Overview
is an open source Android library that provides developers the ability to easily create application sliding menu like the one found across Android applications published by Google. This library is free to use for either commercial or private use given that the project is cited and license is included in the application.
Prime Directive #1: The system successfully accomplishes a useful task
The SlidingMenu satisfies the first prime directive of the software engineering. This Android library allows developers to create sliding menus, inspired by applications such as Facebook and YouTube. Sliding menu is intuitive in a user experience sense that end-users do not have to scroll the entire application to look for options they are seeking for. Some of the popular Android applications such as Linkedin, 9GAG, Foursquare, and Rdio utilizes this library for their services. Therefore, the first prime directive is satisfied.
Prime Directive #2: An external user can successfully install and use the system
Installation instruction can be found in README. All that is needed is to import the SlidingMenu library then add it to project as one of the dependencies. The README file also provides instructions on how to integrate into an existing project easily. Therefore, the second prime directive is satisfied.
Prime Directive #3: An external developer can successfully understand and enhance the system
The library does not contain extensive documentation to provide explanation for other developers to easily contribute to the project. Only form of explanation of code was done through the comments within the code. However, the project can be forked allowing other developers to enhance it for their own purposes. As a result, the third prime directive is conditionally satisfied because external developers can successfully understand and enhance the project but with no documentation to aid the process.
Bryant S. Lee 