I'm looking to level up my programming skills and I'm curious about building a GUI for the Android version of MPV. Although I have some experience with programming languages like Python and R, my app development skills are pretty limited. The nice thing is that the MPV developers have done the heavy lifting by creating a robust video player with all the features I want. My goal is to create a user interface that maps touch interactions and gestures to keyboard commands and lines in the MPV config files. Initially, I just want to be able to select a video file on my phone and control playback with simple gestures like long-pressing the screen. Can anyone suggest toolkits or share how challenging this project might be?
4 Answers
Honestly, I think creating a full app down that path is really tough. Just making an interface won’t cut it since it's not like you can just port your PC desktop app to Android. You'll need to build the app from scratch. The silver lining is that MPV is open source, allowing you to explore their codebase and see how things work. You could try replicating functionality in Python using Flutter, which is known for their cross-platform capabilities. Just consider it’s often a mix of languages for app development, so do some research there!
For developing Android apps, definitely check out Android Studio. It's a powerful IDE designed for Android development that you'll find really helpful. Just a heads up, it’ll take some time and effort to get familiar with everything you need to know, so stay patient and keep at it!
Definitely give Android Studio a shot! It’s a solid tool. While it might seem hard initially, there’s a lot of community support out there. Just take it bit by bit, and you might surprise yourself with what you can accomplish!
It's a pretty exciting project idea! I’d say it’s not quite a beginner’s project, and you might face challenges along the way that could feel overwhelming at times. But look at it this way: even if you don’t nail it on the first try, you’ll learn heaps in the process. I recommend starting with some foundational courses in Android development so that you can focus on the specific hurdles of your project instead of getting stuck on the basics. Once you’re familiar with the core concepts, just dive in!
Also curious if there are toolkits like Qt or GTK for this, or if I should just stick with Android Studio?
Thanks for the tips! Do you have any short tutorial resources you could recommend? I prefer reading texts over watching videos.