A list of my favorites
As Android developers, we mostly make apps for consumers but let’s not forget about the amazing developers that create apps for other developers.
The following five apps come straight out of my ‘Developer’ folder on my Pixel XL. They are not the only apps in that folder but they are the ones that I find indispensable to my workflow.
Termux
Ah, Termux. I could write an entire article about how awesome Termux is.
Oh, wait. I did.
How Termux saved my ass_One of the reasons why Android rocks_hackernoon.com
Termux is a Linux terminal emulator with a package manager, theming capabilities, floating widgets — all mod cons. It has a huge list of packages available to download and it’s as simple as
apt-get install { package-name }
My use case? I use Termux to run a lightweight node.js push notification server for one of my apps on a 2013 Nexus 7. That meant that I had to install node.js, express and a variety of node_modules on Termux, which was trivial.
Yesterday, I wanted to install a TypeScript compiler because I wanted to see the JavaScript it outputs as a learning exercise. I was momentarily bummed when
apt-get install tsc
didn’t do the trick, until I realized that installing the typescript package through npm did the trick.
I’ll be damned, there’s actually an node package called awesome.
Termux is free in the Play Store, although some of the add-ons are paid. Pay the guy, he deserves it.
Buy Antonis Tsagaris a Coffee - BuyMeACoffee.com_I'm an Android developer and designer with a love for beautiful UIs!_www.buymeacoffee.com
Screener
So you made your app and now you want to publish it in the Play Store.
You know what’s going to make your listing look awesome? Putting those screenshots in a device frame!
Screener lets you download a boatload of device frames and place your screenshots in them. You can even add screen glare (the good kind) and a shadow behind the device for extra snazziness. Plus, the generated background is colored based on the screenshot itself. All for free.
Why post this
Ugh, really?
when you can post this
Sex me now!
unless you’re a disgusting sub-human with no taste?
Beats me.
Screener is free in the Play Store.
Material Cue
If you’re going to respect Material Design guidelines, you’re going to need Material Cue.
Google does not need Material Cue.
But you do.
“Respect the grid and the grid shall respect you” — Leviticus 5:12
Material Cue places a selection of grid overlays on your screen so you can check your elements’ placement. For stuff like navigation drawer elements, FAB positioning etc. this can be invaluable.
Material Cue is free in the Play Store
Graphice
Graphice is a color extraction tool by the amazing, the inimitable, the developers’ developer Francisco Franco. After a brief stint as a fascist dictator (too soon? probably not), Francisco decided to redeem himself by creating gorgeous Android apps and Graphice is the latest one in a string of big hits.
Since the introduction of the Palette API, color extraction apps are ten-a-penny in the Play Store (even I had a crack at one) but Graphice is probably the best one. Yes, even better than mine. Dammit.
One thing that Graphice does that I haven’t seen any other similar app do is that it allows you to select the area in the photo that you want to extract the palette from. It also lets you specify the number of colors that you want to extract from each photo.
So if you’re looking for sexy color palettes for your next app, you know where to go.
No. Not there, you pervert.
Graphice is free in the Play Store with a very reasonable $2.49 IAP to unlock some premium features.
Pocket Casts
I know, I know. What’s a podcast app doing here?
Well, you can use it to subscribe to Fragmented and Android Developers Backstage (ADB! That’s clever, Chet), naturally.
These are extremely knowledgeable people with extremely knowledgeable guests and you can’t afford to miss their shows.
Extra recommendation: in between the Android shows, you’re going to want to listen to the Beef & Dairy Network podcast. Trust me, you do. But don’t tell anyone about the Fifth Meat.
Pocket Casts costs a very reasonable $3.99 in the Play Store.
Dishonorable mention: AIDE
Oh, AIDE. How you broke my heart.
I used to love AIDE when it was a lightweight and pretty awesome way to code Android apps on the go, especially when I was first starting out.
And then, they decided to bloat it up more than a week-old corpse in the Everglades (yes, I used to watch a lot of CSI: Miami), fuck all of their loyal users (in the ass, I’d like to add) and add a crapload of tutorials and some sort of weird subscription model right out of Ayn Rand’s wildest dreams.
“Hello, would you like to be fucked in the ass?”
AIDE is… whatever in the Play Store and I’m not linking to it here. Fuck that shit.