Developing for Nokia Asha

An introduction to the Nokia Asha platform, it's developer offering, tooling overview a bird's eye view of the UX development options, and finally advices for application development and deployment on resource constrained devices

Transcript

1. Developing for the Nokia Asha Software Platform Attila Csipa @achipa SmartDevCon2 Katowice, 14. 09. 2013
2. Contents What is Nokia Asha Developer Offering Java ME apps Web apps Nokia Asha UX basics IDE/Tooling Nokia IDE for Java Emulator Performance optimization
3. Series 40 (which is not Symbian nor S60) First device in 1999, the Nokia 7110 (but don’t worry, Linux is actually 8 years older) A Coca Cola company delivery truck in Knoxville, 1909.
4. A few years later… - 1.5 billion devices by January 2012 - 650 million active (plenty of even touch devices) - Freemium and ads DO work North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Highbury, 1934
5. But the world changed… Women on motorcycles in Great Britain, 1930s
6. New Nokia Asha = Series40 Hardware adaptation + Smarterphone middleware + Swipe UI
7. Nokia Asha UI
8. HARDWARE KEYS HIERARCHICAL BACK BUTTON
9. The screen is optimized for mobility, convenience and effectiveness.
10. UX paradigm The Nokia Asha UX paradigm
11. Building the apps Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, 1935.
12. Nokia Asha Developer Offering Nokia Asha SDK 1.0 (Java ME) Nokia Asha web app tools 3.0.0 Xpress Web App Builder 1.0
13. One 3rd PARTY app running at a time! Roger Bannister becomes the first human to run a mile in under 4 minutes. 1954
14. Nokia Asha SDK 1.0 Oracle® based Java ME implementation New Nokia Public APIs New emulator Bundled libraries instead of plugins: Here Maps for Java ME Nokia Notifications API LightWeight UI Toolkit (LWUIT) Tantalum On-Device Debugging
15. Nokia Asha Software Platform 1.0 the Java ME story • Java ME MIDP 2.1, CLDC 1.1 • Optional JSRs • Nokia APIs • Max JAR file size: 5 Mb • Max Java Heap: 3 Mb • Screen Size: 240 x 320 • Series 40 Binary Compatibility
16. Yes, this is a resource constrained environment Which also means that it rewards GOOD code instead of SLOPPY one
17. JAD Editor NOKIA IDE FOR JAVA © 2012 Nokia Asha 2013 technical briefing v1.2 November 14, 2012 Attila Csipa Device SDK Manager Integrated SDK + Toolchain App Templates App Templates JAD Editor
18. Emulator: The easy/cheap way to practice Aerial gunnery training, World War I
19. Emulator: What can we do with it? - Speeds up development cycle - Use for screenshots! - Customize input - Keyboard/touch (pinch) - Sensors (accelerometers, network, location) - Multimedia (webcam) - Content is at - C:\Nokia\Devices\Nokia_Asha_SDK_1_0\bin\Storage\10000 - Needs emulator restart if filesystem updated directly - The number will increase (10002, etc) if multiple simultaneous emulators run
20. On Device Debugging – for the nastiest bugs From Harvard Mark II electromechanical computer's log, featuring a dead moth: the first bug, 66 years ago
21. The joy of the first successful run Annie Edison Taylor The first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel, in 1901
22. 2 © Nokia 2013 LCDUI and LWUIT UI components in Nokia Asha.pptx v.1 2013-05-28 Jan Krebber THE VISUALIZATION CHANGED, BUT THE APIS REMAIN LARGELY COMPATIBLE.
