September Meetup

Overview

Our next meetup will be taking place Thursday September 25th, on the 3rd floor at Notman House

Our two speakers this month are Anas Ambri who will introduce us to Groovy on Android, and Simon Guerout who will cover the Android Account Manager.

• 18h00 Welcome / upcoming events
• 18h30 Groovy on Android
• 19h30 Android Account Manager
• 20h30~21h Wrap up

Food and Drinks sponsored by PasswordBox!

I’m happy to report that my employer, PasswordBox, will be sponsoring pizza and drinks for this month’s Meetup.

In turn, we want Montreal area mobile developers to know we’re in full hiring mode here at PasswordBox. Business is booming, and obviously we’re looking for top-notch Android developers, but I invite you to look at the full list of available positions on our website: https://www.passwordbox.com/careers

Send your inquiries/CVs to etienne.caron@passwordbox.com

Presentations

Groovy for Android

by Anas Ambri

About me: An apprentice in the growing domain of software development, with a meticulous interest into solving problems (with software), an appreciation for open-source solutions, and an annoying tendency to have an opinion about almost everything.

About the topic: Since the advent of Swift on iOS, many Android developers have been looking into a similar higher level construct to develop apps on their favorite platform. Today we will talk about some of the current options, and focus mostly on Groovy. Finally, we will show how we used Groovy at Guestful to develop our app, as well as the lessons learned. Spoiler: the app was actually delivered. Duration: ~20 min + questions

Android Account Manager

by Simon GUEROUT, of Sidereo Solutions

Gestionnaire de comptes d’Android

Pendant cette présentation, je vais vous présenter un cas d’usage du gestionnaire de comptes d’Android.
Il n’est pas rare pour une application d’être connectée à un service.
Ce lien peut être fait en utilisant le gestionnaire de comptes pour simplifier la gestion de la synchronisation des données avec le service.
Dans le cas d’usage que je vais présenter, nous allons voir comment utiliser ce gestionnaire non pas pour un seul service, mais pour une multitude de sources de données.

During this presentation, I will talk about a use case of the Android Account Manager.
It is not rare for an application to be connected to a service.
This link can be managed using the Android Account Manager, in order to simplify the data sync with the service.
In the use case I will be presenting, we will see how I used the Account Manager to connect not only to a single service, but to different sources of data.

August Meetup

Overview

Hello everyone, hope you all enjoyed your summer so far!

Our next meetup will be taking place Wednesday August 20th, on the 3rd floor at Notman House. (Same awesome space where we held our Android Wear hackathon early this summer.)

We have 2 great talks scheduled, and a small recap / show and tell session for the various toys we managed to bring back from Google I/O. As always you’re welcome to drop by to introduce yourself and your projects to the community.

• 17h30: Google I/O Recap
• 18h30: Recognizing Speech on Android
• 19h30: Byte-Code Weaving on Android
• 20h30: Beer and food, @Ye Olde Orchard Pub

You can get your tickets on our Eventbrite.

Presentations

Google I/O 2014 Recap

Small informal presentation reviewing what was announced at Google I/O, with small hands-on + Q&A session for:

• Android Wear
• Android TV
• Google Cardboard

Recognizing Speech on Android

by Gina Cook – Android Developer for iLanguage Lab

In this talk I’ll show you how to use speech recognition in your own Android apps. The talk will have something for both beginner and advanced Android devs, namely I will show two ways to do speech recognition: the easy way (using the built-in RecognizerIntent for the user’s language) and the hard way (building a recognizer which wraps existing open source libraries if the built-in RecognizerIntent can’t handle the user’s language). While I was in Batumi my friends and I built an app so that Kartuli users (code) (slides) could train their Androids to recognize SMS messages and web searches. Recognizing Kartuli is one of the cases where you can’t use the built-in recognizer. Kartuli spoken by only 4 million people in the country of Georgia: that is roughly the population of Montreal and surrounding areas. The talk will start with a demo of our Kartuli trainer app to set the context for the talk, and then dig into the code and Android concepts under the demo.

