Technical difficulties

2024-04-012024-04-01

warning: [deprecation] getColor(int) in Resources has been deprecated

Reference:

https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/res/Resources#getColor(int)https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/res/Resources#getColor(int)

This method is deprecated from API level 23, so you can safely manage this situation with:

int MyColor=0;
if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 23) // the new version of the API
     myColor = getResources()
        .getColor(
            R.color.primaryColor, 
            getActivity.getTheme()
        )
     );
else  // the old version of the API
    myColor = getResources()
        .getColor(R.color.primaryColor));

2024-04-012024-04-04

warning: [deprecation] getInstallerPackageName(String) in PackageManager has been deprecated

Reference: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/pm/PackageManager#getInstallerPackageName(java.lang.String)

This Method is deprecated from API level 30, so you can safely manage this situation with:

if (Build.VERSION.SDK_INT >= 30) {

    InstallSourceInfo isi = getContext()
        .getPackageManager()
        .getInstallSourceInfo(getContext()
        .getPackageName());

    // now, with an InstallSourceInfo object, you have access to three useful methods

    String initiating = isi.getInitiatingPackageName();
    String installing = isi.getInstallingPackageName();
    String originating = isi.getOriginatingPackageName();

} else { // continue to use the old version API

    String installerPackageName = getContext()
        .getPackageManager()
        .getInstallerPackageName(
            getContext().getPackageName()
        );
}

getInitiatingPackageName returns the name of the package that requested the installation, or null if not available. This is normally the same as the old getInstallerPackageName.

2020-12-132021-09-19

Adaptive banner: deprecation in computation

Adaptive banner: the actual implementation

In Google developers article where it explain how to create an adaptive banner, the showing code appears to be obsolete and some deprecation appears:

private AdSize getAdSize() {
    // Step 2 - Determine the screen width (less decorations) to use for the ad width.
    Display display = getWindowManager().getDefaultDisplay();
    DisplayMetrics outMetrics = new DisplayMetrics();
    display.getMetrics(outMetrics);

    float widthPixels = outMetrics.widthPixels;
    float density = outMetrics.density;

    int adWidth = (int) (widthPixels / density);

    // Step 3 - Get adaptive ad size and return for setting on the ad view.
    return AdSize.getCurrentOrientationAnchoredAdaptiveBannerAdSize(this, adWidth);
  }

2020-12-132021-09-19

Updates in your app: Support in-app updates

Google has added support for in-app updates, this is a new feature introduced in Play Core Library 1.5.0 (as of now is in 1.9.0).

Here is how can be implemented summarily and now we will see a very minimal practical example of Immediate update.

2020-12-072020-12-14

COVID stats

A new android app for statistics about COVID in the world. By nation, state, region and city.
Download HERE the apk.

2020-10-262021-09-19

In the last years working with multitasking on Android was a bit tricky but after a lot of study I have worked out this. The playground was full of scattered objects with a high learning curve and with one only exit: abandon all frameworks and pass on base objects.

At the end of the study, all limits to one and only simple object on which to build all you personal framework: the Thread object.

2020-10-262021-09-19

Request Permission with new API

Before June 2020 the request permission at runtime happened through requestPermission() and requestPermissionResult(). After that date the things are become a bit tricky. Requesting a permission has been inglobated in a more general way of “Getting a result from an activity” by “Registering a callback for an activity result”. Here are the documents: Getting a result from an activity.

2020-09-292020-12-14

Android Studio: Cannot resolve ‘method’ and other strange odd behaviours

Scenario: You are working on the same Android Studio project on multiple computers, carrying the essential files on a pen drive, or on the cloud or whatever you want. Open the project and mysteriously some methods (more than one surely) aren’t recognized anymore, or some classes, or just variables. But the project compiles and runs fine!!! Syncing/building don’t resolve this thing.

2020-09-272020-12-14

Outlook: start an application with a trigger (rule)

The problem:

Recently Microsoft has removed this option for security reasons with this update: May 2, 2017, update for Outlook 2016 (KB3191883) but luckily we can restore it with a simple registry hack. Before this update we can create a new Rule for the inbox mail in which specify that if a mail meets certain criteria (sender, subject, …) than Outlook can start an application on our computer (simple, without parameters, I think….).