Thesis Abstract

Over the last few years, there has been a drastic change in information technology.  This includes the various ways in which files can be shared and stored.

Cloud computing is publicized as the next major step for all forms of typical information technology use.  From businesses, to non-profit organisations, to single users, there seems to be various applications which can use cloud computing to offer better, faster, and smarter computing. Android Operating System is a relatively new mobile Operating System which has been steadily taking over more and more market stake. Easy to use, easy to develop for, and open-source, it has picked up a following of developers who want to create content for the masses. This project aims to combine the two, building a cloud based application for Android, offering users the power of cloud computing in the palm of their hand for file sharing and collaboration.

Thesis Overview

INTRODUCTION

11       Background

12       Aim of the Project

13       Application of the Project      

14       Requirements of the Application

15       Report Structure

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

20       INTRODUCTION

            (i)         Removable media

            (ii)        Centralized servers on computer networks

            (iii)       World wide web based hyperlinked documents

            (iv)       Distributed peer to peer networking

21       Android

22       Cloud Computing

23       Java Programming Language

24       A Brief Overview Of Similar Applications

241    Dropbox Overview

242    Google Drive Overview

243    Icloud Overview

244    Skydrive Overview

245    Sugarsync Overview  

CHAPTER THREE

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT APPROACH

30       Introduction

31       Design Requirements

311    Functional Requirements

312    Non Functional Requirements

32       System Architecture  

33       The Restful Architecture

34       Development Approach

35       Android Sdk

36       Server Side Technologies

37       Data Structures For Data Transmission

38       Summary

CHAPTER FOUR

IMPLEMENTATION AND TESTING

41       Introduction

42       Development Methodology

43       Eclipse

44       Android Virtual Machine

45       Server Side Application

46       Client Side Application

47       Protocol Buffers

480    Introduction To Testing

481    Server Side Testing

482    Client Side Testing

483    Real World Testing

484    Challenges

4

9       Summary

CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSION

50       Evaluation

51       Functional Requirements

52       Non-Functional Requirements          

53       Referring to the Use Case

54       Recommendations

Reference

Appendix

LIST OF FIGURES

Fig 10   the Diagram for the Client Side Application

Fig 20   the Design Diagram of the Server Side Application

Fig 30   A UML Diagram of the Server Side Architecture

Fig 40   A Sequence Diagram showing interactions between the Client and the Server

Fig 41 The Eclipse plugin toolbars for Android and App Engine

Fig 42 The Android Virtual Machine

Fig 43 Application Login Screen

The file browser view of the application

Fig 44 The file browser context menu

Fig 45 The view of the list of boxes the user can access

Fig 46 the context menu for a box

Fig 47 The upload file activity