OSMstudios - Android Development Central

(3/21/2009 5:11:56 PM) Dawson:
I've fixed all of the crashes I found in Andvestigate. One especially interesting bug filled my entire sdcard with empty directories. I've corrected the problem but have had all sorts of problems fixing my sdcard. When I Googled the problem all I got was a ton of complicated, dangerous, or expensive solutions. I know I'm not the first person with "Path too Long" problems so I'm writing my own C++ application to deal with the problem.

(3/17/2009 8:25:16 PM) Dawson:
I've been walking through bug and funny behavior problems one by one correcting them as I go. I'm aiming for a March 22^nd Alpha release with a Beta release following in two weeks.

Oh, one cool new feature: copy, cut, and paste operations now run on their own thread ensuring the application won't hang and that you can continue to use it while pasting.

(3/14/2009 2:51:20 AM) DLH:
We have a build of Andvestigate running on Dawson's G1. Dawson implemented a simple bookmarks system, and I fixed a small bug. We nearly released a version to the public today, but I found some quirks that needed to be ironed out first. For example, if you copy a directory, Andvestigate pastes it as a file. When we get quirks like these worked out, we can post a working build for the public. Then we will start refining and improving some features.

(3/3/2009 9:03:51 PM) Dawson:
I am fully aware that is post is outright horrific, but I'm going through with it anyway.

DLH and I are fast-tracking Andvestigate to completion. That means that a lot of our hopes for the application will not come to fruition.

It's not all bad. Andvestigate will still hit the market as the best Android file manager available, but it will lack SMS and MMS backup, file allotment mapping, and MMS data saving. There are handy freeware applications already available to complete these tasks.

Expect to see Andvestigate on Google Marketplace soon!

(1/6/2009 8:27:44 PM) Dawson: DLH added sorting to the directory and file listings. I fixed another problem with our checkboxes fighting for dominance with our ListItems.

(12/31/2008 1:39:43 AM) DLH:
I've been working on the visual behavior for the buttons in the toolbar. The problem with the ImageButton in Android is that if you take away the default button background, you lose all of the visual changes when the button is clicked on or gains focus.

For example, with the default background, a button will turn orange when you click on it. Without the default background, the button just looks the same no matter what kinda crap you do to it. This is especially troublesome if you're using the d-pad and you need to know which button has focus.

To combat this, I used a series of event listeners to change the background of the button based on events such as touch, focus, and keypress. With the right combination of listeners, the behavior of the default button background can be mimicked accurately.

(12/26/2008 3:24:03 AM) Dawson: I am happy to announce that all of Andvestigate's basic features are now fully functional. You can cut, copy, and paste multiple files at once.

(12/25/2008 10:31:57 PM) DLH: After a few days of inactivity, I added a Paste button to the toolbar.

(12/20/2008 9:09:47 PM) DLH: I've finished folder and file icons, and I made a parent directory button (although I'm not sure if it will be used). I'm now working on copy/cut/paste buttons.

(12/17/2008 10:52:24 PM) DLH:
I've been working on graphics and layout things. We're gonna have a row of buttons across the top for things such as cut/copy/paste, delete, bookmarks, and a parent directory button.

Dawson and I are also hard at work trying to figure out multiple file selection. My idea was that we could put checkboxes next to each file or directory in the list so that multiple items could be selected, and operations (like cut/copy/paste and delete) could be performed on all of them. The problem is that the checkboxes mess up the click events for the items in the list, so clicking anywhere other than a checkbox does nothing at all!

(12/16/2008 12:07:35 AM) Dawson:
I just built Andvestigate for the first time! So far, you can view all the files in one directory. DLH is busy creating icons and working on the interface. So now I'm going to kick back and chill with a nice cup of cocoa while DLH works tirelessly. Don't pity him though, the fact is, once he's done with his coding I'm going to yell at him for doing it all wrong and rewrite it myself.

(12/14/2008 10:06:52 PM) Dawson: OK! We finally got Unfuddle working after exchanging several emails with their support team. I highly recommend them! They gave me quick responses even at late evening.

(12/13/2008 9:05:00 PM) DLH: Both Dawson and I are getting "Repository read access denied" errors. Maybe a problem with Unfuddle? Everything seems okay on our end.

(12/13/2008 8:15:11 PM) Dawson:
Ok, we've had a lot of trouble getting remote source control to work. We're using Git and hosting at Unfuddle. Their free hosting package is pretty slick and perfectly suited to helping DLH and I, but so far we've had some trouble authenticating on their servers.

Work on our file manager, codenamed Andvestigate, goes on. We're planning a lot of things to set it apart from the average file management system on the Android Market. Features Include:

File Allotment Map
SMS and MMS Backup

(12/13/2008 3:19:40 AM) DLH: This is a rare occurrence - a system that's easier to set up in Linux than it is in Windows.

(12/12/2008 2:16:13 AM) DLH:
I made the mistake of telling Richard Stallman that I didn't think Andvestigate would be released under the GPL. I narrowly avoided getting my arm cut off by a katana!

(12/12/2008 2:11:32 AM) DLH: We have begun project Andvestigate!!

(12/12/2008 1:41:48 AM) Dawson: OK! I am now talking with DLH on our first project. We're trying to improve the overdone Android File Manager.

(12/12/2008 12:24:17 AM) DLH: Android development will hopefully begin soon. The team is waiting for me to get my lazy ass in gear and finish some Android tutorials. Then the genius juices can flow freely.