CS184 - Introduction to Mobile Application Development (using Android)

Spring 2022

This home page, the CS184 Slack Channel, and maybe a CS184 Piazza, will be used as centers of communication for the class. Homework submission will occur through the CS184 GauchoSpace. Make sure you are enrolled!

While the webpage provides you with up-to-date information about assignments and what is currently going on in class, homeworks will be submitted via GauchoSpace and possibly Gradescope, Piazza serves as an open forum: questions, answers, suggestions, etc., and the Slack channel provides focused channels for special topics and project groups.

General Information

Class Hours:    TR, 2:00pm-3:15pm | Section W 1:00pm-1:50pm (387-1015), 2:00pm-2:50pm (GIRV2115) or Friday 1:00pm-1:50pm, 2:00pm-2:50pm (HFH1135) 
Class Location: PSYCH1902
Instructor:     Tobias Höllerer
Office Hours:   Wed, 4pm-5pm or by appointment
e-mail:         holl@cs...
Discussion/Lab: W 1:00pm-1:50pm (387-1015), 2:00pm-2:50pm (GIRV2115) or Friday 1:00pm-1:50pm, 2:00pm-2:50pm (HFH1135) 
TAs:            Samridhi Maheshwari, Shubham Talbar, Satyam Awasthi	
e-mail:         {samridhimaheshwari,shubham_talbar,satyam}@ucsb...
Office hours:   Samridhi: TBA, Shubham: TBA, Satyam: TBA

Course Description

This course provides an introduction to developing applications for the Android mobile ecosystem.

Over the past 20 years, the use of information technology has undergone a clear transition from stationary office and desktop computing to mobile computing. This development was accompanied by the emergence of networked and social computing. The Sales of smartphones and tablet computers have by far outpaced the sales of conventional desktop PCs for years now. The way people today obtain computer literacy has changed: Apps and cloud computing have replaced desktop computing in many cases. Computing has shifted from office or home office work to an anywhere-and-anytime activity.

This course aims to prepare students for this extraordinary shift in commercial and societal focus. The possibilities of mobile device software development are endless. In this introductory course, we get your curiosity started and prepare you for more advanced app development.

Students will apply their gained knowledge in a series of practical assignments using the Android ecosystem that highlight selected portions of the software design cycle, as well as familiarize them with sound programming practices and effective tools and techniques to create successful applications. The course will also touch upon novel interaction concepts that go beyond what we normally see in today's mobile apps.

Course Requirements and Grading

This class teaches the theory and practice of effective software design for Android. You will learn about principles, procedures, and programming approaches. You will create, iterate, and evaluate interaction designs.

As we are switching back to an in-person in-class experience, the exact course requirements will emerge over the first week, once the instructor has been able to form an idea about students' resources, backgrounds and expectations.

There will definitely be a series of design and implementation assignments that lead up to individual or group class projects. There _may_ be one exam (in week 8 or 9). We will continuously assign reading and tutorial material from online resources, which is supposed to help your design efforts and to stimulate class participation. Here is how your final grade will be determined:  

• Exam (if held, then 30-40%). This rubric may be replaced with in-class quizzes or dropped entirely.
• Up to 5 (likely 4) one to two - week homework assignments (tentatively 60%; if there is an exam then 40%).
• Final project implementation, documentation, and presentation (tentatively 40%; if there is an exam, then 25%)
• Class participation and activities [presentations on side topics, links and answers on Slack, demos, etc.] will be noted and can positively influence your grade

In case you disagree with any grade, submit your grievance in writing (email or paper) to the grader responsible, explaining and documenting your case.

Lateness Policy

All assignments are due at midnight on the scheduled due date. To make the deadlines more manageable, each student will be allowed three "late days" during the quarter for which lateness will not be penalized. Late days may be applied to all assignments, including design sketches and programming assignments, but not the final project! Your  late days may be used as you see fit -- one or multiple per assignment -- but once you used a late day it's good and gone, you cannot reapply it to another assignment. Anything turned in after 12:00:00am until midnight the next day is one day late. Every day thereafter that an assignment is late, including weekends and holidays, counts as an additional late day.

Absolutely no late work will be accepted after the deadline if you have used up all your late days. If you're not done on time you must turn in what you have to receive partial credit. There will be no exceptions from this rule. Please make sure you understand this policy.

When making use of your late days, the online submission provides the timestamp that counts. 

Academic Misconduct

We will strictly enforce UCSB's academic misconduct policies. We use electronic tools to detect plagiarism among submitted homework solutions and sources from the internet. Read these guidelines before beginning each programming assignment. Any form of  plagiarism, collusion, or cheating will result in an "F" in this course and may result in suspension from UCSB for two quarters. When in doubt about any forms of receiving help on your assignments, ask us!

Open Door Policy

I would like the course to be informative and enjoyable. Let us know what you find just, good and interesting about the course. Let us know sooner if you feel something could be improved. See us, send an e-mail, or leave us a note.

Class Materials

See the handout column in the class schedule!

Book/Materials

• Handouts in class (incl. materials from Android Studio Development Essentials by Neil Smyth).
• Google's Android Developer pages - make this your starting point for all your explorations
• Android Source Documentation (for understanding the architecture of Android)
  

Other Sources

• Learning Android, 2nd Edition by Marko Gargenta and Masumi Nakamura
• Head First Android Development by Dawn Griffiths and David Griffiths
• High Performance Android Apps by Doug Sillars
• Android Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (3rd Edition)
• Here is a Quora Response recommending online tutorials and books to learn Android development

Class Schedule

Assignments

• Tue, Mar 29: If you haven't filled in a Student Survey yet, please do so right away! It is mandatory for every enrolled student
• Wed, Mar 30: Download and install Android Studio. You can follow the steps in Handout H2
  
  
• HW assignment 1 is due Sunday, April 10, 23:59:59. Use the instructions on Gradescope to sign up with HackerRank, solve the challenges, and submit your solutions!
  
• HW assignment 2 is due Sunday, April 17, 23:59:59. Use the instructions on Gradescope to submit your solutions!
• HW assignment 3 is due Sunday, April 17, 23:59:59. Use the instructions on Gradescope to submit your solutions!
• HW assignment 4 is due Sunday, May 8,Monday, May 9, 23:59:59. Use the instructions on Gradescope to submit your solutions!
  
  
• Group Projects
• Individual Project Option
  
  
• Overall Project Assessment