what is the way to develop mobile apps (android would be a good start) on freebsd?

hern42

hern42

dear all,
i perused the forum and handbook in search of a thread about using *android studio* but failed to find something recent, do not hesitate to let me know if i missed it.
it seemed people used the linux compatibility layer but an often read sentence was "not impossible but a massive pain".

is there anyone with experience in developing application for mobile phone here? maybe the way is not to go native and do a trick like starting a local we-bserver on the phone and doing some web assembly or something?
bit of context: it's probably gonna be to help students code some little apps/games, my previous experience is that if you let them show to their friends and family their achievements it's nice for them and they get motivated, hard to do with a terminal running game of tic-tac-toe on a raspberry pi ;)

best,
yrs trly,
a-
 
Depending upon what happens in the next year you may want to abandon having ANYTHING to do with android. They recently announced plans to lock-down app installation similar to the way apple IOS does, all apps must be from a verified source. This means you have to give up your privacy and REGISTER with google for the privilege of designing signed apps that can be loaded on android devices. I've already decided that when they roll this out I'm going back to a flip phone and will never have use an android again. I mean the first thing I do with a new device is disable most of the google spyware apps and download FOSS equivalents from a 3rd party APK site...This is a move by google to prohibit exactly what I'm doing.
 
kent_dorfman766 said:
Depending upon what happens in the next year you may want to abandon having ANYTHING to do with android. They recently announced plans to lock-down app installation similar to the way apple IOS does, all apps must be from a verified source. This means you have to give up your privacy and REGISTER with google for the privilege of designing signed apps that can be loaded on android devices. I've already decided that when they roll this out I'm going back to a flip phone and will never have use an android again. I mean the first thing I do with a new device is disable most of the google spyware apps and download FOSS equivalents from a 3rd party APK site...This is a move by google to prohibit exactly what I'm doing.
Click to expand...
that is indeed an issue.
i heard about it and it worried me.
however, some people are less picky about that than we are and i may have to develop some apps anyhow (i also had to make bling bling excel sheets/shits sometimes, over my dead body...)
maybe the best way is to make a local webserver and do a python django or whatever web thingy. i'm still in the process of looking around.
 
While my host is FreeBSD I develop Android apps by running a Linux VM using Bhyve. I don't use Android Studio as it's too bloated and just run Emacs with various plugins. I just install the Android command line tools and Flutter.
 
maxwell79 said:
While my host is FreeBSD I develop Android apps by running a Linux VM using Bhyve. I don't use Android Studio as it's too bloated and just run Emacs with various plugins. I just install the Android command line tools and Flutter.
Click to expand...
So far I've just been doing http/cgi/REST stuff to integrate my phone into my projects. Can you suggest a comprehensive tutorial or wiki that teach how to do a complete android project WITHOUT relying upon android studio? I mean just reading the word "gradle" is enough to make me grind my teeth and run away screaming.
 
kent_dorfman766 said:
I mean just reading the word "gradle" is enough to make me grind my teeth and run away screaming.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure about actually building full-fledged GUI apps, but when building a desktop project with gradle I could build it just from a script:

Code: 
JAVA_HOME='/usr/local/openjdk8' ~/'Projects/RT4-Client/src/gradlew' 'jar' --no-daemon

I'm thinking if an app is developed in text files, and could be GUI-tested in something like Waydroid on the same host, I wonder if generating a binary could also be done with gradle command-line and not have an IDE?
 
kent_dorfman766 said:
This is a move by google to prohibit exactly what I'm doing.
Click to expand...
Meh, I've ran base LineageOS no Gapps for years relatively smoothly! Google's restrictions motivated me to figure out ways to not have em.

