• Use HTML+CSS+JavaScript to design cross-platform APPs!
• If you want to start with Android development directly and skip Web/Electron, jump to that secion directly

Introduction

• This framework is named Android/Node.js Common Interface, abbreviated ANCI
• Aim: Write your program ONLY ONCE by HTML+CSS+JavaScript,
• And be able to run it as
  • Android APP by DroidScript framework
  • Web APP by Node.js+Express server
  • Windows/Linux/MacOS Desktop APP by Electron

Usage

• Install Node.js first at https://nodejs.org/
  • Android users can install Termux and run pkg install nodejs or git
  • Then after git clone and cd, use npm install --no-bin-links to install dependencies
  • if you want to store this package under /sdcard, you have to run termux-setup-storage first
• Use git clone command or download the zip of this repo directly, and under the ANCI path run npm install

git clone https://github.com/jjtseng93/Android-Node.js-Common-Interface.git
cd Android-Node.js-Common-Interface
npm install

Running the APP for Web or Electron

• Then, on Windows simply run the batch files named run_xxx.bat for different platforms
• On other platforms' terminal

# To start as Electron APP
npm start

# To start as Node.js+Express server or Packaging to Android's DroidScript 
npm run web

• If you run web, open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:8081 to run the Web APP by default

Running the APP for Android's DroidScript

• You have to install DroidScript on Android first at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smartphoneremote.androidscriptfree
• Run web first, and you'll see the packing tool in the command prompt
• Use numbers to select which APP to pack
  • I have a default app called 0 for demonstrating the APIs in ANCI, you can test ANCI's functions there
• After packing, your APP will be ready under DroidScript/app_name
  1. Copy it directly to /sdcard/DroidScript
  2. or Zip the app_name folder to app_name.zip, and change the file extension to .spk, open it by the DroidScript APP on Android
• Open DroidScript and you'll find your APP installed, click on it to run directly or long-click to edit
• By default all the console.log will be shown as alert message,
• if you want to disable it, edit droidscript_main.js or app_name.js and mark out the alert("Main: " in the web_OnConsole function

Start development on PC

• if you have followed all the steps above, you will have a ANCI folder containing /sdcard/napps/0
• you can revise its Code.js and UI.html directly and run as original

Using your own APP name

• By GUI
  • Use the ADD button inside the default APP 0 and choose a template
  • Edit /sdcard/napps/your_app_name/Code.js and UI.html with your preferred text editor
  • Run by the PLAY button inside the default APP 0
• Manually
  • Copy the folder /sdcard/napps/your_preferred_template_app to /sdcard/napps/your_app_name manually
  • Edit /sdcard/napps/your_app_name/Code.js and UI.html with your preferred text editor
  • Run on Web by changing the URL to /sdcard/napps/your_app_name/main.app
  • Run on Electron by changing this line in web_electron_server_anci.js:

app.get("/",(q,s)=>s.redirect("/sdcard/napps/0/main.app")); // Change 0 to your_app_name

Start with pure Android development right away

• Install DroidScript on Android at https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.smartphoneremote.androidscriptfree
• Download the 0.spk from this repo's DroidScript folder and open it with DroidScript: https://jjtseng93.github.io/Android-Node.js-Common-Interface/DroidScript/0.spk
• If you failed installing this way, rename the 0.spk to 0.zip and extract the folder "0" to /sdcard/DroidScript manually
• A new APP called 0 will be installed to your DroidScript; run it to test ANCI's functions
• Revise the Code.js and UI.html under /sdcard/DroidScript/0 to develop your own APP
• Edit by your preferred text editor or use DroidScript directly by long-pressing on the APP icon
• By default all the console.log will be shown as alert message,
• if you want to disable it, edit app_name.js and mark out the alert("Main: " in the web_OnConsole function
• Later if you want to run your APP on Web or Electron, follow the instructions above and then manually copy your Code.js and UI.html to /sdcard/napps/app_name folder

File system structure

Overview

• For a comprehensive view, please look at the Project_Structure.pptx or the demo image below
• My design targets to let you only focus on the 2 files: UI.html and Code.js for User Interface and Functionality

sdcard (/sdcard)

• Access by RELATIVE path in HTML files, but when using filesystem operations by anci.operations in JS files, use absolute path starting with /sdcard
• As to emulate the environment of Android system
• The uppermost folder that the client side can access to protect server's code

• napps folder: abbreviation of Node.js APPs, where your APPs are stored
  • /sdcard/napps/app_name on Node.js
  • the corresponding folder on Android is /sdcard/DroidScript/app_name
  • Call anci.GetAppPath() to access
• nlib folder: abbreviation of Node.js libraries, the common lib for all APPs
  • this folder will be mapped under /sdcard/napps/app_name/nlib on Node.js
  • and copied to /sdcard/DroidScript/app_name/nlib on Android
  • Call anci.GetAppPath() to access
• ndata folder: stores application data on the filesystem
  • this folder will remain accessed as /sdcard/ndata on both Android/Node.js
  • So use ABSOLUTE path to access it

sdcard/napps/app_name/main.app

• A virtual path to evoke server-side generation of an APP's complete HTML
• the app_name 0 is the default app
• if the server was called w/o path, i.e http://xxx.xxx.x.x, default APP runs at http://xxx.xxx.x.x/sdcard/napps/0/main.app
• the APPs' complete HTML comprises
  • ~app_entry.html (/sdcard/napps/app_name/~app_entry.html)
  • xxx_api_anci.js (web_electron or droidscript)
  • query parameters (URL?para1=val_a&parameter2=val_b) as anci.query
  • Code.js (/sdcard/napps/app_name/Code.js)
  • UI.html (/sdcard/napps/app_name/UI.html)