Changing Android Project Package Name in Eclipse

Being a beginner Android developer, I made the silly mistake of naming my first application package android.something. The market will not let you upload a package that has the android. for the first keyword, which makes sense because that package name is reserved for android internal applications. I hope you haven't made the same mistake, but if you need to change the package name, turns out its not as trivial as it should be.

First off - What a pain in the ass. This has delayed the release of my application by at least two days, and taken probably about 3 or 4 hours in total. In the next post, I am going to publish the steps that I went through and hopefully save someone some valuable time.

Beginning Android Development - Hello World! What next?

So you decided to delve into Android Development. Welcome to the foray. The best place for a beginning developer to test the water is definitely the Official Dev Guide, if you haven't checked that out go look at the documentation. Now back to me.

Hopefully you decided to write Android applications because you have an idea for an amazing app. If your first ideas are anything like my first ideas, they consist of creating massively multiplayer RPG with real life data simulation where you could fight monsters with your facebook friend contact list, with a dynamic real time networking protocol where you create your own API framework for other games to use and work with your data. In other words, your first ideas are way too complex.

While you maybe on to a ground breaking application, it will definitely take more skill to develop than you have today. The problem with this is, because you are learning so much and trying to get your product out the door, you leave yourself susceptible to burnout; never actually completing anything because you bit off way more than you could chew. Don't get me wrong, some developers do start out huge, swing for the fences and hit a home run. But the majority of us beginners will either strike out or never walk up to the plate at all.

My advice - keep that grand idea that was so good it inspired you take on learning android, and store in the ol' idea bank for when you are fully prepared to execute it. Start out with something simple, something that you think addresses a real problem that a mobile device can handle.

My first application after "Hello World" is a dice simulator application. Something that I knew I could work on that addresses a real problem, not a very prominent problem, but a real problem none the less. Its something I can wrap my mind around and will give me a great introduction to the API. I have some great ideas in the pipe, but you gotta lay the foundation before you build the pantheon.

A blog post about blogging...

So this is it. The first post. I've made my decision. I'm going to start blogging on my escapades into developing mobile applications for Android.

For two reasons really, one reason being that I think its a great way to take the time and reflect upon things that you learn throughout your endeavor, and I believe that this reflection and critical thinking are key to success. The second reason being that hopefully through this blog I can help some other dev solve the same problem that I ran into, as I have been helped so many times already in my short exposure to Android development. Hopefully I will save someone precious hours of banging their head against their keyboard trying to solve the same problem that I did, but explain it in a way that they gain the same amount of knowledge - without the brain damage.

I must admit, this does have some selfish merits as well, because when you attempt to explain, instruct or pass on knowledge, you really have to know what you are talking about. Talking out loud, explaining an idea or concept to someone or something, can really shed perspective light on your own methods and ideas towards a subject. And perspective is good all around.

So there you have it, some reasons why I am deciding to write this post. A blog post about blogging you could say. Right now I'm interning and working on my android projects a few hours a week, so the posts will come slow - but they are coming.