I am interested in getting into Mobile app development using Java and am not really sure where to start. I am not profficient with writing GUI code so should I start with a book/tutorials on that and work my way into the Mobile Dev kits or should I just get used to using some of the GUI builders that are out there. I am not really sure on what the method is for such and am looking to get started but figured you guys have at least dipped your tows into it a little and could provide some guidance. Also looking around I see a lot of different options for mobile development with Java, most obvious being Android, but then I see Bedrock, Codenameone, etc. that are written in Java but have more capabilities when it comes to cross platform development. Thanks for any advice ^^

This post was edited by Lords. on Jun 1 2012 12:36pm

i've done some android work. it kinda depends on what your goals are, i think. if you just want to play around and do stuff, then you dont really need a book. i'd start with their quick-start guide which includes examples, then modify them to your needs and google specific questions. the UI is fairly similar to swing (add controls to layouts, add interfaced-event-handlers, etc) except that you can specify them in xml. on the other hand if you want to do it long term or professionally, then you'll need a solid understanding so you might want to buy a book.

i'm not familiar with bedrock or the others so i can't offer any advice there.

Alright thanks I'll start reading up on their tutorials :D.. Any IDE preference or just go with what I am used to?(eclipse)

i use helios eclipse, so i can't comment on other IDEs. For the most part it works great. well integrated with the emulator, debugging on the actual devices, etc. but i tend to run into issues based on how i use it. sometimes my logcat just stops working and i have to restart eclipse. i use auto-imports which sometimes fucks up if you dont know what you're doing. you reference your xml files via R.id.xmlfilename, but sometimes the auto-imports will import android.R.id and it'll say your files can't be found. i've also had issues referencing android libraries where it would let me reference them, but won't find the packages. restarting didnt help, so i had to recreate the projects. i dont use their gui builder; i prefer the xml personally.

it is a shame that groovy won't work completely with android yet. maybe one day they'll make it happen.

Alright cool I installed the ADT plugin for eclipse since that is what I already use and am going to start reading up on the tutorials on the Android Developers site tomorrow probably. Thanks for the input it's appreciated.

Sounds like Eclipse to me.