2013-04-30, 18:13
Improved XBMC Android Client App
Detailed proposal on this Google Doc : https://docs.google.com/document/d/18OW0...sp=sharing
SUMMARY
For my GSoC project, I’ll work on delivering an update to the current XBMC Android app - focusing on improving the usability of the app. The re-design itself will focus on updating the user interface to blend in better within the Android platform, as well as support tablet-optimized layouts.
FOCUS
My proposal can be broken down into two parts - updating the user interface and adding some small functionality.
The new UI will follow the guidelines on the Android design site. This would mean giving it an updated look by making it more Holo-ish.
The app will also be responsive, designed to use the extra screen estate provided by tablets.
Extra features I wanted to work on are adding (launcher and lockscreen) widgets and DashClock integration.
PLAN
I’ll be starting from scratch, borrowing code from both the old repo and latest one in development.
Starting from scratch will allow me to set up the repository to be built via maven.
This will make future development easier since we can set up a continuous integration server (such as Travis-CI) to automatically verify pull requests in the future, by ensuring compilation and running tests against a build matrix.
I also want to add a checkstyle configuration to keep the code style consistent even after the end of my project.
I plan to heavily use the Fragments API to make the application layouts responsive, and use the Action Bar API to keep it consistent with the platform design.
Having the client server communication up first will allow me to keep releasing small builds that I can garner community feedback from.
For the full proposal, check out my Google Doc.
Obviously would love some feedback that I can use to improve my proposal.
A couple of questions that I do have :
1. Is linking to the Google Doc okay as a proposal or would you prefer it embedded as plain text in my application?
2. Is there any section I should expand on, or I might have missed?
3. For any mentors looking at this, I'd love to talk to you!
Detailed proposal on this Google Doc : https://docs.google.com/document/d/18OW0...sp=sharing
SUMMARY
For my GSoC project, I’ll work on delivering an update to the current XBMC Android app - focusing on improving the usability of the app. The re-design itself will focus on updating the user interface to blend in better within the Android platform, as well as support tablet-optimized layouts.
FOCUS
My proposal can be broken down into two parts - updating the user interface and adding some small functionality.
The new UI will follow the guidelines on the Android design site. This would mean giving it an updated look by making it more Holo-ish.
The app will also be responsive, designed to use the extra screen estate provided by tablets.
Extra features I wanted to work on are adding (launcher and lockscreen) widgets and DashClock integration.
PLAN
I’ll be starting from scratch, borrowing code from both the old repo and latest one in development.
Starting from scratch will allow me to set up the repository to be built via maven.
This will make future development easier since we can set up a continuous integration server (such as Travis-CI) to automatically verify pull requests in the future, by ensuring compilation and running tests against a build matrix.
I also want to add a checkstyle configuration to keep the code style consistent even after the end of my project.
I plan to heavily use the Fragments API to make the application layouts responsive, and use the Action Bar API to keep it consistent with the platform design.
Having the client server communication up first will allow me to keep releasing small builds that I can garner community feedback from.
For the full proposal, check out my Google Doc.
Obviously would love some feedback that I can use to improve my proposal.
A couple of questions that I do have :
1. Is linking to the Google Doc okay as a proposal or would you prefer it embedded as plain text in my application?
2. Is there any section I should expand on, or I might have missed?
3. For any mentors looking at this, I'd love to talk to you!