Published My First Android Application!

While I’ve been playing around with Android development for a few months and I’ve started half-a-dozen various apps, I finally completed one and submitted it to the Android Market.  It’s a simple SQLite database app that contains the 2011 ferry schedule for the Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry.

Starline publishes a PDF with their complete schedule and it’s sitting in one of my Dropbox folders.  But viewing the schedule meant I had to open Dropbox, navigate to the folder then click on the PDF to download it. Then wait for the PDF to appear and navigate to the schedule and pinch/zoom to find the date range I’m looking for.

With my application, you simply pick your dock and then click on handy “Today” or “Tomorrow” buttons which will automatically calculate which date range you fall in.  Then you’ll get a listing of departure times both from the mainland and from the island.  You’re also free to pick any of the published date ranges to see times for the entire regular season.

If you’re planning a trip to Mackinac Island and plan to take the Star Line ferry, it’s a nice way to keep the schedule with you at all times.

2 Comments

  • Patrick, what did you develop this in? I am askign since I develop in .NET/C# and I do not want to go the java route. I was looking at Corona for development but it seems it is really for games.

  • I went the Java route and used JetBrains's IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition. It's a great IDE and the free version has full support for developing Android apps.

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