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5 tweaks every developer should make in Windows 11
Development on Windows can be a pain, but it doesn't have to be
Developing on Windows can sometimes be a pain, and Microsoft's focus for developers has long been on supporting ecosystems around their own languages. C#/F#/VB have often been first-class citizens in a Windows development environment, while easy support for other tools has often been neglected. For example, it was only in 2022 that Windows first received a first-party package manager. Whether you want to stick with Windows to play some games on the side or in an office environment where Linux isn't an option, there are some quick and easy ways to make a power user's life on Windows easier.
The 5 best developer features announced at Google I/O 2023
Google I/O brought a bunch of developer features, and these are some of our favorites.
Google I/O is underway, and it's a conference that, despite all of the hype, has often been primarily aimed at developers. The company will typically share its plans for the next year with developers, including changes coming to the Play Store or Android API updates. This year, the company unveiled some new generative AI technology, some changes with Flutter, and some new features in Firebase. These are five of the coolest things for developers that the company unveiled at Google I/O 2023.
Android Developer Options Explained: Everything you can do with these settings
Android ships with a whole bunch of Developer Options that can unlock experimental and debugging features. Here's what these options do.
Most Android smartphones and tablets already have dozens (or even hundreds) of settings for changing everything from notifications to system colors. There are even more settings hidden away in the Developer options, which are mostly intended to help with creating Android applications, but some of them can come in handy for other situations too.
Twitter officially shuts down third-party clients
Twitter quietly changed its developer agreement today, effectively putting an end to third-party Twitter clients.
A week-long saga has finally come to an end, with Twitter officially taking a stance on third-party apps, banning it from its platform. To be more specific, the company updated and added a new clause in its developer agreement that forbids creating a product that is a similar product of service to Twitter applications. With this change, it effectively put the nail in the coffin for third-party developers.
Developers can now implement Ultra-Wideband (UWB) support in apps with Android Jetpack
Developers can now implement Ultra-Wideband (UWB) support in their apps with Android Jetpack after it was only available for system apps.
Last year, Google added a new API in AOSP to enable better support for ultra-wideband (UWB) devices. At the time, we learned that the API was restricted to system apps only, meaning that it was not accessible to third-party apps. That's now finally changing as developers can implement UWB-support in their apps with a newly launched Jetpack library. Version 1.0.0-alpha of androidx.core.uwb Jetpack library can be used in an app to interact with UWB-enabled devices such as the Google Pixel 6 Pro or the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus and Ultra.
Google aims to make app development easier for large-screen devices
Along with Android 12L, Google has announced a bunch of changes that help developers build optimized apps for large screen devices.
It's a well-known fact that the Android experience on large-screen devices is far from perfect. Those who have used an Android tablet in the last few years would agree that Android doesn't scale well on large displays. UI elements make poor use of all the extra screen real estate, and most apps are not optimized for the form factor. Google aims to change that with Android 12L. To help developers get their apps ready for the update, the company has shared new tools and guidelines.
Apple will let developers appeal unfair or biased app removals
New measures by Apple will allow developers to appeal against app rejection or removal by highlighting biases or unfair treatment.
Apple hosted its second virtual WWDC event yesterday and announced changes coming to the Apple ecosystem with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8, and tvOS 15. Besides these changes for the users, the keynote also had announcements for the developers. Announcements about allowing app development on the iPad and new APIs were complemented by new changes to its App Store review policies and guidelines. Now, developers will be able to appeal against app rejections citing unfair treatment.
Apps shared via Google Files Go, SHAREIt, and Xender will be verified by Google Play
An application's authenticity (is it from Google Play Store?) will be verified by the metadata built into P2P sharing applications like Files Go.
Google has worked on a way to keep those users secure who love side-loading applications. Back in June, they started to automatically add security metadata to any app uploaded to the Google Play Store so that they can be verified as originating from Google Play when shared elsewhere. This helps users by having their side-loaded apps receive updates from Google Play as if they installed it from the Play Store, and helps developers by better tracking these users for support. But this security measure had one big catch: It only worked when the device was online and in contact with the Google Play Store. Since Google implemented the feature to help users in countries with limited data plans and connectivity, this needed to be fixed.