23. Platform approach Over-the-air push-style updates New SDK manager Independent API/library updates Full binary compatibility from Asha 1.0+
24. API offering: extending the platform CLDC 1.1 (JSR-139) MIDP 2.1 (JSR-118) File Connection and PIM API (JSR-75) Bluetooth and OBEX API (JSR-82) Wireless Messaging API 1.0 (JSR-120) Wireless Messaging API 2.0 (JSR-205) Mobile Media API (JSR-135) Web Services API (JSR-172) SATSA-CRYPTO API (JSR-177) Location API (JSR-179) Mobile 3D Graphics API v1.0 (JSR-184) Content Handler API (JSR-211) Scalable Vector Graphics API (JSR-226) Advanced Multimedia Supplements (JSR-234) Mobile Sensor API (JSR-256) com.nokia.mid.medi a com.nokia.mid.ui com.nokia.mid.ui frameanimator com.nokia.mid.ui gestures com.nokia.mid.ui locale com.nokia.mid.ui orientation com.nokia.mid.ui categorybar Mobile Internationalization (JSR-238) File Select API Image Scaling API Network State API Phone Info API Contact API Nokia Notification API (NNA) Nokia In-App Payment
25. New Nokia Asha Java APIs Contact File select Network state Phone settings Moving from Service APIs to a PUBLIC PLATFORM OFFERING
26. What if your app is not running/awake? Before alarm clocks were affordable, 'knocker-ups' were used to wake people early in the morning. UK, around 1900
27. Nokia Notifications API - NNA Public API Push notification service Shared connection Custom payload
28. Nokia in-app payment Device range Reach Security Simplicity Sign up to the invitational beta: http://developer.nokia.com/Distribute/In-app_payment/
29. Largest range of devices
30. Broadest reach • Operator billing live with - 158 operators - in 59 countries Live Operators ▪ Full Country coverage ▪ Partial Country coverage (status in April 2013)
31. Internationalization – JSR238 • Strings AND binary data • Format data (date, currency) • Compare • Sort
32. 3 © Nokia 2013 LCDUI and LWUIT UI components in Nokia Asha.pptx v.1 2013-05-28 Jan Krebber THE VISUALIZATION CHANGED, BUT THE APIS REMAIN COMPATIBLE.
33. Java UI development approaches Canvas LCDUI LWUIT
34. Canvas Completely custom You OWN every pixel Fastest Best suited for games
35. The key is a native look and feel 3 © 2013 Nokia DevelopingForTheNewAshaPlatform.pptx v. 0.2
36. LCDUI
37. LCDUI High-level components Nokia UI API Asha look & feel No customizability (except CustomItem)
38. LCDUI is based on few view types 3 © Nokia 2013 LCDUI and LWUIT UI components in Nokia Asha.pptx v.1 2013-05-28 Jan Krebber Displayable Screen Canvas With chrome Full screen Alert List Form TextBox Choice Group Date Field Text Field Gauge String Item Image Item Custom Item Spacer Implicit choice Exclusive choice Multiple choice
39. LWUIT More components More customization Asha look and feel Animated Custom theming (branded look and feel)
40. LWUIT for Nokia Asha Software Platform 1.0 • New port of LWUIT, targeting specifically new Asha platform • Based on the LWUIT for Series 40 v1.0 • Adds Nokia Asha Software Platform 1.0 Theme • Adds 8 new components • Changes and adaptations of existing components to new Asha platform • Improved performance especially in themes memory usage. • 24 Examples in SDK • Double-check you’re including the right JAR!
41. Nokia Asha web apps - Tools Xpress-Browser powered Requires a data connection Web apps != HTML5 (!!!) Nokia Asha web app tools 3.0 Backwards compatible with Series 40 web apps Simulator support for Nokia Asha 1.0 devices USB deployment of web apps on Nokia Asha 1.0 devices
42. TESTING IS BEST DONE ON (SOMEBODY ELSE‘S) DEVICE Testing a bullet proof vest c.1923
43. Remote Device Access • Free for Nokia Developer users • Deploy & Test apps www.developer.nokia.com/Devices/Remote_device_access/ • Now with the Asha 501(s)!
44. Performance optimization A bicycle with 12 rockets mounted on the back wheel. ~1930s
45. Why Optimize Most of the development tasks for the typical mobile application can be done in many different ways. Different implementation techniques lead to different application performance and essentially different responsiveness of user interface. Responsiveness of UI is one of the important factors for application success.