• How to use the default system recognizer’s results in your own Android projects,
• How to use the NDK in your projects,
• How to use PocketSphinx (a lightweight recognizer library written in C) on Android

Byte-Code Weaving on Android

by Stéphane Nicolas – Senior Android Developer for Groupon Canada

During the last few years, we have all assisted or participated to a small
revolution on Android : the emergence of annotation processing. Many
popular libs now rely on annotation processing during build to pre-compute
a lot of stuff that will boost them at runtime. Let’s think about Dagger,
ButterKnife, Hugo, RoboGuice, BoundBox, Memento, IcePick, etc.

All those libs use annotation processing to generate data as Java source
files that are executed at runtime. Nevertheless, writing annotation
processors is far from obvious as they are based on the annotation
processing API that is very difficult to understand.

But there is an alternative : byte code weaving. This technique is popular
in the Java World for a large variety of applications : from creating mocks
(easymock/mockito) to data persistence (Eclipse Link, EBeans, etc.), or
Aspect Oriented Programming (AOP).

So, why don’t we use post-compilation processing on Android too ?

This sessions offers an overview of different byte code weaving techniques
and will examine whether they can be applied to Android. We will see how
post compilation byte code weaving can be used during Android apps’ builds
when using either Gradle or Maven.

Finally, we will present 2 libraries : AfterBurner & Mimic. They are based
on javassist, and aim to make byte code manipulation easy for Android. We
will go through simple use cases that will show us how to eliminate all
boiler plate when using our favorite libraries and boost apps using post
compilation byte code weaving. Byte code weaving could even be used to
normalize new and simpler programming techniques for Android that could get
standardized via Android Specification Requests.

Android Wear Hackathon – June 2014

by GDG Montreal Android

starts at 13h00, on Thursday June 19 2014

Notman House

Overview

This is a half-day event to introduce you to the Android-Wearable platform and SDK. It’s a short afternoon Hackathon, so we’re not expecting full-fledged products to emerge, but rough prototypes, proof-of-concepts, slidedecks and UX mockups are the order of the day.

The big news is, we’ll be giving away 3 vouchers for Android Wear Devices to the best concepts, so you’ll get a chance to complete your idea and be first to market. Thanks to Google for sponsoring this event!

Hackathon Preparation

We’ve received a very handy preparation guide from the fine folks at Google, go follow the instructions and you should be in fine shape for the hackathon.

Of course, if you’re totally new to the platform, don’t forget to pre-install the following:

• Android Studio
• Genymotion

If you need help with your installation, barring any work-emergencies, Etienne or other Android-Montreal volunteers will be on site starting at 12h00. Please plan ahead. 🙂

Day Agenda

• 13h00:
  • Welcome
  • Overview of Android Wear
• 13h30:
  • Pitch for ideas
  • Form teams
• 14h30:
  • Prototyping
• 18h00:
  • Demos in front of group (Prototypes, or UX mocks/slides, etc)
• 19h00:
  • Voting and judging
  • Awards and thanks
• ~20h00:
  • Beer and food, @Ye Olde Orchard Pub

[Animateur/MC: Etienne Caron]

Meetup Sponsors

Google

As mentioned, big thanks to Google and the Google Community Managers for sponsorship and support of this event.

JetBrains

Can’t code without Once again, we’re very happy to announce that we’re being sponsored by none other than the makers of IntelliJ, JetBrains! We’ll be having a draw for 1 Free License of IntelliJ IDEA.

Register Now!

Intro to Android / Metrics and Feedback!

Hey everyone, attended our Intro to Android evening? Enjoyed it? Regular club member, but you missed this evening?

We typically report event numbers to Google community managers, this helps us get support for future events, and lets us deliver you even more awesomeness on a regular basis 🙂

To help us with metrics, please register as a member on our Chapter Page. Attended tonight’s event? Register on our Event Page, and if you’re not totally tired of all this clicking, fill out our survey.

Thanks a ton for participating everyone, and have a good week-end!

Links

Get the original GDG slides.

