Listen To Wikipedia - Android

A native Android adaptation of the original Listen To Wikipedia web application, which generates real-time audio-visual representations of Wikipedia edits as they happen around the world.

About

This project offers the mesmerizing experience of listening to Wikipedia edits through a native Android app. Each edit generates a unique sound, creating an ambient soundscape that reflects the pulse of knowledge creation.

Originally created as a web application by Stephen LaPorte and Mahmoud Hashemi, this Android version was built to explore current Android development practices and dive deep into native audio programming with the Android NDK.

Features

• Real-time Wikipedia monitoring: Connects to Wikimedia's Server-Sent Events stream for live edit notifications
• Audio synthesis: Custom Faust-based DSP for generating sounds corresponding to Wikipedia edit diff sizes
• Modern Android UI: Built with Jetpack Compose for a responsive, material design interface
• Native audio processing: Low-latency audio using Google's Oboe library and custom NDK implementation

Technical Architecture

Core Technologies

• Language: Kotlin with modern Android idioms
• UI Framework: Jetpack Compose with Material 3 design
• Audio Engine:
  • Faust DSP language for audio synthesis
  • Google Oboe for low-latency audio
• Networking: Ktor client with SSE (Server-Sent Events) support
• Architecture: MVVM pattern with LiveData, ViewModels, and Hilt dependency injection
• Dependency Injection: Hilt (Dagger-based) for clean architecture and testability

Architecture Overview

The app follows Clean Architecture principles with clear separation of concerns:

┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────┐
│   Presentation  │    │    Domain       │    │      Data       │
│                 │    │                 │    │                 │
│ • MainActivity  │◄──►│ • Repository    │◄──►│ • SSE Service   │
│ • Compose UI    │    │ • ViewModel     │    │ • Network Layer │
│ • Screens       │    │ • Use Cases     │    │ • Data Sources  │
└─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘    └─────────────────┘
         ▲                       ▲                       ▲
         │                       │                       │
    ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
    │              Hilt Dependency Injection                 │
    │  • @HiltAndroidApp Application                         │
    │  • @AndroidEntryPoint Activities                       │
    │  • @HiltViewModel ViewModels                           │
    │  • @Module for providing dependencies                  │
    └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Audio Processing Chain

Wikipedia Event → Repository → ViewModel → JNI → Faust DSP → Oboe → Audio Hardware

Dependencies

• Android: API 24+ (Android 7.0), targeting API 36
• Jetpack Compose: Latest stable BOM (2025.07.00)
• Ktor: 3.2.3 for HTTP client and SSE support
• Hilt: 2.57 for dependency injection
• Oboe: 1.9.3 for high-performance audio
• Kotlin Serialization: For JSON parsing of Wikipedia events

Build Requirements

• Android Studio with NDK support
• CMake 3.22.1+
• Android NDK with C++17 support
• Faust compiler (for modifying DSP code)

What Makes This Interesting

For Android Developers

• Modern Android practices: Showcases Jetpack Compose, ViewModels, and Kotlin coroutines
• Clean Architecture: Repository pattern, dependency injection, and separation of concerns
• Hilt DI: Complete example of Hilt setup with modules, scoped dependencies, and ViewModels
• NDK integration: Real-world example of JNI bindings and native library integration
• Audio programming: Professional audio development with Oboe and low-latency considerations
• Real-time data: SSE implementation for live streaming data

For Audio Developers

• Faust integration: Complete example of embedding Faust DSP in Android
• Polyphonic synthesis: Multi-voice audio generation with parameter control
• Mobile audio constraints: Handling Android's audio latency and buffer management

Permissions

The app requests RECORD_AUDIO permission, which is required by the audio system even though the app only produces sound.

Future Enhancements

• Support for different Wikipedia language editions
• Custom instrument selection
• User-configurable sound parameters