GSOC 2012 Android expense tracker application

[Muslim Chochlov]

Hi Ngewi,

I am interested contributing to Gnucash through the GSOC 2012, in
> particular the Android expense tracker application. I have done some
> Android programming as part of my studies and I usually also like to track
> my expenses in real time (i.e. when I am actually spending the money).
>
> Thanks for your interest in GnuCash.


> I have read the description on the Wiki page
> http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/GSoC2012#Google_Summer_of_Code_2012
> and I am very interested in the project.
>
> I have a question about the description in the wiki. It says "You will also
> learn how to allow users to configure multiple credit cards and bank
> accounts into the Android application". Is this supposed to mean that the
> mobile app should be able to synchronize with bank accounts?
>
> The original idea is an application that helps user track his expenses
while being away from his desktop.
Mobile application is not meant to be a substitute to GnuCash in any way,
rather a helper tool. It should allow user to keep records of his daily
money flow internally and later import them into the GnuCash. While online
synchronization is an interesting idea I think it should be put away for
this project.


> Also, here (
>
> http://gnucash.1415818.n4.nabble.com/GSoC-2012-Ideas-GnuCash-Android-application-td4438360.html
> )
> it
> says that the app should target API level 4 - 15. Looking at Android
> platform versions, API level 4 is about 0.8% of the total install base with
> access to the market. I would suggest to target API level 7 and above since
> there are significant API changes which were made in the Android 2.x
> series. Just a suggestion and I would like to hear opinions on it.
>
> Having an Android application that covers most of mobile devices is a good
thing to have. But again you have to keep in mind that this is not a
trivial task and would require from you a fair understanding of API
differences and a good Android programming experience. If you have a solid
background and feel you can add multiple platform support - that's great.
Otherwise it would be better to target the API you are most comfortable
with and focus on the basic features, which are user data tracking and
export.
Think of an idea as a starting point from which you could derive your
proposal.

I have some ideas for the application and I look forward to working with
> the community to advance Gnucash for the mobile platform.
>
>
If you have ideas for don't hesitate to bring them to the open discussion.

Cheers,
Muslim