Author: Nic Raboy

Manually Update Your Nexus Device To Android 5.0 Lollipop

November 12, 2014 Nic Raboy

So Google’s big Android 5.0 release is finally here after a week of delays. Android 5.0 Lollipop is now officially rolling out to the Nexus line devices. However, the roll-out is in batches so it could be as long as three weeks before you get your over-the-air (OTA) update.

If you’re impatient like I am, you’re going to want to manually install the update rather than wait for it to show up in a device update.

The following will get a factory Android 5.0 Lollipop image installed on your Nexus device in minutes.

Playing Audio In Your Android And iOS Ionic Framework App

November 11, 2014 Nic Raboy

One of my Twitter followers recently asked me to do a post regarding audio and Ionic Framework. Being the fiddler that I am, I decided to meet this request.

Using Ionic Framework, the Apache Cordova Media plugin, and ngCordova, we are going to make a very simple application with basic media controls.

Use MavensMate with Sublime Text for Apex Development

November 8, 2014 Nic Raboy

After attending the Dreamforce conference for Salesforce development, I thought I’d share how to develop in Apex using Sublime Text rather than Eclipse.

If you’re familiar with my development styles, you know that I am very against using IDE applications because of their sluggishness. Everyone will have their own opinions, but I much prefer Sublime Text over Eclipse for all development. Lucky for us, there is an awesome package for us called MavensMate, that lets us do Apex coding directly in Sublime Text.

Use SQLite Instead of Local Storage In Ionic Framework

November 5, 2014 Nic Raboy

Switching to object-based data storage can often be tough. If you’re trying to start Phonegap or Ionic Framework development and are coming from native development, the whole local storage concept can be a tough one to grasp. Or maybe you just prefer a structured query language (SQL) when working with your data.

Not to worry, because there is a plugin for that!

Making use of the Cordova SQLite plugin by Chris Brody, you can use a SQLite data source for managing your data in Android and iOS. Pair this with ngCordova and you can better compliment your Ionic Framework development with an AngularJS experience.

If you’re using Ionic 2, you should check out this tutorial instead.

Find The Application Version In Your Ionic Framework App

November 2, 2014 Nic Raboy

If you’re like me, you want your users to know which version of your mobile application they are using. Nothing like feeling several generations behind without even knowing it. There are other benefits to knowing your application version. For example, maybe you need to upgrade legacy data when people upgrade between versions of your application. You can’t assume your users will be upgrading from the latest version of your application.

Now you can always hard-code the application version throughout your application and hope you remember to change it upon a new release, or you can make use of the nifty Apache Cordova plugin from White October.

My current favorite Apache Cordova framework is Ionic, so we’ll be configuring based on that. However, it is not difficult to use this information with Phonegap.

Updating Apache Cordova Platform To Latest Version

October 31, 2014 Nic Raboy

If you’re like me, you’ve been developing applications with Apache Cordova or Ionic Framework for a while now. Long enough to have received an email from Google Play stating that they are going to remove your application if you don’t update your published application to a more secure version of Apache Cordova.

Apache Cordova announcement:

Security issues were discovered in the Android platform of Cordova. We are releasing version 3.5.1 of Cordova Android to address these security issues. We recommend that all Android applications built using Cordova be upgraded to use version 3.5.1 of Cordova Android. Other Cordova platforms such as iOS are unaffected, and do not have an update.

So how does one go about fixing something like this? A security flaw like this isn’t the first and it probably won’t be the last.

Ionic Creator WYSIWYG Editor for Ionic Framework Apps

October 28, 2014 Nic Raboy

Recently I met with the guys at Drifty, the creators of Ionic Framework, and they hooked me up with a beta invite to Ionic Creator.

In short, Ionic Creator is a what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) editor for Ionic Framework cross platform Android and iOS mobile applications. It is like the Dreamweaver of mobile application development.