No book has had as much impact on my programming as Object Thinking (by David West)
Over the coming weeks, I will explore why I am convinced that “thinking like an object” will help your programming, with both practical and more philosophical posts. For this first post, I will write a quick introduction to the subject.
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Every few weeks, I come across a programming article/blog post/project/forum debate etc that gets me excited about another programming language. I maintain a list of languages I’d like to learn, a list of applications I’d like to do, a list of skills I’d like to develop.
Every so often, I ask myself if I should start learning a new programming language, and which one to pick (so many to choose from!).
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In August 2009, I started work on my first Google Android app. By mid-August, the app was finished and published on the Google Android market. This was the appeal of Google Android to me. No waiting for somebody to approve my app but let the market decide. No new programming language to learn (you use Java to program a Google Android app). Barely a price entry barrier to speak of (it costs only $25 to register as a Google Android developer).
Six months on and I’m still programming apps for Google Android, working on my 3rd paid app at the moment. I’ve got 4 free apps published (supported with ads) and 2 paid apps.
So… can you make a living programming apps for Google Android?
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There is a petition asking Google to improve on the Google Android app market and I couldn’t agree more, the market isn’t as great as it could, as it should be. Google Android in itself is great to develop for (I love the SDK) but the market, which is the interface between apps developers and apps users, is lacking for a real way for users and developers to communicate.
Additionally, the developer console only gives basic stats and I think it would help developers a lot if we had more usage data. After all, we all want to make the user experience better for all Google Android users but we can only do that if we know how users respond to a specific upgrade etc.
Read/sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/androidm/petition.html
Like many other programmers wanting to get into the smart phone market, I assumed the iPhone was the way forward. That is, until I looked into it. Back in July 2009, I decided to move my programming efforts towards the mobile phone and I explored my options.
My first research was the iPhone, then the Blackberry, then Nokia. They all seemed to be quite difficult for the solo programmer, requiring a long waiting time for approval of apps and/or a complex registration process. Then I came across Google Android. Open source. Open to all programmers. Simple and cheap registration process ($25).
Six months on, I’m still developping for Google Android and I’m trying to turn this into a full income. Over the next few months, I will be charting my progress on here. I will be adding the posts to the list below:
Choosing a web hosting package can be a bit of a headache so here’s a bunch of criteria to consider when making your decision: the location, Windows or Linux, shared or dedicated, free web host, blogging platform, and research.
The location
Many Europeans are tempted to get a web host in the USA where you can get some pretty good deals but as someone who’s had web hosting both abroad and in my own country, I can advise you to go with a web host located in your country. The customer experience you’ll get is much better, especially as their working hours will be daytime for you so you can raise an issue in the morning and have it solved within a few hours, instead of waiting for them to get in the office.
Linux or Windows?
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