http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 3:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Aug 11th 2008 6:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 3:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 4:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 4:29PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/
Learning a new framework is hard.

Learning a new framework without good documentation is frustrating.

Learning a new framework that is buggy without good documentation is demoralizing.

Hopefully this negative exposure will help google get it together.]]>Dec 19th 2007 5:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/
The documentation isn't *that* bad (but it isn't good either). But couple that with the fact that it isn't obvious how to accomplish even basic tasks due to really weird (or just different) naming conventions and it does make for quite the frustrating experience.

I wrote a couple of basic apps (just to see how the platform looked/worked) and it was very underwhelming. I imagine that big companies that can get directly in touch with core developers will be able to make great applications. But us hobbyist programmers don't stand a chance...which is interesting since that is where Google earmarked money.]]>Dec 20th 2007 11:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 4:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/
The SDK is geared towards encouraging QVGA apps, and discouraging anything with higher than QVGA resolution (which is half the resolution of iPhone).

If they don't launch with higher than QVGA phones and applications (ideally VGA or WVGA) I guarantee Android will fail.
]]>Dec 19th 2007 4:23PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/OWNED! Anyways I myself would doubt if google would release an SDK with only QVGA support. It's not that hard to have a configurable screen resolution. Even J2ME kit has multiple profiles you can use to develop your app. Since Android is based on java, I see no reason why it can't do the same. The only reason why they might have QVGA/sub-QVGA as a default profile is because that is still the most popular resolution for a vast majority of form factors. And why wouldn't they offer phones at VGA or WVGA if it is commercially viable. The ultimate goal of phone manufacturers are to make money.]]>Dec 19th 2007 8:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/You are aware that you can change the simulator to HVGA mode right? And that all the hardware prototypes of HVGA as well?
Sure sounds like they don't want you to use HVGA ....
]]>Dec 19th 2007 10:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 4:22PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 7:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 4:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/]]>Dec 19th 2007 4:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://launchpad.net)? Ubuntu uses it and it is an excellent tool for issue tracking and emhancement discussion.

C'mon Google, you're Google for cryin' out loud. You hire geniuses to do crap like this.]]>Dec 19th 2007 5:06PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 7:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/
Someone stick their finger on the leak in the wall.. I feel a flood of bad product on the way.]]>Dec 19th 2007 6:24PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 7:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 19th 2007 8:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/
To be fair, I have not seen the documentation myself, as I have no plans to develop for Android. But having done a bit of software development, I know SEs aren't always the best with words that are not "if" or "then."]]>Dec 19th 2007 9:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/
It will be interesting to see how Google does with Android. Will everyone flock to it because its "open" even if it sucks?]]>Dec 19th 2007 10:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 20th 2007 3:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/]]>Dec 20th 2007 10:38AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/19/android-dsk-frustrating-developers-due-to-bugs-lack-of-document/Dec 20th 2007 2:52PM