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Development of Smart Phone Applications Industrial Placement BSc (Honours) in Software Design Joseph Kenny. Placement Midland Regional Authority Midlands Ireland.ie. MidlandsIreland.ie Strategy for Brand Management & Awareness 2011-2016 Digital Tourism Guide Brand Guidelines.
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Development of Smart Phone ApplicationsIndustrial PlacementBSc (Honours) in Software DesignJoseph Kenny
Placement • Midland Regional Authority • MidlandsIreland.ie
MidlandsIreland.ie • Strategy for Brand Management & Awareness 2011-2016 • Digital Tourism Guide • Brand Guidelines
The Brief – Terms of Reference Create a multi-platform phone application for android and IOs that utilises the digital tourism guide developed by MidlandsIreland.ie
Work Programme - Stage I • Concept and Design – Considerations • Brand Guidelines • Website • Digital Tourism Guide
Work Programme - Stage II • Development • Google Map v2 API – Display interactive map • Google Places API – Display local businesses • Really Simple Syndication Feed(RSS Feeds) • Information feed from midlandsireland.ie • JavaScript Object Notation Feed(JSON Feed) • Technique for listing nearby businesses
Digital Tourism Guide Sections • Angling • Golf • Festivals • Creative Community • Active Midlands • Eating out • Walking • Driving • Historical sites • Towns and Villages • Accommodation
Additional Features: • Display user on interactive map • Display businesses nearby to the user • Caching – saving results for offline use • RSS Feeds • News & Events
Google Map Api • Version 2 • Use of map fragment • Tracks user location • Capable of zooming in/out • Scaling of map fragment
Google Places API • Takes time to search, runs in background using a specific technique called Async. • Place reference ID used to find businesses details. • Returns Name, Address, Contact No and GPS
RSS Feed • Download the RSS feed – downloads webpage containing information • Extract the data out of XML: use a XML parser - reads the data • Store the data – stores on device temporary • Display the data: ListView with Adapter • Adapter puts data into a specific location
JSON Feed • An array of keyword elements for Google places – list of keywords (pub, cafe) • Retrieves all the elements in the 'places' array – uses keywords • Invoking getPlaces with the array of json object where each json object represent a place – returns a list of businesses using keywords • Taking each place, parses and adds to list object – finds businesses, reads it and puts it into a list on screen.
The Challenges • Expansive Learning Curve • Extensive Trial and Error • Problem Solving • ApiDocumentation – • dictionary/phrase book for software
Lessons Learned • Desk Research • Testing • Satisfaction • Working Environment