Memory leaks can happen, despite the prevalence of garbage collection in modern programming languages. They can be introduced in different ways in Android apps, but one of the most common is when using native C or C++ code. When leaks make themselves known, it can range from subtle to explosive, anywhere from mild but continuous degradation in performance to outright crashes.
Read More“This feature is almost ready, but I still need to write some tests.” This a regular statement from developers during client update meetings at Metova, but what does it mean? Our developers are referring to automated testing via unit tests, a systematic process used to validate a software solution such as a mobile app or website.
Read MoreThe term technical debt refers to when developers write software that violates good architectural or coding practices resulting in structural flaws in the code that, if left unfixed, put the business at serious risk. Technical debt can also be described as "the trade-off between short-term and long-term value," "deferred investment opportunities or poorly managed risks," or "debt that accrues when we knowingly or unknowingly make wrong or non-optimal decisions."
Read MoreThis past weekend, four of us from the Metova-Conway office attended JOLT Hackathon at the Venture Center in the Little Rock Technology Park. There we faced off against 30 teams across Arkansas and Missouri in friendly capture-the-flag challenges ranging from Web Vulnerabilities and Forensics to Remote Access and Reverse Engineering. The event started Friday night, went all day Saturday (literally 7am - midnight), and most of Sunday. Throughout it all the Game Masters’ excitement and energy kept the teams going, provided hints and help, and always made sure that the focus of the event was to have fun.
Read MoreThe majority of changes announced at the Fall Apple Event won’t affect current apps. There is one change, though, that you should be aware of if you have an iOS app- a new screen resolution.
Read MoreEvery year, iOS users look forward to Apple’s Fall event. It is when new products and their launch dates are announced. What new device will land on your Christmas wish list?
Read MoreIt’s not just the iOS operating system getting an update next month. After nine years, over 500 million weekly visitors, and over 180 billion downloads, Apple’s App Store is also getting a new overhaul.
Read MoreThe Why’s of I18n
Internationalization (I18n) is one of the simplest steps you can take to make your Rails code shine. I8n offers a way to extract string and localization data from a Rails app. It mainly consists of using two functions in your views I18n.translate (for strings) and I18n.localize (for date/times). They are often seen in their abbreviated forms t and l. At Metova, I18n is a minimum requirement for writing code: if your views haven’t been I18n’d then your merge request is going to be rejected. Keep scrolling for reasons why you should care about I18n. Read MoreWhy mobile app developers struggle to use poorly implemented APIs
Every mobile application developer has had that "I need data" conversation with a customer who eagerly responds, "We have APIs." The first reaction is usually a guttural ugh! "We have APIs" usually means that the company has a ReST web service that is securely nestled deep in the enterprise behind a reverse proxy and no documentation. It also means that there is a very arduous journey ahead to gain access to this precious resource and then slowly peel the onion of the API black box back to discover its behavior. Read MoreThis year, Metova sent me to WWDC to get an early first-hand look at all the new upcoming technologies Apple is releasing. This was my first time attending WWDC, and it did not disappoint. Essentially, every rumoured announcement you could find on the internet actually was delivered along with multiple other exciting big ticket items. To top it all off, Tim Cook surprised us all at the end of the keynote by informing everyone that a moderated conversation with Michelle Obama would be the first session to kick off day two. Not bad, right?
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