Words of appreciation and feedback

Dear DAB team,
yesterday I started yet another round of “making a dicco app” and this time I am applying experiences from my previous frustrations. I am doing much better now, so you will likely hear several specific questions in the next few days.

But for this post, I want to thank and encourage the team: this has become an amazing tool with very reasonable handling and nice looking output. Have not yet uploaded this round to Google Play, so we will see if they accept this version, but things are looking good so far.

My first attempts in the last two years produced some results, but I never got a really good work-flow and I never had enough time.

Sharing some of my challenges, hoping it might help other users (please protest where I got it wrong):

  • have as clean a database (content) as you can manage
  • know your Fieldworks
  • allow plenty of time for content tweaking
  • always export your data as the same file-name so that DAB can reload each of your tweaks (keep renamed copies if you want to document your progress)
  • if you do any other Android developping, make a real effort to keep things separate from DAB (this is where I got stuck the last time), so do not put your SDK stuff in the “normal” location or never point DAB to any existing Android-Studio tools or libraries, make separate folders for SDK and JDK as much as possible
  • know the language or have team members close by, do not try this in some lab in some far away continent if you have a choice
  • embrace the concept of versions and do not try to get a phantastic app during your first attempts, rather put out some draft versions to have some visible success for yourself and for your team
  • then tweak each little problem or not-yet-right-detail in its own turn
  • dependig on your experience with IT and language tools, allow even more time than you would think to generate a dictionary app
  • allow plenty of time, if this is your first app to publish via Google Play (Console); their work-flow is unique and (depending on internet speed) you might spend quite a while going around several windows until you have completed all elements so that Google lets you publish
  • good luck if you want to create a Google Play developer page for a language-project rather than for a human person, you will not find a way to do this: start as a human (John L.) with a personal account and once setup inside, you can create a developer page under another name (Blingo Language Apps) so that Mr. John L. is no longer visible

But do not get frustrated from my challanges. I am writing all this to testify, that even a linguist can make a dictionary app with DAB; this is so awesome, we should never get used to this, should keep rejoicing. Thank you team!

Many projects only ever find the time and the finances to publish (print) one dictionary. I love paper books, but a dictionary is an ideal candidate for electronic publishing and many editions:

With DAB an active language development project can build their database and constantly update their dictionary apps. New words found for ATM, smartphone, reinvention, global warming, power cuts, tricycle, DIY, soap operas, cross-word puzzles, parable, mirracle, accounting vocabulary … -> they can show up in your next update already, and the population can have a dialog with the language team if they want.

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Amen and amen! Preach it, brother! :smile:

Other users could jump on this thread and also express their appreciations - or share some of their feedback. I love to hear from real people doing real stuff. It fleshes out the documentation and gives ideas.