There will be a new API, but it is part of larger ongoing work for managing storage which is starting to appear here: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/storage/StorageManager.html
We want this one to be right, though, so it will be a bit for it to be available. I do agree that renaming APIs is the right thing to do in such situations. See for example my renaming of Display.getOrientation() to Display.getRotation()... and the drama that ensued. :) On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 9:47 AM, Indicator Veritatis <[email protected]>wrote: > Your frank admission that the API is poorly named is valuable. And > your wording of it here is much, much better than the wording in the > doc (at the link you gave). For the wording in the doc suffers from > trying to cover up the embarrassment they should feel at such a > divergence between name and meaning:( > > When the divergence gets this bad, sometimes people will simply create > a new API whose name reflects its function better, and deprecate the > old one. I wish that course had been taken here, though I admit that > even after reading your post, I am not 100% certain that that really > is the best course of action. I am sure it was at least mentioned when > the problem was discussed internally. > > But since that option was not taken, the same question is going to be > asked over and over again, so I hope you will get tired of adding > "Don't get stuck on the name", especially when it is exactly the > opposite of "what it is supposed to mean";) Names have meanings, > after all, or we would not use them. > > On Feb 28, 5:05 pm, Dianne Hackborn <[email protected]> wrote: > > The API at this point is very poorly named -- it makes perfect sense for > the > > original device configurations where all media storage was on the > external > > SD card. When manufacturers started putting that storage into the > internal > > device, the name became unfortunate. Don't get stuck on the name, just > what > > it is supposed to mean. > > > > This is explained in the doc: > > > > > http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Environment.html#ge...() > > > > And this was the first step of complexity on that name: > > > > > http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Environment.html#is...() > > > > And Android 3.0 introduces even more fun: > > > > > http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/Environment.html#is...() > > > > On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 2:13 PM, Indicator Veritatis <[email protected] > >wrote: > > > > > Is it a typo is the CDD requirement really this backwards? You say: > > > > > The current CDD requires that the API return the directory of the > > > primary > > > "external" storage, that is the one you can count on always being > > > there, > > > that is the internal storage partition of such devices. > > > > > So the API named EXTERNAL storage is required to return the "INTERNAL > > > storage partition"! > > > > > Sounds pretty contradictory to me. > > > > > On Feb 28, 7:23 pm, Dianne Hackborn <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > The current CDD requires that the API return the directory of the > primary > > > > "external" storage, that is the one you can count on always being > there, > > > > that is the internal storage partition of such devices. The very > first > > > > devices that introduced multiple storage areas caught us a bit by > > > surprise, > > > > implemented this in a broken way (leaving the code to return the SD > card > > > > storage which was actually shipped without a card on those devices), > and > > > the > > > > CDD has since been clarified about how the device needs to behave. > > > > > > On Mon, Feb 28, 2011 at 9:25 AM, Indicator Veritatis < > [email protected] > > > >wrote: > > > > > > > Dianne rightly observes: "The platform really needs to define a > good > > > > > UX story around this before just > > > > > throwing APIs at developers. " > > > > > > > Which would be a lot easier to do if OEMs would insist on a good UX > > > > > story also before implementing bizarro features like two SD cards! > > > > > Unfortunately, their history of failing to do this extends to long > > > > > before the beginning of Android. > > > > > > > But I still see no answer to the question: do such devices, for > having > > > > > such a non-standard configuration, fail CDD and therefore are not > on > > > > > the Market? I am sure such info would still be useful for the OP. > > > > > > > On Feb 26, 4:32 pm, Dianne Hackborn <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > It returns the main partition, that you can count on being > populated; > > > for > > > > > a > > > > > > device with a built-in USB mass storage and an external SD card > it > > > will > > > > > > return the built-in one. > > > > > > > > Android does not yet define the behavior for dealing with > multiple SD > > > > > cards. > > > > > > Devices that use that configuration are outside of the core > > > platform, > > > > > and > > > > > > should provide their own mechanism for them if they want -- such > as a > > > > > shared > > > > > > library to find out about the secondary storage. > > > > > > > > The platform really needs to define a good UX story around this > > > before > > > > > just > > > > > > throwing APIs at developers. > > > > > > > > On Sat, Feb 26, 2011 at 4:11 PM, Indicator Veritatis < > > > [email protected] > > > > > >wrote: > > > > > > > > > What does this API do on a phone that has two SD cards? Does it > > > just > > > > > > > pick only one of them? Or do all such devices fail CDD and so > are > > > not > > > > > > > on the Google Android Market? > > > > > > > > > On Feb 26, 3:41 pm, Dianne Hackborn <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > > > > On Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 8:31 PM, Dimitry Golubovsky < > > > > > > > [email protected]>wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > I am not worried about Market at all. I am worried about > the > > > > > portable > > > > > > > > > way to tell my program where is the sdcard root directory > is > > > > > mounted > > > > > > > > > because part of the usage scenario is user being able to > upload > > > > > > > > > certain files to sdcard where my program must be able to > find > > > them. > > > > > > > > > > > To clarify, this is a port of Squeak (Smalltalk) [1], [2] > to > > > > > Android > > > > > > > > > which I am trying to alter to fit my needs; in particular > the > > > > > original > > > > > > > > > port loaded the image from assets, but I would like to be > able > > > to > > > > > load > > > > > > > > > it from sdcard where user may place it after customization > > > using an > > > > > > > > > instance of Squeak on user's PC. > > > > > > > > > > The correct way to do this is > > > > > Environment.getExternalStorageDirectory(). > > > > > > > > > > If you want to make your application work on an incompatible > > > device > > > > > that > > > > > > > has > > > > > > > > this API broken, you will need to write code specifically for > > > that > > > > > > > device. > > > > > > > > There is no magical solution that makes your app work > regardless > > > of > > > > > what > > > > > > > > someone has done to Android. > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > > Dianne Hackborn > > > > > > > > Android framework engineer > > > > > > > > [email protected] > > > > > > > > > > Note: please don't send private questions to me, as I don't > have > > > time > > > > > to > > > > > > > > provide private support, and so won't reply to such e-mails. > All > > > > > such > > > > > > > > questions should be posted on public forums, where I and > others > > > can > > > > > see > > > > > > > and > > > > > > > > answer them. > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the > Google > > > > > > > Groups "Android Developers" group. > > > > > > > To post to this group, send email to > > > > > [email protected] > > > > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > > > > [email protected] > > > > > > > For more options, visit this group at > > > > > > >http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > Dianne Hackborn > > > > > > Android framework engineer > > > > > > [email protected] > > > > > > > > Note: please don't send private questions to me, as I don't have > time > > > to > > > > > > provide private support, and so won't reply to such e-mails. All > > > such > > > > > > questions should be posted on public forums, where I and others > can > > > see > > > > > and > > > > > > answer them. > > > > > > > -- > > > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > > > Groups "Android Developers" group. > > > > > To post to this group, send email to > > > [email protected] > > > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > > > [email protected] > > > > > For more options, visit this group at > > > > >http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en > > > > > > -- > > > > Dianne Hackborn > > > > Android framework engineer > > > > [email protected] > > > > > > Note: please don't send private questions to me, as I don't have time > to > > > > provide private support, and so won't reply to such e-mails. All > such > > > > questions should be posted on public forums, where I and others can > see > > > and > > > > answer them. > > > > > -- > > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > > > Groups "Android Developers" group. > > > To post to this group, send email to > [email protected] > > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > > [email protected] > > > For more options, visit this group at > > >http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en > > > > -- > > Dianne Hackborn > > Android framework engineer > > [email protected] > > > > Note: please don't send private questions to me, as I don't have time to > > provide private support, and so won't reply to such e-mails. All such > > questions should be posted on public forums, where I and others can see > and > > answer them. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Android Developers" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en > -- Dianne Hackborn Android framework engineer [email protected] Note: please don't send private questions to me, as I don't have time to provide private support, and so won't reply to such e-mails. All such questions should be posted on public forums, where I and others can see and answer them. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Developers" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-developers?hl=en