And links to the labs:

• Lab 1.1 http://goo.gl/bvCxzo
• Lab 2.1: http://goo.gl/kY6grs
• Lab 3.1: http://goo.gl/3QqBEM

Intro to Android / Intro to Rx

by GDG Montreal Android

starts 18h30, on Thursday May 22 2014

Notman House

Overview

First off, big hello to everyone who attended the DevArts evening at Google last month, we had a blast and hope you did as well.

Our next event will be taking place at a brand new, freshly renovated Notman House, next week. If you’re new to Android, you won’t want to miss it, because we’ll be onboarding new members with an Introduction to Android session.

Evening’s Agenda

• 18h30
• Community annoucements (All are welcome!)
• Call for Google Dev Expert submissions
• 18h45
• Intro to Android
• 20h00 Quick break
• Show and Tell: New toys! (Fancy bluetooth headset)
• New advanced APIs: Netflix’s Rx library
• 20h15
• Review of Android Intro Code lab, Q&A
• ~20h45
• Beer and food, @Ye Olde Orchard Pub

Intro to Android

Animateur/MC: Etienne Caron

We’ll be teaching the Android fundamentals, show you how to create your first Android project, compile it and run it.

You’ll learn about the Android application lifecycle, the different types of Android components (Activities, Intents, Services, etc.)

We ask attendees to prepare for the intro course by pre-installing the following:

• Android Studio
• Genymotion

If you need help with your installation, barring any work-emergencies, Etienne or other Android-Montreal volunteers will be on site starting at 17h00~17h30. Please plan ahead. 🙂

Meetup Sponsors

JetBrains

Can’t code without Once again, we’re very happy to announce that we’re being sponsored by none other than the makers of IntelliJ, JetBrains! We’ll be having a draw for 1 Free License of IntelliJ IDEA.

Register Now!

DevArts – Coding and the Arts

When?

Thursday, April 10, 2014 @ 5:30 PM

Where?

Google Montreal
1253 McGill College
Bureau 150
Montréal, QC

Event Pages

• Meetup
• EventBrite
• Google+
• GDG Community

Overview

“DevArt is a new type of art. It is made with code, by developers that push the possibilities of creativity and technology.”

And so, this Meetup will aim to give people tools to explore their creativity. If you’re an artist or a developer looking to explore new ways to express yourself, the following sessions will aim to empower you.

Planned Talks

• Openframeworks, presented by Hugues Bruyere and Elias Zananiri of Dpt.
• Raspberry Pie for Instalations and Interactive Art, by François Légaré
• OpenGL ES, WebGL and GPU Computation made accessible, by Etienne Caron

TBC / Details incoming

• The Processing language
• Sound and software synthesizers

For more info

We invite you to visit and browse the main DevArts website, it’s a real treasure trove of information.

March Meetup

Hello everyone, our next meetup will be taking place on wednesday, 5th of March, 2014 at 18h30, at l’Amère à Boire.

We have two great talks this month! François Proulx will give us an overview of the latest trends in mobile security, and Philippe Breault will present an introduction to building Android Studio plugins.

Latest trends in Mobile Security

by Francois Proulx

BIO:

François Proulx is a senior mobile application developer who has worked on dozens of iOS applications since the very beginning of the Apple iOS platform. Over the past few years he has switched his focus to security. He spends a lot of his free time participating in Capture the Flag events (CTFs) and organizing the NorthSec security competition.

Description:

Last AppSecUSA 2013 had a great line up of talks, especially regarding mobile applications. This session will be covering all the hottest presentations about mobile security by doing an overview from what we saw at AppSecUSA, all with some slides and snippets of presentations that was recorded at the event. Discussion will be encouraged within the audience as this will be more a dynamic event than a regular talk.

Introduction to building Android Studio plugins

by Philippe Breault

BIO:

Hey There!

My name is Philippe Breault, I am a software developer living in Montréal (Canada) and my job/hobby is Android.

I have been working on the Android platform since 2010 and I hope that sharing what I have learned will help people get proficient in Android faster!

