Saidul's Desk | Saidul's Desk

Auto increment a column or primary key in Oracle

saidulislam — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 20:36:06 +0000

Let’s say you have a table called “FOO_LOG” with some columns. One of them is a primary key called LOGID. You want to automatically insert and increment the LOGID primary column. Assuming you have the FOO_LOG table created, you have to execute the following 2 steps

STEP 1: Create a sequence to use for the LOGID primary column

CREATE SEQUENCE FOO_LOG_SEQ_ID
INCREMENT BY 1
START WITH 1
NOMAXVALUE
ORDER;

STEP 2: Create the trigger that will automatically insert the next number from the sequence into the id column.

CREATE TRIGGER FOO_LOG_TRG
BEFORE INSERT
ON FOO_LOG
FOR EACH ROW
BEGIN
select FOO_LOG_SEQ_ID.nextval into :new.LOGID from dual;
END;
/

How to install and test your apk on your Android device

saidulislam — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 03:12:38 +0000

This is a very simple process but somehow the couple books I have on Android development missed it. Why? Why? Why? They talk about preparing the apk, signing it and uploading it for submission but no mention of installing the app on your device and testing it from there. Anyway, here are the steps

Make USB debugging enabled in your device. Launch settings > applications > development > check USB debugging
If the device is not recognized by your system, it mean you have to install the USB driver. Assuming you have the latest greatest Android SDK installed, the driver files are going to be under /usb_driver/. So plugin your device and for driver install path give the location /usb_driver/
Once installed, you can verify the device attached to your system by running /platform-tools/adb devices and if you have the older sdk adb is installed under /tools/
When you are ready to install your apk or your developed app to your device, execute /platform-tools/adb install “/MyCoolApp.apk”
Once installed, you will be able to browse your application screen and see your installed app.

That’s all.

iPhone App Business Marketing Activities – Part 2

saidulislam — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 05:30:01 +0000

In my previous blog entry I talked about 9 marketing activities. They are all important but mainly generic activities that can be (and should be) used for any app marketing. On this entry, I am writing about my plans on focused or targeted marketing for the first app I am building. It doesn’t matter how cool (or I think how cool) the app is, how or why would over 100 million iPhone or iPod users search for my app and buy it? I don’t have the resource or the bandwidth to target such a large crowd and my first app is not targeted to all anyway.

So, who is my audience? Who will buy the app? Who do I really want to sell to? What market segment? I am building the app for kids. For 2-5 year olds. That really narrows down, right ? No. The parents will be buying the app, not the kids. So my targets are parents of the toddlers.

Once again… parents of toddlers.

Where are they? Where do they hang around? What online sites, forums or community forums they hang around at? Where do they shop? Where do they eat? What do they read? What do they listen? Where do they go? Oh boy… I am sounding like an evil now . Well, the idea is to take my campaign, sells pitch or message there? That’s one way. There is another more effective way… target the people who can influence them. Who are they? Grand parents, teachers, coworkers, friends with toddlers. We love trying and buying things what other people buy or talk about. Idea here is to influence the influencers.

OK, so I figured out my targeted audience but what am I going to tell them? I have this cool product and so buy it? What’s so unique about this app? I can focus on 3 areas to get the answers 1) features, 2) graphics and 3) sounds. I have the answers but I still need to work on creating the marketing message.

To influence the influencers, following are the marketing tasks I will be focusing on very soon

Item 1: Video marketing contest
I will run a contest to create Youtube video that demonstrates my app. Contestants will have to download (buy) the app and submit it to Youtube. This will help me get downloads and use somewhat free marketing to the Youtubers.

Item 2: Have kids of neighbors record audio
Kids will feel good and they will talk about it with other kids and parents, parents will feel proud and talk with other parents, their friends and coworkers. Viral marketing.

Item 3: Update sound files with audio from online contest
Idea here is same as item 1 and item 2 with combined effect.

Item 4: Regular updates (and not abuse it)
Goal is to get featured on Apple’s “new and noteworthy”. At this point, I am targeting regular monthly updates for the app.

Item 5: Car magnets
Yes, create car magnets. There are many online sites to create this type of materials for a very low cost. I will ask some friends to put the magnets (with the name of the app and a catchy marketing message/slogan) on the door or back of the car for a week or so. They will drive to work, to the groceries and to the malls. My hope is that other people on the street will notice the buzz, get curious and download the app.