How to Locally Capture a System Trace on Android Pie
systrace is a powerful tool that collects timing information from processes running on Android. Here's how to capture a system trace on Android Pie.
Tracing is an invaluable tool that enables developers to understand the impact that various changes have on a system and can provide clues to identify the root cause of problems.
[Update: Not leaked] Source code for DexGuard, commercial anti-piracy software, leaks online
The source code for Android application obfuscator DexGuard has had its source code leak online on GitHub. What does that exactly mean?
DexGuard is a popular commercial anti-piracy software written by Guardsquare which can help obfuscate an APK file. It's pretty easy to decompile an Android app and take a look at its internal workings, but obfuscation programs such as DexGuard make that pretty difficult. The software protects applications from reverse engineering attacks too, to prevent users from figuring out how the app does exactly what it does. This, in turn, prevents piracy, as it makes it a lot harder for attackers to figure out how to bypass anti-piracy checks. However, an older version of DexGuard has had its source code leaked on GitHub.
Developers are facing huge drop in new installs after Play Store algorithm changes
Developers of Android apps and games are reporting huge drops in new installs after Google quietly tweaks the Play Store's search and discovery algorithm.
Some Android app and game developers are panicking because their daily installation rates have plummeted in the past week. These developers have noticed new downloads slow down by up to 90%. The affected developers quickly realized they were not alone in these changes to their day-to-day app installation rate with multiple threads on Reddit, a post on the Unity forums, and even a Gamasutra community blog post popping up to help spread the word that something was amiss. Clearly, something is wrong here, and some indie developers are concerned that their livelihood may be at stake. So what's going on?
Snap Kit SDK Lets Developers Integrate Snapchat's Features onto Their Platform
Snap Inc. has released the Snap Kit SDK, that allows developers to integrate some of Snapchat's best features onto their platform. Read on to know more!
Snap Inc., the company behind Snapchat, has introduced Snap Kit: a set of developer tools that allows developers to integrate some of Snapchat's best features across the developer's app, and also makes it easy for users to share moments from these apps with the Snapchat community.
How to enter Developer Mode on Chrome OS tablets
You can tinker with the Chrome OS system like you do on your Android device. It can be achieved by entering Developer Mode. To put it in other words, there is a way to 'root' your Chrome OS device. Here's how.
As you already know, Chrome OS is an operating system by Google originally designed for laptops. It's built to be simplistic and productive, so it may look like there are not many customization options available. That's actually not true. After entering Developer Mode on Chrome OS tablets or laptops, you'll have the same privileges as root users have on Android. You'll be able to modify the system, flash another OS, and more. In this tutorial, I will show you exactly how you can enter Developer Mode.
IFTTT Is Now Offering A Free Way For Developers To Publish Applets
The IFTTT is now offering a free way of publishing the applets. Developers can use the free tier to share their best projects.
Over the last few years, IFTTT has become known for its ever-growing automation that allows users to create and use "applets" linking independent services together. Anyone can create their own applets for personal use (we at XDA love IFTTT for integrating with Slack). IFTTT is also available for Android and iOS devices with many device-specific triggers available.
MechDome is a Developer Tool that Automatically Converts Android Apps into iOS and OSX Apps
MechDome is a new developer tool that converts automatically Android apps into iOS, and retains all UI elements and most native functionality.
Cross-platform development has presented a major challenge for most independent developers for many years. Quite often, it's simply too much of an time and resource investment to learn a new programming language in order to port your app over to another platform.
Dear Google Play Review Team, Please Don't Be Evil
Developers are having their apps taken down over vague and ridiculous policy interpretations, and Google needs to address this.
You're a developer, and you've been putting your heart and soul into an application because you love to code and you would like to show the world the fruits of your labor. You decide to pony up the $25 to register a Google Play Developer account and to work day and night to live up to the title.