Install Android And Telerik NativeScript In Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu Linux is one heck of an operating system. It is fast, visually appealing, and it is great for development. Previously I wrote about how to install Ionic Framework and all the required dependencies for development in Ubuntu, but this time we’re going to look at how to do the same for Telerik NativeScript.

We’re going to review a series of shell commands that will get the Java Development Kit (JDK), the Node Package Manager (NPM), the Android SDK, and Telerik NativeScript up and running in no time.

TPDP Episode #2: Picking the Right Mobile Development Technology for Your Needs

In this episode of The Polyglot Developer Podcast I discuss the differences between native and hybrid mobile application development and my experience in both. Episode #2: Picking the Right Mobile Development Technology for Your Needs covers quite a bit and is broken into the following four sections:

1. My background as a mobile application developer
2. What is native mobile application development
3. What is hybrid mobile application development
4. How do you choose between the two types of mobile application development

This podcast episode is heavily based on my opinion, but I try to keep it honest based on my experience as a developer.

Fill Empty Space With UI Elements Using The NativeScript GridLayout

So recently I found myself needing to create a screen in a NativeScript Android and iOS app that had a ListView that sat below, or above, a Label UI element. The problem I faced was that there were issues with element sizing. On my first attempt I ended up with a Label and ListView that only took up a small portion of the screen, when I wanted the ListView to take up all remaining space. This is where the GridLayout comes in with its ability to have custom row and column sizing.

Using a GridLayout you can specify how rows and columns are fit around the screen.

Use The Android Palette Class With NativeScript

I’m a big fan of Material Design, the ripple (ink) effect and the use of color are my favorites. According to the Material Design spec in regards to color:

Color in material design is inspired by bold hues juxtaposed with muted environments, deep shadows, and bright highlights. Material takes cues from contemporary architecture, road signs, pavement marking tape, and athletic courts. Color should be unexpected and vibrant.

The other day I wanted to change the action bar color to style with a user’s profile picture. Since there is no way to guess what color the picture is going to be, the Palette class and its methods to extract colors from the image were exactly what I needed.

Use Font Awesome Glyph Icons With NativeScript

If you’re like me, you’re terrible when it comes to design and that includes graphic design. Creating icons throughout an app can be a rough process, not just from a creativity perspective, but also from the perspective of displaying these icons on various screen sizes and resolutions. Web developers have it easy with the incredibly useful Font Awesome glyph icon package. The thing is, it isn’t just web developers that can make use of Font Awesome.

It is very easy to include Font Awesome in your Telerik NativeScript mobile application. I already demonstrated using these glyph icons in an Ionic Framework, React Native, and even a native Android application. Now it’s time to do it with NativeScript.

Create A Toast Notification In Android With NativeScript

Toast notifications are a common thing in Android applications. They are convenient because you can display a message to a user and have it disappear shortly after without blocking any of the UI that might exist within the application. I already demonstrated how to display these notifications in an Ionic Framework application, but this time I’m changing gears to explain how it is done using Telerik NativeScript.

I wanted to start off by saying that I was inspired to write this article after reading Brad Martin’s post regarding the Snackbar notification in NativeScript. Both are common and useful ways to display notifications in mobile apps.

Find The Application Version In Your NativeScript App

With all the buzz around NativeScript, I figured it was about time that I demonstrate how to access native features of a device without the use of any plugins. To start off slow I decided it might be convenient to see how to obtain the application version number and display it within the application.

To be clear, there are plugins to do all this for you, but the point I’m trying to prove is how easy it is to access core features of iOS and Android with limited knowledge of both.