46. • 0.1 second is about the limit for having the user feel that the system is reacting instantaneously, meaning that no special feedback is necessary except to display the result. • 1.0 second is about the limit for the user's flow of thought to stay uninterrupted, even though the user will notice the delay. Normally, no special feedback is necessary during delays of more than 0.1 but less than 1.0 second, but the user does lose the feeling of operating directly on the data. • 10 seconds is about the limit for keeping the user's attention focused on the dialogue. For longer delays, users will want to perform other tasks while waiting for the computer to finish, so they should be given feedback indicating when the computer expects to be done. Feedback during the delay is especially important if the response time is likely to be highly variable, since users will then not know what to expect. Miller, R. B. (1968) Response time in man-computer conversational transactions. Proc. AFIPS Fall Joint Computer Conference Vol. 33, 267-277
47. User Experience Studies Helmet test, ca 1912
48. Can looks deceive?
49. Can looks deceive?
50. THINGS ARE AS YOU PERCEIVE THEM
51. Resource constrained environments Cheese “sandwich” served on the Sao Paolo – Manaus TAM flight
52. Perception of speed • Responsiveness – what you believe is more important than what you actually see • Visual updates to acknowledge input • Draw when you can, not when ready • Speed != throughput
53. Parallelize! (concurrency) • 1 core != 1 system • Threading is needed to unleash maximum potential • You need to do it Right TM • Typical failure to do so: slow, unresponsive Uis • On Ashas, you will want 4-5 threads, depending on use- case
54. Threading pitfalls - Too many long running threads - Hard to debug - Complexity The last four couples standing in a dance marathon. Chicago, c. 1930
55. NETWORK operation feedback • Feedback throughout the download cycle • (but we can do even better!)
56. NETWORK operation feedback • User feedback throughout the DL • GET -> DOWNLOAD -> PARSE -> CACHE WRITE
57. File io: make it a habit Write files as you go …in a Worker thread… …flush occasionally... …don’t do it byte by byte (do outputStream.write(byte[] buffer) Don’t wait for it to pile up (especially for cases of destroyApp())
58. That pesky 5mb jar size limit • Obfuscate. Always. • Reduce image quality/size • Use large(r) images and clip them (w Sprite class) • Keep text strings in separate files – they compress better • Keep data in RMS • Treat your store JAR as an online installer (runs on it’s own, maybe bundle with first few levels, download rest as needed) • Silver lining: Small JARs mean less failed DLs User gets to interact with your app sooner
59. Architecture Changes • Carefully consider architecture of your drawing loop and user input loops and decouple them whenever possible. • Explore WeakReference introduced in CLDC 1.1 for memory management.
60. How much memory do we REALLY need? • 1024 items • 1KB per item • Minimum memory required: 1MB 8KB!
61. WeakReference object Caching • Best pattern for using all available heap memory, but never running into the dreaded OutOfMemoryError. • CLDC 1.1 WeakReference • When an object is referenced by a WeakReference, and not using traditional Object pointers, this is a signal to the garbage collector that is has permission to collect the object if memory is running low. • You have to maintain own HashTable of Objects • To understand this pattern better look at Tantalum Mobile: • https://github.com/TantalumMobile/
62. Treat the garbage collector as a friend, not as a slave • Pay attention to scoping • Set variables to null manually when they are no longer needed • Be careful with hidden references (inner classes on EDT or workers) • If you are calling System.gc(), you’re doing it wrong
63. Render Caching • One of the common performance needs is to make your application paint, in particular scroll, smoothly and quickly. • You can paint items each into their own Image, keeping that pre-painted Image in a cache, and reusing it as the object moves around the screen. Essentially, WeakReference cache of pre-painted Images. • To understand this pattern better look at Tantalum Mobile: • http://projects.developer.nokia.com/Tantalum
64. File System (Flash Memory) Caching • Flash memory is slow, but faster then Web. • Cache downloaded data from previous session. Improve startup time of app, by loading from disk cache instead of new Web requests. • RMS and File System (JSR-75) same speed, but with RMS no security prompts. • Underwater stones: still remember, Flash memory is slow. • Architect your application to use asynchronous loading /saving of data from / to disk cache.
65. Performance summary •Work with your interaction designer to find and/or make cheat zones −Hide activity not just behind splash screens, but also dialogs, alerts −Predict user activity to appear “instant-ready”
66. Summary • Huge untapped market, plenty of devices even if you count only touch enabled ones • (Surprisingly?) Java ME with Canvas, LCDUI or LWUIT UIs paired with a reasonable amount of APIs allows for rich functionality • Coding for Asha will make you more aware of resources, UX, and thus make you a better developer for all the other platforms, too
67. http://developer.nokia.com Nokia developer resources
68. Thank you! Questions? Attila Csipa @achipa All images were from @HistoricalPics or WikiMedia Commons under CC BY-SA