Item 6: Mobile app advertising
I am not so sure about this one now. I have been noticing a lot of negative remarks about it. The common concern about advertising is that ROI is not so good. I will invest very low and see how effective it is. Platforms I need to review are a) AdMob, b) iAd, c) Quattro, d) Medialets, e) Wireless, f) VideoEgg, g) Pinch Media and h) Mobclix.

Item 7: Outsource the task of generating buzz
This is mainly to generate traffic and make people aware of my site and the app. I don’t intend to spend much on this but I can always check the web log to see how effective the campaign is.

What do you guys think of this list? Do you guys have some other ideas? Please share!

iPhone App Business Marketing Activities – Part 1

saidulislam — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 04:47:23 +0000

Item 1: Giving the app a catchy name
I struggled with this one but for my first app I tried to keep it simple and something along the line of what the application does. I found many sites talking about giving the app a catchy name and the way I would define “catchy” (oh boy… a non English guy defining an English word ) is something pleasing that can attract someone’s attention. When my little one was crying for my phone one day, I was looking for an app that would keep him entertained while keeping him away from the core functions of the app. I was searching for an app “toy phone”, “play phone”, etc. without any luck. Idea was born… and I thought of making such an app and name it “Play Phone”. Catchy?

Item 2: Keywords for the app
These are basically search keywords and needed during the app submission. From what I have read so far in many iPhone marketing articles, authors say this is one of the most important parts of the submission. What are the search terms you want people to search by to find your app? Those are your search keywords. There are tons of online keyword generator tool and they are helpful. However, I still like to inject words manually based on my problems and at the time of the problem how I would search for such an app. Here are some online tools I will be using

https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

http://tools.seobook.com/keyword-list/generator.php

Item 3: Submit app to app reviewing sites
I will do this once the app is in the market. I have compiled a list of app reviewing sites and I plan to submit my app to all the sites. Some sites review for free but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t submit to the paid reviewers. My task before submitting is to look at the list, prioritize based on popularity and focus on niche areas of the sites. If the cost to review is something outrageous, I wouldn’t submit and I suspect there would be some but I will make my preferred list later.

To get the app reviewed, I have to give away promo code to the reviewers which can be generated from the app store. I can only generate or give away 50 promo codes for a given version and these codes last 28 days. So top 50 from my prioritized list will get the 50 codes and for others I plan to buy my own app as gifts. Yes it will cost me some money but the true expense will be 30% of the total cost. After giving away the gift, if they download the app for $0.99, I will get $0.69 from it and Apple will get $0.30. Of course, I will give the gifts to the folks who would definitely use them to download my app.

Item 4: Offer a free download to a selected group of people
The idea here is to influence the influencer. Find and/or carefully select the folks who would download, test and more likely tell other people about the app. Oh boy… example, neighbors, school teachers, coworkers, friends, parents at church, soccer games, bloggers, newspaper columnists (oh boy, how do I get these guys to listen to me or read my email?). I should be working on building my “social capital”

Item 5: Write press release and distribute
Get it written by professional if needed (seriously) and submit to different sites like, iphonelife, pr-inside.com, prMac.com and http://service.prweb.com/pricing/. Supposedly it’s a great way to access trade pubs, blogs, and consumer magazines. Don’t know how effective it is but a lot of authors wrote about it. My view on this is I am publishing the app, visitors to my site should know about it with a formal announcement. It would look professional and it would build credibility. Google “how to write effective press release”

http://service.prweb.com/go/pg_quality_online_newsreleases/

http://service.prweb.com/learning/article/editorial-guidelines/

Item 6: Create a demo video
My plan in this case is to create a short video on how to use the application and publish it on Youtube and then post it on Facebook and Twitter. I can make the video clever/cute with advertising twist (well, no matter what I do it is an advertising , right?). I also need to look at TubeMogul on distributing the demo video. There is a free advertising option on TubeMogul (http://www.tubemogul.com). Free advertising? I will take it

Item 7: Social media sites
Create buzz (working on it ) and post about the app on all popular social sites. Get friends and relatives to do the same on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Join groups relevant to iPhone, Android and the purpose the app serves (interests are preschool teachers, moms, dads, parents with toddlers, grandparents, daycare, kindergarten teachers, pediatricians, etc.). Find ways to get connected with twitter users who might benefit from the app.

