4 posts tagged with "kotlinkenya"

Know Your Meme 🤣​

Welcomes & Hellos! 🫂​

Hello and hello again, everyone 👋! How are you all? We hope that you are safe and sound despite the reenactment of The Noah Floods 🌊. We are not referring to this Noah but you get the idea 🤷‍♂️. Without wasting any time, here is a recap of what happened this month within the Android254 and Kotlin Kenya communities. This is Episode #18 of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter:

The April Challenge​

Do you love a good Linked List Manipulation Session? Are you a DSA guru who drools over reversing, recursing, and linking Linked Lists? 🥵 Whether you are or not, The Chief Senior Dishwasher unveiled The April Challenge. It featured Recursion 🌀 as the concept of choice to make the Test Cases pass. Let us do this one more time: Would you like to win some merch by JetBrains? If so, then be ready to fire up The Kotlin Playground and solve The April Challenge when it drops at KotlinBits.

Exploring Canvas in Jetpack Compose for Better UI Experiences 🎨​

The Hutsy Developer made good use of an ice breaker (if you know you know) ⛏️ to introduce his session on working with Canvas in Jetpack Compose. Like the Tech Bro that he is, Josphat Mwania used the Audi logo to demonstrate how to work with Canvas in Jetpack Compose using the Canvas API. Josphat concluded his session by challenging the audience to apply what they learnt to draw either the Instagram logo or the Facebook logo. The Senior Teaman took up the challenge and submitted this solution.

Exploring Mobile Release Management: Strategies & Best Practices 📊​

If you hate complex release processes when it comes to Mobile Releases, then you no doubt need to check out The State Machinist's presentation on the different strategies and best practices of Mobile Release Management. He extensively talked about Release Management, The Challenges of Mobile Release Management, and The Solutions too. To learn more, check out his presentation. 📈

Configuring WorkManager: Running Tasks in The Background 🔧​

Finally, we were served (pun intended but keep reading even if you do not understand) with a taste of Background Process Scheduling using WorkManager by Joel Muraguri. He used a simple Reminder app to demonstrate the steps needed to implement WorkManager in Android to schedule 🗓️ background tasks.

Food for Thought 💡​

• Do you think WorkManager will work when a user toggles "Background Processes" off on his/her app settings? ⚙️ Why?

• If you schedule a task, say 10 minutes ⏲️ from now, do you think it will be executed if the app is not in the foreground when the time comes for the task to be executed? Why?

• Why do you think WorkManager and AlarmManager are different in The Android SDK? 🧰

DroidCon Kenya 2024 🎫​

You are going to have to grab some powder as these announcements deserve an applaud 👏 from you. Without wasting any time, here is a rundown of everything you need to know about DroidCon Kenya 2024:

• DroidCon Kenya 2024 will be happening from the 6th to the 8th of NOvember 2024...
• FlutterCon Kenya 2024 will be hosted alongside DroidCon Kenya 2024 as we believe in equality across Mobile frameworks (except Javascript frameworks)...
• The DroidCon Kenya Android App is open for contribution so if you want to be featured in The Contribution Hall of Fame then better get your hands dirty and contribute!

Hello From Congo 🇨🇬​

The April Meetup did not just host The State Machinist as the only guest. All the way from Congo, we had Yves Kalume, GDE come say hello and tour this lovely region of ours. The duo 👥 appreciated the level of engagement witnessed to the audience and commended them for their passion and contributions to the community.

The Community Showcase 💪​

1. Chronos​

Thanks to Felix Biego, you can now keep your smartwatch synced and never miss a notification 🛎️ on your wrist. Discover the fascinating development journey behind Chronos, the revolutionary smartwatch companion app that redefines your health and fitness experience.

2. Soka​

Football ⚽ fans have not been left behind as we are proud to feature Soka, an Android app that works out your game predictions coupled with the following features:

• Live Scores
• Match Details
• Videos & Highlights
• Match Stats

The app is built by The Choxx so please thank him whether your predicitions go through or not.

3. Measure Code Execution Time in Kotlin​

Have you always wondered what Android Interviews look like? If you thought that this is another iteration of DSA then brace yourself. Why? Valentine Rutto recalled an Android Interview where she was tasked with writing a function that predicts flooding given amount of rain and area in square meters and finally measure its code execution time. ⏱️ Check out her Medium article to learn how you could approach such a use case instead of fumbling and collapsing during the interview.

4. Mastering Kotlin for Android 14: Build powerful Android apps from scratch using Jetpack libraries and Jetpack Compose​

Do you remember when we asked you to pre-order His Expertness's book in preparation for your mastery in Android Development, the Jetpack Compose way? Get your credit/debit card ready as the book is finally out! Yes, Mastering Kotlin for Android 14: Build powerful Android apps from scratch using Jetpack libraries and Jetpack Compose is finally out and we urge you to make the purchase as soon as you read this. Seriously though, what better way is there for learning and mastering Android other than from a Googe Developer Expert (GDE)? Hurry up, then! Order the book 🛒, master your skills 🧠, apply them in finding and solving problems 🧩, get paid 💰, and purchase your German Machine 🏎️ sooner than later.

