The application name is WhatNext. It is a simple tool to help you do "single tasking". The idea comes the first time when I played nodejs, tried to wrap my brain around its single-threading and event-driven model. Then I started thinking about applying this idea to how I handle things before I found out that people outside technology circle calls it "single tasking". There are a couple articles about this concept as listed below
- single-tasking and productivity
- Why Single-Tasking Makes You Smarter
- Multitasking is Out, Single Tasking is In
I'm usually overwhelmed with a pile of long-standing tasks in my long todo list and my energy always get drained upfront and then I procrastinate.
I've been wanting to develop this idea into android application for a while but I procrastinated. :-/
Finally, I started developing it 2-3 weeks ago with an idea to keep it simple, focused and effective. I also want to keep iterating, gradually improving and release the application early and often. I try to ship it as soon as possible.
Another goal is to learn Android application development and its components which I think I'm really late to the area. The best way to learn new technology is learning by doing. Although I tried to ship the first version as soon as I can, my habits still keep me reading all the things upfront before coding the first line.
Now I understand why people often say that developing a good Android application is difficult and takes much time. After I have read Android documentation and guides and watched some I/O talks, I see that Android is quite big in term of platform. There are many components, concepts and design patterns. I just read about 15% of them. These patterns and concepts enable very much flexibility and extensibility and force some good practices and design but, on the other hand, it is difficult to get it right the first time for developers.
The project is really young and I open source here. If you want to try the app, get it on Google Play. The application supports only >= 4.x by intention and only tested with my Galaxy Nexus.
Enjoy! :D
This is a nice example of learning a new technology by turning a personal productivity idea into a working application. The decision to keep WhatNext simple, release it early, and continue improving it reflects a practical development approach, while the discussion of Android's many components, concepts, and design patterns shows why building even a focused application can involve a significant learning curve.
ReplyDeleteThe connection between the original idea and Node.js is particularly interesting, since the author's experience with its single-threaded and event-driven model led to thinking about single tasking in everyday work. This makes Javascript Online Training relevant to the programming background behind the idea, even though the Android application itself is developed using Android technologies.
The emphasis on learning by doing, understanding platform components, applying design patterns, and gradually improving a working application also connects naturally with Programming Courses. Publishing the first version on Google Play and open-sourcing the project adds another practical dimension, because the learning process continues through testing, iteration, and feedback rather than ending when the initial code is complete.
ReplyDeleteThe project is also a useful example of turning a software concept into a practical application, which relates to Web Development Final Year Projects from a broader project-development perspective. Although WhatNext is an Android application rather than a web project, the same idea of starting with a focused problem, implementing a usable solution, and iterating on it is valuable when approaching software projects in general.
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