Item 8: Create the website and promote it
Hmm… creating part is done and working on the promotion with the very little time I have. The strategy on this is to use the blog to promote it and every now and then publish a teaser graphic or video of the app . Still need to work on promoting the blog. The way to do it at this point is to be regular (I have noticed higher traffic the day when I publish something). Why would someone read what I post? Well, there is always someone like me who is struggling to find the information that I am sharing. I am honest and sharing everything. I am writing this article because at least one of you had asked me to do so and share it. My hope is that you come back to the site, talk with others about it and in the process my blog, my site and all the apps I develop get free publicity . If I fail (I don’t think there is any such thing as failure in life), you will know what works and what doesn’t.
As for promoting the site, I will do very little SEO work (limited to meta tags keywords and description). I don’t think it’s worth the full blown SEO work (too much work), especially for what I am doing and by paying someone.

Item 9: Engage more on blogs and forums
Engage more with other folks online (blogs and forums). Participate in Q&A forums online, such as WikiAnswers and Yahoo Answers. Use twitter id and site address in the signature (sounds cheap? I don’t think so. Instead it looks very professional). I have experimented with this and I have seen in my web log people do come from the sites where I leave my comment.

Android Application Review Websites

saidulislam — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:17:21 +0000

Here is my list of Android app reviewers. The list is not as big as iPhone’s. I will look for more. If you have a list or know of a site that is not included here, let me know.

http://www.androidtapp.com
http://www.androidapps.com
http://androidappreview.net/
http://www.androidcentral.com
http://www.andbot.com
http://androidmarketapps.com/
http://www.openhandsetdevelopers.com/submit-android-application.html
http://aviatorandroidapps.com/page/Developers-Submit-Your-Apps-For-Review.aspx
http://www.androidrundown.com/about/submit-app-hardware-review/
http://androidappreview.net/contactsubmit-an-app/
http://www.appdebate.com/

http://www.androidandme.com

http://phandroid.com/

iPhone Application Review Websites

saidulislam — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 16:02:19 +0000

As per my marketing strategy, I have compiled the following list of websites that I would contact to review my iPhone related apps. Some are very popular. Majority of them don’t charge anything to review. Let me know if you have a similar list or if you recommend some other sites.


