GOOGLE In a programmer's view

ANDROID

Google GLASS runs on Android 4.0.4, so basically an app developed using Android 4.0.4 or greater can be installed in the GLASS.

DEVELOPMENT KIT

There is no GDK(GLASS Development KIT yet), But as this runs on Android you can use the traditional Android Development KIT to develop Native GLASS apps for the Google GLASS.

DEPENDENCY GLASS does not have many sensors that are

available in a normal phone. It has WIFI, Bluetooth, Accelerometer and

Proximity Sensor. So it needed to be paired with a phone to access

those sensors. Which consumes extra battery. Usable battery time is also less compared to an

Android phone.

GLASS PROGRAMMING APPROACHES

Google GLASS Development can be approached in 2 ways

•Native GLASS App(Android)

•GLASS Ware(Server Side)

NATIVE GLASS APP DEVELOPMENT Native GLASS app development is same as developing

for normal android phones. But there are some things needed to be cared about. The platform should be Android 4.0.4 or greater. When developing I’ll advise to develop the app in the

landscape orientation as the glass is in landscape mode.

You should be on look out for some traditional features that’s not available, like Google Play services, auto focus feature on camera and many other.

GLASS WARE DEVELOPMENT GLASS ware is a website/web service. It uses MIRROR API to create html information cards and send

them using the restful services to the google servers. MIRROR API is available in many popular languages so it is

language friendly. Then Google Servers will push those cards to the Google

Glass, when it is connected to the internet(Basic C2DM). Some actions like read aloud, pin, share can be specified for

the html cards generated in the Mirror API. Important - Mirror API does not support Java script

CURRENTLY MIRROR API IS AVAILABLE ON THESE LANGUAGES

WHAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO There is nothing impossible in Native Android app when you

can pair your GLASS to the phone. But when it comes to GLASS ware, there are some restrictions. The html cards you push cannot contain any java scripts. Using the cards only some predefined actions are possible.

(Example: share, delete, pin, read aloud) Native Android apps or intends cannot be launched using the

html cards pushed from the GLASS ware.

ON MY EXPERIENCE On my experience on Google GLASS development, I

prefer native GLASS apps rather than the GLASS ware development.

Usually any problems can be handled using the Android.

But still there is a positive site in the GLASS ware. For the purpose of notification and updatable notification, GLASS ware is good.

THE END

This slide is designed to provide basic knowledge on Google GLASS for developers, based on the XE9 update. All the details are written on my Experience as a Google Glass App developer at Exilesoft(Pvt) Ltd.

Those who are interested in Google GLASS and it’s Development please visit my Blog www.pathofacoder.com

Follow Me on