My technical index

A simple guide to the tools and skills I've learned while building websites, Android apps and automated systems with ChatGPT. 🩷

I'm not a professional developer, but building my projects with ChatGPT has helped me learn how websites, Android apps, online accounts and background systems work together.

Explore my projects at:

ventsharm.github.io

Some source code and build tools are kept in private GitHub repositories.

Websites and Design

I've worked with HTML, CSS and JavaScript to create websites, converters, budget tools and landing pages. I've also customised Blogger themes and Flarum forums, fixed layouts and added features such as loading screens and infinite scrolling.

Projects: Ventsharm Blogs, BeeBopper, PrettyUs, GiftMe, File Converter and my original web apps.

Native Android Apps

I've moved from packaging websites as Android apps with Bubblewrap to building native apps with Android screens and controls. This includes floral designs, rounded cards, app icons, file handling and Android notifications.

I've learned about app identities, version numbers, testing, signing and producing APK files for installation and AAB files for Google Play.

Projects: Budget Planner, Yearly Budget, KDP Book Cover Converter and Medlified.

Accounts and Saved Data

I've used Firebase Authentication for accounts, email verification and password resets, and Cloud Firestore to store users' information. I've also worked with access rules, keeping existing data compatible during updates and reducing unnecessary database activity.

Android's password manager provides optional saved-login selection without storing passwords in the app's own settings.

Projects: Budget Planner, Yearly Budget, GiftMe and other Firebase tools.

Notifications and Automation

While developing Yearly Budget, we built a working reminder system using Google Apps Script, GitHub Actions and Firebase messaging.

The finished budget apps now use Android background checks and notifications. Delivery depends on permissions, connectivity and Android's background restrictions.

The earlier script was kept as an inactive, reusable project called App notification template for future automation.

GitHub and App Builds

I've learned to use GitHub to organise source code, preserve earlier versions and host websites. GitHub Actions automates Android builds, with signing credentials kept in private repository secrets.

I've also worked on replacing retired web apps with Google Play download screens and preserving old website links through redirects.

Images and PDFs

I've built tools that convert images and create PDFs. The native KDP app handles image orientation, page measurements, saving and sharing through Android.

Projects: File Converter and KDP Book Cover Converter.

Payments and Cost Monitoring

I've worked with Stripe payments, checkout and payment notifications for GiftMe, along with backend checks to protect sensitive operations and limit repeated requests.

I've also learned about Firebase billing and project-specific budget alerts. Yearly Budget has a £5 monthly actual-spending alert—an email warning, not a spending cap.

Publishing and Maintenance

I've prepared Google Play releases, release notes and promotional images, and learned how to preserve app signing and existing user data during updates.

Outside app development, I've also worked through Windows upgrades, driver installation and hardware troubleshooting.

This is a growing record of what I've learned—including earlier experiments that became useful templates, even when the finished project took a different direction.

Created and developed by Ventsharm with help from ChatGPT. 🩷