I had Pokemon GO and Ingress running in microG a while back, but that eventually stopped working due to Google-side SafetyNet changes:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XMZArEMqIQ


I liked running microG like that but still didn't like the Google reliance; it's mainly their device-side permissions (stuff like Play Store having default screen-on, read screen, priority notifications), that basically comes down to them not trusting my device. I trust my device :p

I just tried postmarketOS but found it unstable for daily use; I'm back on LineageOS no Google-apps, F-Droid basic (don't need full extras), OsmAnd for maps, and my phone streaming music occasionally from VLC. Google's extras are mainly easier app installs/updates (to an extent because of no strong-integrity), at the cost of higher battery drain and entertaining invasive device-wide permissions. I don't trust Google's permissions, they don't trust my device; I trust my device and roll my own set-up :p
 
Espionage724 said:
Meh, I've ran base LineageOS no Gapps for years relatively smoothly! Google's restrictions motivated me to figure out ways to not have em.

I had Pokemon GO and Ingress running in microG a while back, but that eventually stopped working due to Google-side SafetyNet changes:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XMZArEMqIQ


I liked running microG like that but still didn't like the Google reliance; it's mainly their device-side permissions (stuff like Play Store having default screen-on, read screen, priority notifications), that basically comes down to them not trusting my device. I trust my device :p

I just tried postmarketOS but found it unstable for daily use; I'm back on LineageOS no Google-apps, F-Droid basic (don't need full extras), OsmAnd for maps, and my phone streaming music occasionally from VLC. Google's extras are mainly easier app installs/updates (to an extent because of no strong-integrity), at the cost of higher battery drain and entertaining invasive device-wide permissions. I don't trust Google's permissions, they don't trust my device; I trust my device and roll my own set-up :p
Click to expand...

You guys make it sound like FOSS OS exists for mobile phones, when in fact it's not a viable solution for most people since the USA largest carrier (Verizon) has a policy of only selling phones with locked bootloaders so you CANNOT get a custom OS/ROM onto them...and buying phones third party is a risky concept because there is no guarantee the particular phone you purchase will work on the target carrier network. And the (help) offered by folks outside the USA is often well meant but meaningless because their tech/rules are different than here. ie EU rules and GSM phones.
 
maxwell79 said:
While my host is FreeBSD I develop Android apps by running a Linux VM using Bhyve. I don't use Android Studio as it's too bloated and just run Emacs with various plugins. I just install the Android command line tools and Flutter.
Click to expand...

Tell us more. This sounds interesting.
 
kent_dorfman766 said:
You guys make it sound like FOSS OS exists for mobile phones, when in fact it's not a viable solution for most people since the USA largest carrier (Verizon) has a policy of only selling phones with locked bootloaders so you CANNOT get a custom OS/ROM onto them...and buying phones third party is a risky concept because there is no guarantee the particular phone you purchase will work on the target carrier network. And the (help) offered by folks outside the USA is often well meant but meaningless because their tech/rules are different than here. ie EU rules and GSM phones.
Click to expand...

Verizon sucks anyway. And if you buy a non-carrier bound Pixel phone it will work everywhere.
 
For Android, I recommend using Emscripten/C++ and deploying via web browser and WebAssembly. The platform is becoming so locked down so that is probably the best solution for the future too. As a bonus, the same program will work on iOS too.

Then, if someone really offers you a good price for the work, it isn't too impossible to port the code to AndroidNDK/C++ at a later date.
 
drhowarddrfine said:
I like Verizon. Have had it for years and traveled all over from Europe to Hawaii.

One of my sons has ATT due to work. Now that sucks.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, AT&T. Hah.

I'm mostly upset at Verizon because they sent some salesperson to my home unrequested last week. They have questionable business ethics, even though it improved a lot since they separated from Vodaphone.
 
cracauer@ said:
Oh yeah, AT&T. Hah.

I'm mostly upset at Verizon because they sent some salesperson to my home unrequested last week. They have questionable business ethics, even though it improved a lot since they separated from Vodaphone.
Click to expand...
Verizon itself isn't that bad, but the sales and tech support at Verizon are so terrible that the service itself is almost unsuable to many
 
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