Geni Android App Progress Updates

Started by Shmuli Sternbach on Monday, November 21, 2022
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Good news everyone! I have started writing an open-source Android app for Geni! It is not an official app, but it uses their API and will have all of the functionality of the website, accessible through the convenience and added performance of a native Android app.

I am starting with Android, basing it on the already well-developed www.familygem.app Family Gem genealogy app. Surprisingly, this is the only genealogy app for Android whose code is publicly available online. It is already a very aesthetically pleasing app (see screenshots on the site) as it follows the official Android design language (Material design, www.material.io), and has many features, making it a (hopefully) quick process to integrate Geni.

You can follow app development progress here, or on GitHub if you want to see changes to the code as they happen (or want to contribute - all help is welcome!): https://github.com/Sternbach-Software/GeniForAndroid . I will try to sync updates between GitHub and this discussion (i.e. post an update here when I make a big update on GitHub), but can't guarantee they will always reflect each other.

I currently have undecided questions about the direction the app should take, so please feel free to share your opinion here or at https://github.com/Sternbach-Software/GeniForAndroid/discussions . The current questions I have are:

 - [Tools to help keep trees on multiple platforms (e.g. Ancestry.com) in sync with Geni](https://github.com/Sternbach-Software/GeniForAndroid/discussions/5)
 - [Implement Geni discussions integration?](https://github.com/Sternbach-Software/GeniForAndroid/discussions/2)
 - [Implement Geni messaging integration?](https://github.com/Sternbach-Software/GeniForAndroid/discussions/4)

I would prefer that discussions be kept in GitHub to prevent fragmentation of feedback across platforms, but if it is a choice between not leaving your feedback and leaving feedback here (and not on GitHub), then please leave your feedback here.

For me, having read-access to my tree so it can be visualized easily from a mobile device would be enough. I have many relatives that use geni, but nowadays people mostly use their phone to browse internet, so having an app to easily view their tree and find people would be already great.

I guess that can be a good first step, and many people would be fine with just being able to view their tree. It would make a first release happen sooner, but I am worried that if I release an app that isn't better than or as good as the website, people will uninstall it, rate it badly, and won't check back for updates.

Have you considered taking a hybrid approach like capacitorjs.com that way you could appeal to those who don't want to install it but still want to help

Monish Overlander
1. To be honest, I have little experience in web technologies - that is currently one of the main areas of growth I am actively pursuing. I have thousands of pages of Android reading and over 1000 hours of experience, so that is primarily why I started with Android (besides for the fact that Android is 87% of the mobile market share, and that I use Android personally :p ).
2. I am not a fan (to put it lightly) of "native" web apps, both from a user's perspective and a developer's. The native look and feel (including performance) makes a world of a difference, and personally means a lot to me in terms of my own use of the app, as well as the pride I take in my work and what I publish. I want only the best, and I feel web apps are sub-par.
3. In terms of not wanting to install it, I'm not sure what the hesitation is. And what do you mean by "help"?

I hear your point about native. By "help" I was referring to merging profiles, entering data from records etc

How is the progress going?

It has stagnated - my real job has gotten in the way. I got to the point where I started writing Geni integrations, but I couldn't figure out how to use the APIs. I started writing this library (https://github.com/Sternbach-Software/GeniAndroidSDK) to interface with the Geni API integration, and that is where I left off in December. Once I finish that, it should be pretty quick to publish an app.

Private User I've been (very slowly) assisting Shmuli on the project as well. Progress has been consistent, but the work I have been able to put in has been pretty minimal haha. I wouldn't say things have *completely* come to a halt yet, we just need more developers so if you know any then send them our way! :P

Implementing a family tree component also turns out to be immensely complicated, as there is little research on algorithms for Directed Cyclic Graphs (which is what a family tree is) (unlike the well-studied tree algorithms like Bucheim-Walker, which don't accommodate a node having two parents), so I am in the 10s of drafts of writing the algorithm from scratch.

In case people are checking this thread or finding it through online search engines, Shmuli and I have had a few good breakthroughs in the past month which has been nice. Development is still progressing on the app!

If anyone is interested in helping, we can always use more hands!

ממתינים מאד!

עושים כמיטב יכולתנו בזמננו הפנוי! 😃

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