KosherJava Zmanim API Powering Many Mobile Apps

Mobile apps using Kosher Java Zmanim APIIn the past I posted about Android Zmanim, Jay Gindin’s open source Android zmanim project that uses the KosherJava Zmanim API. The fact that Android development uses Java natively means that it is very simple for Android developers to include zmanim in their apps. Since that time there have been a number of other applications (including iPhone apps) using the code. Moshe’s KosherCocoa Obj-C port of the KosherJava Zmanim API will probably result in additional iPhone apps that use the API. Yitzchok’s older Zmanim .NET port of the KosherJava Zmanim API also opened the door for Windows Phone zmanim applications as well (Ari Polski’s Zmaim app already uses it, and there are others in the works). I may post additional details about some of them in the future, including an updated post about Jay’s latest Android Zmanim release. I am aware of the following mobile applications that use the KosherJava Zmanim API.

There are also a few secular apps that are non-zmanim specific that use the API for sunrise and sunset calculations. One that I know of is Jeffrey Blattman’s Dawn to Dusk Widget, and I know that there are some photography apps that use it for sunrise/set calculations as well. There are likely more that I have missed, and a few that are in active development but unreleased. If you are aware of any missed apps, please let me know.

Android Zmanim Using the KosherJava Zmanim API

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Android ZmanimThere are various software projects using the KosherJava Zmanim API. One of the active ones is Jay Gindin’s open source Android Zmanim app for the Android platform. Activity in the project is constant. The upcoming version allows the selection of a specific calculation for zmanim you want such as the zman Talis/Tefilin pictured here. There are plans to add direction to Yerushalayim functionality using the Zmanim API. (For more information on calculating bearing using the API, see Calculating the Bearing/Direction to Har Habayis Using the Zmanim API article.) A large part of Jay’s motivations for developing the code was lezecher nishmas his nephew Shemuel Reuven ben Yehudit Rachel who, lost his battle with cancer on October 21, 2009. The one very minor issue Jay had with the API (and documentation) was the Ashkenazi spelling of the zmanim names, something that as an Ashekenazi I do not plan to change :), but as you can see his Android Zmanim front end used Sephardi labeling. Asked how he found the project, he answered with the typical answer to this question

I Googled around, and found your project.

One of my goals with the API was to make it easy for developers to use and port. This was confirmed by Jay

I found it to be very easy to pull into my app, even on Android…no changes necessary, not even a recompile