Until May 🫂​

It is at this point that we acknowledge our new beginnings and pledge to have a transformative 2024. We have journeyed, will still journey with you and gears are about to be shifted (tech bros please calm down) in your favour. If you would like to level up your career in Android, then attending our Monthly Meetups, building cool stuff in public, and interacting with our members should be a part of your routine. We cannot wait to hear and share your stories. See you in May! 👋

Credits 🎬​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• The Hutsy Developer featuring The Senior Teaman
• The State Machinist
• Joel Muraguri

3. The April Challenge​

• The Chief Senior Dishwasher

4. DroidCon Kenya 2024 (Announcements)​

• Annie Kobia
• The Chief Senior Dishwasher

5. Featured​

• Felix Biego
• The Choxx
• Valentine Rutto
• His Expertness

6. Meetup Hosts​

• Daystar University
• Eugene Oyier
• Newton Mutugi

7. Newsletter Sponsors​

• Android254
• Kotlin Kenya
• KotlinBits

Welcomes & Hellos!​

If laughter is the best medicine then we are no doubt the best doctors 💉 in Kenya for our attendees had quite some laughs during The March Meetup courtesy of our lively speakers. Even if you did not get the chance to attend The March Meetup, worry not for this release will simulate them as we believe in leaving no man (or woman) behind. This is Newsletter #17:

Keeping Your Software Fresh: How Renovate Simplifies Dependency Updates​

Have you ever struggled to keep your dependencies up to date in this dynamic field of Android? Or even worse, have you ever had to deal with Ancient Dependencies? You would be forgiven after thinking that Dependabots were the only solution to this unfortunate circumstance. What if we told you that there was another way? 😮 What if we told you that it prioritises Automation? Yes, people of DevOps. This new option targets you too. Without wasting any time, Brandy Odhiambo introduced Renovate as an automated solution that seeks to ease the process of Dependency Management. In fact, we dare to say that Renovate might be better for you compared to Dependabots thanks to:

• The Dependency Dashboard that provides all of the information you need regarding your dependencies...
• The ability to upgrade common monorepo packages...
• The Multi-Platform support...
• The ability to show log changes...
• The ability to run as often as it is allowed to run...

Say goodbye to Ancient Code (Interns and Juniors we are watching you) and say hello to Automation...

State Management in Jetpack Compose​

Speaking of Ancient Code, are you still stuck writing your UI in XML and would like to migrate to Jetpack Compose? Would you like to take a step further and learn about State Management in Jetpack Compose? We had The Beerman take us through State Management where he implemented The Beer App 🍺 to demonstrate the same.

Here are a few pointers that were discussed during this session:

• State and State Management...
• State Hoisting...
• Definition of State in Kotlin (Jetpack Compose)...

Stay tuned for a potential Part 2 of this elaborate session 😉...

Get Started with Gemini on Android​

From ChatGPT to Dall-E and now Devin, AI seems to be moving faster than most of us thought. Whether that is a good or bad thing, we cannot deny that AI is here to stay and we are all better off understanding it even at a basic level.

Given that we do not want our developers to be rendered obsolete, we invited The Droidette to conduct a workshop on Getting Started with Gemini on Android. She made use of Chat Buddy to demonstrate the power of Machine Learning through Artificial Intelligence using The Gemini API in Android. The audience was in awe for this marked a revolution of sorts in the potential of AI in building attractive ❇️, user-friendly 🤗, robust 🦾, and testable 🧪 Android apps...

The March Challenge​

Are you a lover of Data Structures and Algorithms? Do you not just love a good LeetCode session where Performance 📈 is your love language? Worry no more for whether you like it or not, we decided to feature Linked Lists in The March Challenge anyway 🤷‍♂️:

Oh no. We did not just stop there. Android254 and Kotlin Kenya firmly believes in Test Driven Development (TDD). "Yes that is great and all, but how does that relate with the March Challenge?" That is the best question you could have asked for all you need to do is click me and test your Testing skills. See what we did there? 😏

DroidCon Kenya 2024​

The early bird 🐦 catches the worm 🪱. While we will not be catching worms any time soon, we are proud to announce that DroidCon Kenya 2024 will be happening from the 6th to the 8th of November this year.

