ProjectsIs It Here Yet?
Is It Here Yet? (IIHY?) is a simple Android application that shows transit vehicle arrival time predictions for a particular stop. The application uses data provided by the NextBus public Internet XML feed; the feed provides information for a number of transit agencies across North America, although it does not include all routes for those agencies.
IIHY? was a project for a course in early 2011 that served, amongst other things, as an introduction to Android development. I figure if one is given a choice, one may as well make something vaguely practical.
IIHY? is free software released under the General Public License. Hopefully other novice programmers like myself can learn a thing or two from the code, especially in the realm of "what not to do."
Quick User Guide
Choose A Stop
The application displays the stop selection form on start up. Use the drop down menus to select the stop you want. Remember: the options in the drop-down menus are limited to what NextBus provides.
Once the desired stop is selected, click the "Is It Here Yet?" button at the bottom of the screen. This will bring up the results screen and display the latest vehicle arrival predictions for the stop.
Clicking the "Is It Here Yet?" tab at the top also brings up the results screen. However, using the tab does not update the predictions on the results screen. This preserves the last set of requested predictions right up to the moment the "Is It Here Yet?" button is pressed again.
A stop may be chosen to be selected by the form by default when the application starts. The currently selected stop may be set as the default by opening the menu and clicking the "Set stop as default" option.
Results
The results screen displays a one-word summary and the vehicle arrival prediction list.
A green "Yes!" means a vehicle will be along within one minute. A yellow "Soon" means a vehicle will be along within five minutes. If there are no vehicles slated to arrive within five minutes, a red "No" will be displayed.
The vehicle arrival prediction list is scrollable, and is colour-coded to the same scheme as the one-word summary. The predictions also show the ultimate destination of the vehicles; this is useful since a route may have multiple branches.
Click the "Update" button at the bottom to refresh the results. Click the "Choose A Stop" tab at the top to return to the stop selection form.
Setting Notifications
Click on an item in the vehicle arrival prediction list to set a notification for that item. Predictions may only be set for vehicles more than one minute away. A notification will appear in the status bar shortly before the vehicle is due to arrive.
Requirements and Caveats
- IIHY? requires a device running Android 3.0 or later.
- IIHY? was only tested in an emulator and not on an actual device.
- NextBus periodically updates the syntax of the XML feed; this may cause IIHY? to fail, and require the code to be updated.
Downloads
Releases
- Is It Here Yet? 1.0
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- Released May 3, 2011
- Android 3.0 or later
Source Code
The code is hosted by GitHub. You will need Git to checkout from the repository:
git clone git://github.com/mlam19/Is-It-Here-Yet.git
Alternatively, you may browse the repository online.