Last Week Writing from Waterton National Park in Canada – absolutely beautiful day to share a project update. Last week covered the app’s value proposition and target audience. This week: the development timeline. Project Timeline Started development on January 1, 2025, with a clear roadmap: 2025 First Half Target: Android MVP alpha on Google Play Store Deadline: June 30, 2025 (two weeks away) Status: Confident for closed testing release Few items to tighten up, but on track 2025 Second Half Two main objectives:...

Last Week Writing from the porch of a bed and breakfast in Red Lodge, Montana, after driving the breathtaking Beartooth Highway to Yellowstone. No development work this week, but it’s a perfect time to share the vision behind my app. The Inspiration Last year in Shanghai and Hangzhou, I experienced a radically different dining culture. In virtually every restaurant, customers scan QR codes to order directly from their phones – no server interaction needed....

Claude Code vs Cursor: Which AI Coding Tool Should You Choose? June 2025 When it comes to AI-powered development tools, two names stand out: Claude Code and Cursor. Both promise to revolutionize how we write code, but which one offers better value—especially if you’re already using Claude’s models? Let’s dive into a detailed comparison. Understanding the Basics Cursor: The Versatile Option Cursor, developed by the Cursor team, is built on Visual Studio Code, offering a familiar interface that developers already know and love....

Last Week Last week was all about tests – lots and lots of tests. I spent the majority of my time writing unit tests for the features I’d already implemented in my app. While it wasn’t the most exciting part of development (let’s be honest, writing tests rarely is), I’ve come to realize just how crucial they are, especially when using AI to assist with programming. This realization has led me to seriously consider adopting Test-Driven Development (TDD) – yes, the practice where you write tests before writing the actual code....

Last Week Week 22 was all about getting the backend under control. I spent a significant amount of time squashing bugs that I didn’t even realize existed in the app. It’s amazing how many issues surface when you start looking closely! But the most important accomplishment was finally implementing version control for my backend infrastructure, specifically the Supabase edge functions and the Postgres database with all its associated schemas, triggers, functions, and constraints....

Last Week Last week I successfully completed the Revenue Cat implementation that had been challenging me for the past three weeks. Now when users tap on the subscription tile in the navigation panel, the paywall displays correctly - a major milestone for the app’s monetization strategy. The bulk of my time was spent on significant tooling improvements, specifically around AI coding agents and development environments. I implemented a sophisticated setup using Model Context Protocol (MCP) with local vector databases to provide my AI coding assistant with up-to-date documentation, dramatically reducing compilation errors from nearly 100% to just 20-30%....

Last Week Last week didn’t go as planned, primarily due to falling quite ill shortly after friends left. This significantly impacted my ability to work. The main technical goal for the week was to implement the connection between the UI (specifically, the ViewModel) and the backend SDK for RevenueCat. While RevenueCat had already been integrated into the data layer of the application, bringing its functionality up to the ViewModel level proved challenging....

Last Week Well, last week didn’t go quite as planned. My main goal was to integrate RevenueCat’s functionalities into my app’s view models. This would allow the app to display paywalls and handle subscriptions. Unfortunately, that task got pushed back. I had friends visiting, and they’re actually still here as I’m writing this – seeing them off tomorrow! The good news is that the RevenueCat SDK is already in the project, and the data layer for it is complete....

Last Week Last week, my focus was on laying the groundwork for monetizing the app using subscriptions. Specifically, I set up the data layer components for integrating RevenueCat. This means I’ve added the necessary code structure (like repositories) to interact with RevenueCat’s services, but haven’t yet built the user interface elements (like a paywall) or connected the actual purchase flows. RevenueCat is a service that simplifies handling in-app subscriptions across different platforms like iOS and Android....

Last Week This past week, I focused on streamlining the process of getting my app from code to users by setting up the Continuous Delivery (CD) part of a CI/CD pipeline. While I haven’t implemented Continuous Integration (CI) yet – meaning automated tests to catch regressions – the CD pipeline is a huge step forward. Previously, releasing a new version was a tedious, multi-step manual process: write code, commit it, manually build the app bundle using Android Studio or command line, sign the bundle (a crucial security step for Google Play), log into the Google Play Console, navigate through various menus, upload the signed bundle, manually configure release settings, painstakingly compile release notes by reviewing commit history, and finally submit for review and later authorize the actual publication....