June 2014 Summaries

Jason Polites from the Cloud Platform Team discusses solutions to the problem of "app-nesia," where mobile apps forget user data after reinstallation, by introducing Google Cloud Save and Cloud Tools for Android Studio. Google Cloud Save allows developers to save user data to the cloud effortlessly, ensuring synchronization across devices and persistence through app reinstalls, while minimizing battery impact by handling backend logic and synchronization services. Cloud Tools for Android Studio offers templates to facilitate adding an App Engine backend, with built-in support for Google Cloud Endpoints, which streamlines communication between the backend and the Android app by generating optimized client libraries and automating JSON marshalling. The integration of Gradle and its App Engine plug-in ensures a cohesive build system across different development environments, enabling developers to efficiently manage both app and backend development within Android Studio.

Google Cloud Dataflow, unveiled at Google I/O, is a cloud-native data processing service designed to simplify and democratize data analytics. It facilitates data integration, real-time event stream analysis, and complex multi-step processing pipelines, allowing users to derive insights from datasets of any size without the hassle of managing clusters or optimizing resources. Based on Google's internal technologies like MapReduce, Flume, and MillWheel, Cloud Dataflow supports a language-agnostic approach and initially offers a Java SDK for developing data processing pipelines. Utilizing PCollections and PTransforms, users can write modular, high-level code that Cloud Dataflow optimizes for efficiency while maintaining transparency through its monitoring UI. The flexibility of Cloud Dataflow allows seamless transitions between development stages and adapts to varied data sources, empowering users to focus on application logic while ensuring scalability and ease of management.

At Google I/O 2014, Google introduced several new services and tools aimed at enhancing the capabilities of developers on the Google Cloud Platform. Among the key announcements was Google Cloud Dataflow, a fully managed service designed to simplify the creation and management of data pipelines for processing data in batch and streaming modes, succeeding the MapReduce model. Additionally, Google unveiled new cloud monitoring and debugging tools, such as Cloud Monitoring, Cloud Trace, and Cloud Debugger, which provide developers with enhanced capabilities to monitor, diagnose, and improve application performance in production settings. For mobile development, Google demonstrated enhancements like the new version of Google Cloud Save and added features in Android Studio to streamline mobile app development with backend support, emphasizing seamless data synchronization and rapid autoscaling. These innovations aim to facilitate more efficient and scalable application development across mobile and cloud platforms.

At the Google I/O event in 2014, Google announced the launch of Android TV, an extension of the Android platform aimed at enhancing the television experience by integrating Google Cast technology with TVs, set-top boxes, and consoles. This initiative allows developers to create immersive native apps and console-style games for Android TV devices that can be controlled with TV remotes, gamepads, or even Android Wear watches. The Android L Developer Preview SDK introduced the Leanback support library to aid in designing living room apps, and future APIs will enable direct casting to these apps. Google also improved the Google Cast SDK developer console to help users discover Cast apps more easily, with enhancements like Media Player Library upgrades and support for various streaming technologies. Developers are encouraged to explore resources available on developer.android.com/tv and developers.google.com/cast, and can request an ADT-1 devkit to facilitate Android TV development.

At Google I/O 2014, Google introduced several new tools aimed at enhancing developer productivity in managing cloud-based production systems. These tools include Cloud Debugger, which allows developers to set watchpoints in code to capture snapshots of variables and stack traces without affecting performance, and Cloud Trace, which helps visualize request processing times to identify performance bottlenecks. Cloud Monitoring, powered by Stackdriver, offers dashboards and alerting capabilities to quickly address performance issues by monitoring service metrics and setting alert thresholds. Additionally, a browser-based SSH client was introduced for secure, easy access to virtual machines from any major web browser, facilitating on-the-go debugging and issue resolution. These innovations are designed to streamline and optimize the development and maintenance of cloud applications, ensuring minimal disruption to end users and improving overall service performance.

Material design, introduced at Google I/O 2014 by designer Nicholas Jitkoff, represents a unified design approach intended to create consistent, intuitive user experiences across a variety of devices, including mobile, desktop, wearables, TVs, and automobiles. This design framework emphasizes tactile surfaces, bold graphics, and fluid motion, aiming to deliver aesthetic and functional clarity by using surface and shadow to denote touchable elements and movement. With its debut in the L-Release of Android, material design offers new tools such as a Material theme for apps, customizable color palettes, and enhanced UI features like dynamic shadow casting. Additionally, the design principles are being extended to the web via Polymer, a UI toolkit that allows developers to incorporate material design's characteristics into web applications, emphasizing tangibility and visual dynamics. The guidelines for material design, which aim to facilitate the creation of seamless applications and services across diverse platforms, are available on google.com/design.

At the 2014 Google I/O conference, Google Play announced several new initiatives to help app developers grow their global businesses, leveraging the platform's vast user base of over 1 billion active Android users. Key features introduced include the Google Play Developer Publishing API to streamline app release management, and enhanced analytics tools within the Developer Console that provide actionable insights and revenue metrics. Developers can also utilize new promotional tools such as Installed App Category Targeting and deep linking through AdWords to enhance app discovery and engagement. For game developers, Google Play Games introduced new features like Game Profile, Saved Games, and Quests to enhance user engagement and gameplay tracking. Additionally, expanded monetization options, including Direct Carrier Billing and PayPal payments, aim to increase revenue opportunities. These developments, coupled with the integration of Google Analytics into AdMob, provide developers with advanced segmentation tools to tailor monetization strategies and improve user experiences, ultimately supporting scalable and successful app businesses on the Google Play platform.

