Inspiration
What it does
Servo is an android application developed mainly in Java and MSSQL using Android Studio. This application allows users to login via email or other third-party authentication services and add services for other users on the application to complete. For example, a user can post that they are in need of a tutor and others can decide to take on that task.
How I built it
I used Google's Android API to build an android application using Android Studio. SQL Server Management Studio helped me through the process of managing the database and JDBC for providing a reliable connection to my SQL server. Adobe XD was essential for the UI/UX of this application as a base layer before re-implementing that design in Android Studio. Finally, Gradle was helpful in managing the packages needed to develop this application
Challenges I ran into
I ran to multiple challenges like what technologies I would use to build the app itself as well as store the user contents and also what platform I would use to design my app instead of relying just on the base implementation on android studio.
In terms of coding in particular there are also several challenges. One notable issue I was stuck on for days was my navigation were at first when the user clicked a button it won't navigate to the next page, but after it was able to navigate it would do it rather slowly. So for this, I had to optimize my code in order for a smoother transition. I also ran to issues with 3rd party authentication systems like the Facebook SDK where the registration system would work but the login was faulty. I had to post an issue on the Facebook SDK Github and communicate with other users to resolve this.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
It may have been a rough road to get to the point of my first release but it was definitely worth it! Not only could I showcase my app, but I learned a ton throughout building this app.
What I learned
I acquired many skills such as Android Dev, SQL Server, Adobe XD, Gradle, etc...
One of the things I learned about this project aside from the coding aspect of it was to plan ahead before starting to actually code and to never give up on achieving the result as I had taught many times during the time of this development to drop this project all-together.
What's next for Servo
I have many new features I planned to work on for Servo such as the ability to import profiles from other popular services like Google and Facebook, the ability to have two or more people work on a single service collaboratively, adding bookmarks so users could bookmark services of interest, and adding a queue so a user could pick from a bunch of teams the right one to work on the service he/she requested.