The Teaman made this announcement and gave the following pointers that we would like you to have:

• Contributions to The Droidcon Kenya Android App on GitHub are still open and if you would like to spice up your resume 📄, get access to a simulated work environment 🖥️, or even gain bragging rights in matters Open-Source 👥, then please check out The Issues listed and get to work!
• Did we mention that the event will be happening from the 6th to the 8th of November? 🤔
• DroidCon Kenya will be turning 5️⃣ so the event will be a rather special one to commemorate half a decade of fun and learning...

Featured​

1. Mastering Kotlin for Android 14: Build powerful Android apps from scratch using Jetpack libraries and Jetpack Compose​

His Expertness will be launching his book: Mastering Kotlin for Android 14: Build powerful Android apps from scratch using jetpack libraries and Jetpack Compose on the 5th of April. Do you want to finally master Android(Kotlin), get that 6-figure job, and finally buy that German Machine? 🚗 Well, then what are you waiting for? Pre-order the book here and get to work!

2. Asking Efficiently​

Juniors, this one is for you 🥺. Have you ever been stuck on a coding problem and did not know who or how to ask for help? Do you ever feel like you are a bother to those you ask questions? Would you like to ask better questions using better methods (pun unintended)? If that is the case, look no further than this article which will guide you on how to ask efficient questions as written by a Senior...

3. Sain (サイン)​

Would you care to try out a tool that would allow your users to write signatures in your app? Drum rolls 🥁 please for we are excited to unveil Sain (サイン) to you! Sain (サイン) is a Compose Multiplatform library built by Joel Kanyi for capturing and exporting signatures as ImageBitmap with customizable options. Perfect for electronic signature, legal documents and more...

4. Palette Lab - Color Picker​

If you genuinely thought that we forgot about UI/UX Design then your delusions are easily comparable to those of J*va programmers 🤡. Palette Lab - Color Picker is primarily built for developers, designers, and anybody with an interest in aesthetic - related activities like fashion or photography. It helps you explore color as well as see what color combinations best suit whatever your interest is, allowing you to keep a rich collection of colors and palettes. Thank Augustine Ndung'u for this empathetic design product...

5. NRBSTEPPER​

Are you interested in fashion and expanding your wardrobe beyond Tech swags? Would you like to purchase your next outfit based on a product built by one of our community members? Check out NRBSTEPPER as built by Alloys Amasakha and let the dripping begin! 🕶️

6. Jammo Sports​

Football ⚽ fans are allowed to cheer further for we are proud to introduce Jammo Sports. As its creator put it, "It is a platform to display all the sporting events majorly those happening in the African continent. It's a football platform meant for live match events converage, giving info about teams, competitions, upcoming fixtures and game results...

7. Navigating The Obstacles of Navigation Compose​

Do you want to prevent your Android app from crashing using one ☝️ simple trick in Compose Navigation? Check out this article that describes the pitfalls of using explicit navigation destinations and a simple solution to curb the same. The article was written by Peter Chege...

Until April​

It is at this point that we acknowledge our new beginnings and pledge to have a transformative 2024. We have journeyed, will still journey with you and gears are about to be shifted (tech bros please calm down) in your favour. If you would like to level up your career in Android, then attending our Monthly Meetups, building cool stuff in public, and interacting with our members should be a part of your routine. We cannot wait to hear and share your stories. See you in April 👋...

Credits​

1. Newsletter Writing, Editing, and Publishing​

• Emmanuel Muturia™

2. Speakers​

• Brandy Odhiambo
• The Beerman
• The Droidette

3. The Kotlin Challenge​

• The Chief Senior Dishwasher

4. DroidCon Kenya 2024 (Announcements)​

• The Teaman

5. Featured​

• His Expertness
• The Teaman
• Joel Kanyi
• Augustine Ndung'u
• Alloys Amasakha
• Jammo Sports
• Peter Chege

6. Meetup Hosts​

• Daystar University
• Eugene Oyier
• Newton Mutugi

7. Newsletter Sponsors​

• Android254
• Kotlin Kenya
• KotlinBits

Welcome!​

Hi, Droids and Droidettes! Welcome back to yet another issue of The Kotlin Kenya Newsletter 📃. How have you all been? We hope that you had an awesome February and that you experienced the love that you deserved this month 😏. Whether you did or not, let us demonstrate our love for you by releasing this month's issue of our Newsletter. This is Newsletter #16:

The Kotlin Monthly Challenge​

During this month's meetup, our audience got to stretch their thinking by participating in The Challenge #2 as well as flexing their Kotlin and DSA prowess. This epsisode focused on both Kotlin-specific and Algortithmic approaches to solving The Challenge and by attempting it yourself, you could see how well your code would have performed at the time. Share with us your solutions as what better way to market your skills than through flexing them at any given point in time? 🤷‍♂️

The Code Review​

Do you still feel like you could write better code? Does your GitHub repository still look like that of a Bedroom Developer? Worry not for we have permanently adopted The Code Review as part of our Monthly Meetup Curriculum. For the second time, we were joined by The Teaman who went over the following pointers (pun intended if you know C++) based on this GitHub repository:

1. Commenting vs Documentation​

Senior Chepsi mentioned that while opinions may differ regarding its implementation and execution, documentation is important in a team-centered codebase. He stressed that documentation allows for readability of the codebase regardless of the seniority of the reader.