http://gizmodo.com


http://arstechnica.com/apple/iphone/apps/


http://www.macworld.com/appguide/index.html


http://toucharcade.com


http://appsafari.com


http://148apps.com


http://appadvice.com


http://appcraver.com


http://iphoneapplicationlist.com


http://iphonealley.com/reviews/apps/


http://appleiphoneschool.com/


http://appvee.com


http://apptism.com


http://appstoreapps.com


http://whatsoniphone.com/


http://krapps.com/


http://iphoneappreviews.net/


http://dailyappshow.com


http://freshapps.com/


http://theiphoneappreview.com/


http://reviewmyiphoneapp.com/


http://appshouter.com/


http://nativeiphoneapps.com


http://slapapp.com/


http://www.imedicalapps.com/


http://apptheater.com


http://tapcritic.com/


http://iphoneblog.de


http://alliphoneappsreview.com


http://app-reciationreviews.blogspot.com


http://ifanzine.blogspot.com/


http://www.iusethisapp.com/


http://www.applesauceblog.com/


http://www.iviewapps.com


http://www.appstorehq.com/


http://www.whatsoniphone.com/


http://iphone.iusethis.com/


http://www.appvee.com/


http://www.appleiphoneschool.com/


http://www.148apps.com/


http://www.iphoneappreview.com


http://www.freshapps.com/


http://www.apptism.com/


http://iphoneapppodcast.com/


http://www.macworld.com/apps/index.html


http://www.iwikiphone.com/


http://www.appshopper.com/


http://www.iphonealley.com/


http://www.appcraver.com/


http://www.appshouter.com


http://www.iphoneappreviewer.com


http://www.iphoneappsreviewonline.com


http://www.iusethisapp.com


http://www.iphonefootprint.com


http://www.appsmile.com


http://www.appscout.com


http://www.slapapp.com


http://www.iphonefreak.com


http://iphoneappcafe.com


http://www.mobilecrunch.com


http://www.techradar.com


http://iphone.appspatrol.com


http://www.iphonetower.com


http://www.crazymikesapps.com


http://mashable.com


http://www.ismashphone.com


http://www.appsafari.com


http://www.appstoreapps.com


http://www.apprater.com


http://news.worldofapple.com


http://www.todaysiphone.com


http://www.theiphonemom.com


http://iphoneappreviewsblog.com


http://gotapps.com


http://www.topiphoneresource.info


http://YourAppReviewed.com


http://www.pcworld.com/appguide/index.html


http://isource.com/2010/03/04/review-spark-radio-iphone-app-reviews


http://www.ismashphone.com/.../iphone-app-review-opera-mini-web-browser.html


http://www.appbite.com


http://mariosundar.com/2008/07/23/another-3-iphone-apps-to-check-out/


http://iphoneappstoday.com


http://www.appletell.com


http://giggleapps.com


http://giggleapps.com


http://www.iphoneappsplanet.com


http://www.appstorereviewer.com


http://www.avault.com


http://www.zdnet.com


http://www.munidiaries.com


http://www.feedmyapp.com


http://www.mactalk.com.au


http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com


http://www.tuaw.com


http://www.pcmag.com


http://www.teleread.com/iphone/kids-book-review-new-iphone-app-reviews-childrens-books/


http://www.appbite.com/iphone-app-review-bump/


http://shegeeks.net


http://www.iphoneworld.ca


http://touchreviews.net


http://www.itsaboutiphone.co.uk


http://www.freshapps.com


http://topapps.eu


http://appsreviews.com


http://appstruck.com


http://www.appsandhats.com


http://www.thisisaaronslife.com


http://www.thecanary.org


http://www.iphoneappreviews.net


http://www.appchronicles.com


http://www.candicedoestheworld.com


http://appreview.com


http://www.appolicious.com


http://technorati.com


http://smokinapps.com


http://www.iphoneapps360.net


http://iphone-app-reviews.resumit.com


http://www.delicioustoys.de


http://www.hsicf.com


http://appleiphoneapps.com


http://www.ituneappreviews.com


http://anthillonline.com/iphone-app-review-ted-talks/


http://bestapps.me


http://iphonetech78.wordpress.com


http://theappera.com


http://dailyappshow.mevio.com


http://macattapp.com


http://www.appfreakblog.com


http://iphone-application-developer.blogspot.com


http://www.apptism.com/reviews


http://www.iphone4kids.net


http://www.ratetheapp.com


http://appmodo.com

Introducing TUKU Logics

admin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 02:14:49 +0000

These days everyone seems to be getting into the app business. Hey, at least in IT. It’s challenging, lucrative and all things attractive. Everyone has his or her inspiration. Mine are my two kids. Yes, my two adorable heavenly gifts. They wake me up in the morning and kiss me before going to bed. I get twice the hugs, twice the kisses and twice the joy when I get back from work. They keep me going everyday.

I try to give them the best of everything with what I have. I give them love, care and the confidence to take on challenges in life. I want them to have all the things that I wanted in life but never got them. I want them to dream high and reach for it. Foundation of all these is education and I want them to have the best of it. Founding of a business is one of my several ways to guarantee or save some money for their college education. Oh yes, I know business can be a risky adventure. We learn it in our business classes, in MBAs, etc. I am sick of hearing “50 percent of businesses fail in the first year and 95 percent fail within five years” and all that. Reality and blah blah blah. Well, here is another reality, America is the land of possibilities. This is the only place I know of where you can dare to dream of the unthinkable and reach for it.

The word TUKU doesn’t have a real meaning. It is what my mom used to call me when I was a tiny little baby and now I call my little ones TUKU to mean “my little bubbles”. My 8 year old always seems to have endless ideas about everything. He can talk for hours, no kidding! He rarely gets into arguments with me but when he does, I stumble responding back. Seriously, he always has an interesting way or “logic” to explain his point. His logic is always simple, fun and smart. His way of getting his point across is TUKU Logics.

http://www.tukulogics.com

The two little bubbles - TUKUs

Hello world!

admin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:17:12 +0000

This is my first ever “real” blog. Wait… what is real?