Android No Longer the Runt of the Litter

Don't say I didn't warn you. I have been telling developers that Android is the new iPhone iOS. This article explains why. And why shouldn't it be? It is based on a well-loved, easy-to-use programming language, Java. I, having developed some iPhone apps (obviously with Objective-C), am not sure why any sane programmer would want to write in it. I enjoy writing software using ANSI C but not when I am making software for an end-user. Then Apple takes a perfectly well-executed language (ANSI C) and makes a disorganized mess of it. Wow, anyway...Android is up and coming. If you have not explored the idea of developing for Android-based phones, now is the time.


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  Reuters: Google's Android to be world No. 2 in 2010: report

I Have Access to AppInventor!

I am excited to report that I have (after quite a few weeks) been granted access to AppInventor. As far as I understand, access to AppInventor is restricted to educators at this time. I imagine, however, that it will not be long before Google opens it up to all who are interested very soon. For those of you who cannot play with it, I will take you through some of the abilities it offers!

There are two parts to developing with AppInventor: the web-based layout editor and a locally run code editor. As I stated in my recent post, you do not actually have to know how to write software (using Java) to make applications. This is the neatest part of this product. All of the "programming" is handled using a drag-and-drop editor! No Java experience required.

Screenshot of the web-based layout editor (http://appinventor.googlelabs.com)

Screenshot of the locally-run drag-and-drop code editor

The AppInventor software is projected-based. Probably the coolest part of this entire setup is that if you have an actual device, say a Motorola Droid X, and set it up correctly, you can actually see the changes you make in the layout editor and code editor take effect in near real-time! If you do not have a physical device, there is still a way for you to test out your project. Just follow the directions on how to install the SDK and the emulator. Happy mobile software development!

Read the official blog post for AppInventor's release.

Now Anyone Can Make Android Apps

A new tool from Google, named App Inventor for Android, promises to make developing applications for Google's Android platform easier than ever. App Inventor provides the user with a graphical approach to constructing apps.

Traditional development normally entails the Eclipse IDE, the Android SDK, and a lot of Java code. With App Inventor, you do not have to worry about any of this; you do not even need to be a developer. Most of the time, when an organization abstracts away all of the complexities of the product, it also inherently reduces its functionality. This is not the case with App Inventor as it still gives the user access to the device's GPS, phone features and camera.

App Inventor is built off of MIT's Java Open Blocks, a framework for visually representing Java code. This is the bit of the software that allows non-programmers to use it. Currently, this tool is only available to educators. If you qualify, I highly recommend checking it out and letting me know what you think!