Google's App Inventor for Android is poised to turn just about anyone into a developer. You don't need years of school or on-the-job experience to start programming Android apps. With an easy interface that doesn't require writing any actual code, you'll be able to jump in and start building a list-based Quiz app right away. Dave Wolber, professor of computer science at University of San Francisco, takes you through the ins and outs of App Inventor. You'll learn how to create a basic user interface and create the functionality for the app by dragging around App Inventor's unique and intuitive blocks.
Although the blocks are easy to start using, you'll still have to think like a programmer. Simple decisions such as whether to hard-code a text string or put it into a variable turn into deep, best-practice conversations in this O'Reilly Breakdown. Dave does more than just tell you which block to drag where; he helps you understand the core structure of an Android app, from event handlers and procedures, to iterating through lists and storing information in an online database. Along the way, you'll tap into powerful built-in features for Android phones, including the listpicker element and tinywebDB.
The experts in the O'Reilly Breakdown live video series not only break down the concepts of difficult and complex subjects, they also demonstrate practical implementation and use. Each episode features an experienced programmer, developer, or software designer working on real-world challenges, ranging from iPad user interface design and multi-tasking on Android phones to caching in cloud-based applications.
David Wolber is the Chair of Computer Science at the University of San Francisco. David teaches App Inventor in his “Computing, Robots, and the Web” course at USF. The apps created by his students– mostly humanities and business majors with no prior programming experience–have been chronicled in articles of the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Tech Crunch, Fortune.CNN.com, and Yahoo news.
David began teaching App Inventor as part of Google’s 2009 pilot program involving ten universities. In 2010, he received a grant from Google to work with the App Inventor team and authored the advanced tutorials that appear on the App Inventor site. He is currently writing a book on App Inventor along with Hal Abelson that will be published by O’Reilly in Spring 2011.
Comments about O'Reilly Media Creating List-Based Android Apps in App Inventor:
If you have been given the task of making a simple android app, like a quiz or a simple inventory, this video will show you how to complete the task using Android App Inventor. The examples are practical and each one builds on the other. The instructional style feels like a tutoring session or a group learning event. This session is really meant for someone with some basic programming skills, such as using if...then.
Some of it might go a little fast (sort of like a cooking show with some mystery ingredients and fast mixing chef) but the advantage to having the video is that you can watch it again.