At the 2014 Google I/O conference, Google emphasized the themes of design, develop, and distribute to aid developers in building comprehensive app experiences. Significant announcements included the introduction of Material Design to enhance app aesthetics through tactile surfaces and bold graphics, with its integration into Android's L-Release and Polymer for web applications. Developers gained early access to the L Developer Preview, offering 5,000 new APIs, and updates like Google Play services 5.0 and new SDKs for platforms like Android TV and Android Auto. Additionally, Google introduced the Google Fit platform for fitness data, enhancements for gaming on Google Play, and tools for application management on Google Cloud Platform. Distribution strategies were bolstered with expanded Direct Carrier Billing and insights from the Google Play Developer Console, aiming to improve user engagement and app monetization. The event was streamed live, providing sessions on these themes for developers at various stages of their app lifecycle.

Join I/O 2014 offers a comprehensive way for individuals unable to attend the event in person to experience it remotely, with live streaming of the keynote and selected sessions over two days via four different channels. Starting on June 25 at 9 AM PDT, viewers can access these streams from the event's website or through a mobile app that also allows users to engage in I/O-related conversations on Google+ and receive session reminders. For a more communal experience, Extended events are available for group viewing, and participants can submit questions through the "#io14request" hashtag on Google+. Additionally, the event offers over 100 "I/O Bytes" videos for developers to explore on the Developers YouTube channel and provides tools for websites to embed the live stream and social feeds.

Google I/O 2014 is set to offer a range of sessions aimed at helping developers grow their app distribution, engage users, and increase revenue on Google Play. Key sessions include discussions on monetization strategies, leveraging Google Play's ecosystem, and expanding apps globally by understanding international markets. Attendees will also learn how to track app success, implement seamless transactions for users, and tailor monetization for various user groups. Additionally, Google product teams will share best practices for app distribution across different platforms, while entrepreneurs and venture capitalists will provide insights into building successful app businesses. Expert-led Office Hours for Google Play and related services will also be available, providing developers with direct access to advice and support.

Google I/O 2014, set to commence in less than 48 hours, promises a comprehensive lineup of sessions aimed at inspiring developers to create remarkable applications using Google's platforms, tools, and technologies. Key sessions include updates on Android developments, enhancing mobile web capabilities, and leveraging Google Cloud Platform for predictive analytics, with demonstrations of tools like Google BigQuery and machine learning models. Notable speakers such as Ray Kurzweil and Regina Dugan are scheduled to present groundbreaking research, while interactive 'Box talks' and Solve for X workshops offer attendees opportunities to engage directly with product teams and explore innovations in fields like accessibility, gaming performance, and cloud technologies.

Google I/O 2014 promises a variety of events designed to enhance design and development skills, focusing on creating exceptional user experiences. The conference features sessions, workshops, and panels, with highlights including sessions on wearable technology design, workshops on design sprints with Google Ventures, and a cross-platform design panel. These events provide opportunities for designers and developers to learn about the latest design principles, tools, and strategies for app distribution. Attendees can engage with Google designers through live streaming sessions and informal discussions in the Design Sandbox, fostering a collaborative environment for those passionate about intuitive and engaging application design.

In June 2014, Google announced that its plugin mod_spdy, designed to add SPDY protocol support to the Apache Web Server, has been donated to the Apache Software Foundation, becoming a core part of the Apache httpd codebase. Originally launched over two years prior to accelerate web performance and promote SPDY adoption, the plugin’s integration into Apache will enhance the server's capabilities by embedding SPDY and HTTP/2.0 features, such as multiplexing, directly into the server's core. This move reflects the widespread adoption of SPDY and its foundational role in the development of the HTTP/2.0 protocol. Jim Jagielski, co-founder of the ASF, expressed the intent to incorporate mod_spdy fully into Apache 2.4 and future versions, thereby broadening SPDY's accessibility and support. The transition marks a significant milestone in web server technology, with Google expressing gratitude for the community feedback and excitement for future developments under the Apache Software Foundation's stewardship.

Web Fundamentals and the Web Starter Kit are resources developed by Google to aid modern web development, particularly in the context of the expanding reach of mobile devices and their varied capabilities. Web Fundamentals provides a comprehensive set of best practices applicable to any framework or browser, covering topics like responsive layouts, forms, media, performance, and development workflows, with articles that address both coding and design aspects. Complementing this, the Web Starter Kit serves as a lightweight boilerplate equipped with templates and tools for building multi-device experiences, offering features like responsive design and performance optimization. Both initiatives are supported by Google developers and open-source contributors, with the source code available on GitHub, encouraging community engagement through contributions and feedback to continuously refine web development practices.

Ilya Grigorik, a Google Developer Advocate, emphasizes the importance of understanding and optimizing the Critical Rendering Path to enhance the speed at which web pages render on mobile devices. Through a new online Udacity course titled "Website Performance Optimization: Critical Rendering Path," participants can gain comprehensive insights into how browsers transform HTML, CSS, and JavaScript into visible pixels, including steps like constructing the DOM and CSSOM, building the render tree, performing layout, running JavaScript, and painting. The course explains the impact of CSS and JavaScript on rendering, offers techniques to measure and optimize these processes using Chrome Developer Tools, and aims to equip learners with the skills needed to ensure mobile pages load in under one second.

The Google I/O 2014 app, available on Google Play, is designed to enhance the conference experience for attendees both in-person and remotely by offering features such as a personalized schedule builder, event maps, WiFi configuration, and live-streamed content with closed captions. The app includes filters to help users quickly find relevant sessions by theme, topic, and event type, and it syncs schedules across devices and the I/O website. It also provides reminders for upcoming sessions and feedback opportunities, while integrating with Google Calendar to streamline event management. The app serves as an exemplar of Android app development best practices and will be open-sourced, allowing developers to learn from its design, which accommodates various screen sizes for an optimized user experience. Additionally, users can access videos from past I/Os in a dedicated "Video Library," enabling them to revisit previous talks and prepare for the conference.