Description:

With this presentation, Philippe will be showing us how to develop plugins for Android Studio. Note that all products based on the IntelliJ Platform (IntelliJ IDEA, RubyMine, WebStorm, PhpStorm, PyCharm and AppCode) share the same underlying platform API, and as such this talk will be of benefit to anyone working with one of these IDEs.

Meetup Sponsors

JetBrains

Once again, I’m very happy to announce that we’re being sponsored by none other than the makers of IntelliJ, JetBrains! We’ll be having a draw for 1 Free License of IntelliJ IDEA.

Proud to use
Java IDE with unparalleled java code
analyzer (600+ built-in inspections)

January Meetup

Hello everyone, our next meetup will be taking place on the 29th of January, 2014 at 18h30, at Notman House.

The evening’s agenda is as follows:

• 18h30 – Open mic: Advertise your events, quickly introduce personal projects, call for developers, etc.
  • PasswordBox beta developer program enrollment.
  • <your-content-here/>
• 18h45 – Short Talk: An introduction to developing for the NVidia Shield.
• 19h30 – Android News
  • New/refreshed developper tools and APIs
  • App highlights
  • Hardware news
• 20h00 – Planning: Preparation for DevArts event in February.
• 20h30 – Meet and greet: Our usual post-meetup diner and a beer.

For these free-form evenings, we always welcome audience participation. So if you have last minute things you’d like to present or talk about, we’d love to hear from you.

November Meetup

Tickets here

Hello everyone, our next meetup will be taking place on 27th of November, 2013 at 18h30, in Notman House as usual.

OPEN MIC NIGHT

We’re a bit short notice this month, and we wanted to open the floor to anyone who’d like to get a hand at presenting an API, library, open source project or technology that is dear to their heart. The format we’re aiming for is small and informal, timeboxed to anything between 10-30m long.

As of now we had people interested in presenting What’s new in Android 4.4, a short tour of Dagger (the lightweight Injection library) as well as Retrofit (a Rest client API).

As usual, you’re welcome to come by and make announcements to our community. We’ll probably be going out for food after the event, so we hope you’ll stick around and hang out!

Meetup Sponsors

JetBrains

Once again, I’m very happy to announce that we’re being sponsored by none other than the makers of IntelliJ, JetBrains! We’ll be having a draw for 1 Free License of IntelliJ IDEA.

October Meetup

Hello everyone, our next meetup will be taking place on 30th of October, 2013 at 18h30, in Notman House as usual.

We have a great guest this month, Macy Kuang, with a presentation on Google Glass. We’ll also have Etienne and Boris who will be doing quick ~20m introductions to the Gradle Build System and the new Android™ KitKat® Release.

Google Glass Development

by Macy Kuang

BIO:

Macy Kuang is the Founder of Miaomiao Games. She has worked on titles such as Modern Combat, Asphalt and Fashion Icon while at GameLoft. In addition to programming, Macy has been on the organizing committee for AndroidTO, the annual Android conference, and a regular contributor to the Google Developer Group, Toronto. Macy participated in the Google Glass Foundry in New York in February 2013 and is now a Google Glass Pioneer, working with developer versions of the hardware and associated APIs.

Presentation:

Google Glass has been on developers hands for over half a year, and this presentation will cover the fundamentals of the technology Including how it works, what its current capabilities and limitations are, and how to develop for it. The Google Glass hardware takes into account some unique considerations not commonly seen in most mass-market devices, including bone conduction for speech and audio transmission, gesture ‘wake-up’ and On-Head Detection. Along the lines of the development process for Google Glass, this session will address various implementations, leading with applications created by Glass Pioneers at the Google Glass Foundry (the Google Glass Developer Hackathon held in New York and San Francisco). Demonstration of existing apps on Google Glass will cover pros and cons emerging as Google Glass use cases transition from novelty and gimmick to practical utility.

Android™ KitKat® Release

Boris Dubois

Bio:

Développeur Android @ La Presse

Presentation:

We’ll look into what’s new for the platform.

Gradle Build System

Etienne Caron

Bio:

Android Lead Developer @ PasswordBox.com

Presentation:

A quick working demo aiming to show what’s now possible when building a project. Focused on using Gradle at the command line.