would like to briefly discuss the app, the optimization of which will be discussed below. The app serves as a tool for the card game “Magic the Gathering”. While this app was my first real application for Android, this side project has evolved over time and accompanied me on the way to Android development. I maintain the sourcecode on GitHub and you can download the app via PlayStore. ...

View definitions under android are often used for many different controls. However, there is an easy way to recycle defined styles and use them for other controls, often saving a lot of code. So, styles basically allow you to move your repeatedly used styles out of the layout file into a styles.xml file (which is located in the values-folder). This article covers the basics of using styles on Android. Think of the following layout, which represents two simple buttons inside a LinearLayout: ...