2. Write Out Why You Chose It​

In addtion, he emphasised that another feature of a well-documented codebase or GitHub repository was the inclusion of the "why", that is, documenting why you chose a certain library for example. The attendees were made to understand that why they chose their tools mattered more than what tools they actually used.

3. Network Calls​

Through a lengthy but fruitful discussion, Chepsi engaged the crowd by asking them which technologies they used for making network calls in their projects. The most outstanding takeaway was that majority of the community members preferred Ktor as it supported their mission of adopting a Kotlin-first approach to building their projects.

The session and meetup in general was concluded by the attendees being asked to try and play around with their technologies and even try and build their own. A custom network-calling tool, perhaps? Food for thought.

The Call For Speakers (Monthly Meetup)​

Hey, pssst! Are you interested in becoming a speaker for the upcoming monthly meetups? For real for real? Then stop what you are doing and click me to make your aspiration a reality!

Featured​

Until March​

It is at this point that we acknowledge our new beginnings and pledge to have a transformative 2024. We have journeyed, will still journey with you and gears are about to be shifted (tech bros please calm down) in your favour. If you would like to level up your career in Android, then attending our Monthly Meetups, building in public, and interacting with our members should be part of your routine. We cannot wait to hear and share your stories. See you on March 👋...

Hi (The Reunion)​

Hi Droids and Droidettes and a Happy New Year to you 🤯. How have you all been? Now that you are back so are we! Without wasting any time, here is what's been happening in Android254 and Kotlin Kenya. This is Newsletter #15:

The Kotlin Challenge​

Hey psst! Are you a Kotlin junkie who would like to flex their Kotlin muscles? You are? In that case, please thank your colleagues led by The Chief Senior Dishwasher who brought back The Kotlin Challenge. The Kotlin Challenge is an opportunity for you to not only showcase your Kotlin prowess, but also claim your very own Jetbrains Lincense. What else, apart from a German Machine could be more rewarding for your skills? 😏

The Expectations, Feedback, and Topics​

With a new year comes a new way of doing things. As we are a community and not a regime, we always seek to involve our community members in our development plans (pun intended 🤡). During the January Meetup, we had a lengthy yet engaging discussion based on the following pillars:

1. Expectations​

With the steady incorporation of new members, Android254 and Kotlin Kenya received the latter's expectations for their experience in the community. They were as interesting as the proposition to include pizza snacks 🍕 and as resourceful as including more hands-on workshops. Tell a friend to bring a friend in order to find out more, will ya?

2. Feedback​

We also gathered valuable feedback from our community members and do you guys have quite the ideas! In case you participated in our survey, then please be assured that we have already assimilated your feedback into our plans for the year. The question is: Are you ready for what's coming? 👀

3. Topics​

Finally, we got the best responses from our attendees concerning the topics that are in high demand. In case you wanted to see more of Kotlin MultiPlatform (KMP), Career Stuff, Android Automotive, etc then just attend our next meetups. That's it, really 🤷‍♂️...

The Code Review​

Are you a novice who would want to be put to the flame of Code Reviewing? Would you like to have a Senior Engineer (or even a GDE 😜) assess the quality of your work? we are pleased to announce that we are now having Code Reviews as part of our community activities. January's meetup saw The Teaman conduct a Code Review Session using this GitHub repository. The audience learnt best practices, mistakes to avoid, as well as hacks pertaining take-home assignments...

The KotlinConf' 2024 Contest​

If you thought that we are your average Tech community then you are as lost as J*va enthusiasts 🚮. In preparation for KotlinConf' 2024, we are proud to announce that we have Samson Aricha as one of the winners for The KotlinConf' Contest 🥳. Check out his product and learn from the best...

Whoa whoa whoa there! Did you seriously think that we had only one winner? Once again KotlinConf' announced Asira Etemesi as another champion for The KotlinConf' 2024 Contest. Head over to his product to learn more...

The Call For Speakers (Monthly Meetup)​

Interested in becoming a speaker for the upcoming monthly meetups? For real for real? Then stop what you are doing and click me to make your aspiration a reality!

Dear Reader​

It is at this point that we acknowledge our new beginnings and pledge to have a transformative 2024. We have journeyed with you and gears are about to be shifted (tech bros please calm down) in your favour. If you would like to level up your career in Android, then attending our monthly meetups, building in public, and interacting with our members should be a routine for you. We cannot wait to hear and share your stories. See you on February...