Creating mobile Apps? My thoughts on two helpful environments

I wanted to spend some time over the holidays (It is summer down under) learning to develop Apps. My purpose is to start an App development club at my school, so I needed to find a set of tools with the following features:
  1. Low cost;
  2. A visual environment for the user interface;
  3. An easy(ish) programming language to add functionality;
  4. A clear learning path to take my students and me from beginner to advanced developer; and
  5. A helpful community who are ready to point me in the right direction when I get stuck.


First Environment: RunRev's LiveCode.
Quick Review: This is a brilliant development environment. You can build applications for Mac OS, Windows, Linux and iOS devices. It ticks all the boxes for me, except for point 4. I could not find the clear path. I think that it is a shame, given how good the environment is.

Recommendation: Should you decide to investigate LiveCode, you must join their Facebook page so you can be notified about their regular webcasts.

People to connect with: Mark Schonewille (@xtalkprogrammer) and Obleo (@oab).

Second Environment: Corona SDK
Quick Review: Not a development environment as such, but functionality provided by the guys at Ansca Mobile and a simulator to show you what it all looks like. You can build your app and then distribute it on iOS or Android devices. Corona ticks the boxes apart from point 2. I can definitely see myself teaching my students using Corona. The programming language used is Lua, trendily obscure!

Recommendation: If you're a beginner, take a look at the excellent tutorials on Techority.com.

People to connect with: Peach Pellen (@peachpellen) and Jonathan Beebe (@beebegames)

A final word:  SpriteDeck adds a visual GUI builder to Corona. It looks like a great little tool and I will write about it as soon I get the chance to evaluate it.

Let me know what you think about these, or other, App development environments.

Comments

Tim Wicks said…
Not really on topic, but we are testing out the capacity of iPads in special needs classrooms. You know, apps are really cheap, but as soon as special needs is in the picture, $200 and $300 apps are there!
1:20 am
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Baalbek (City of the Sun)

We have just returned from a day in Baalbek. Internet access is down, so I am writing this to debrief myself. I have always wanted to go to Baalbek as it is an iconic place in Lebanon. I didn't know much about what was there, except for the fact that I would find a well preserved Roman temple. It was a very Lebanese experience! The army had come in and shut down the whole place in preparation for a visit to the Baalbek festival by the President, the Prime Minister and several other dignitaries. We found ourselves pleading our case with those in charge. We then gained the concession of being allowed to join a group of French tourists who were being looked after by a well-connected guide. The guide was very knowledgeable. He conducted the tour entirely in French. The temples I learned that the first temple was built by the Phoenecians. It was dedicated to Baal. Bek came from the name of the location, the Bekaa valley. The Romans then transformed it into the largest temple dedicated t
Read more

Book Review: The Math(s) Fix - Part 1 of 2

Image
The Math(s) Fix is Conrad Wolfram's case for teaching mathematics with the assumption that computers exist! To be clear from the beginning, Wolfram is not advocating that we solve the same problems but with a greater reliance on computers and calculators. He wants us to recognise that computers have revolutionised the discipline of mathematics and that we need to reflect this change in our curricula. In the following lines, I will present a summary of Wolfram's thesis, as I understand it. My aim is to give you enough of an idea so you can decide whether you want to read the book for yourself. This part will concentrate on the case that the book builds for a radical change of the maths curriculum. Part 2 will explain the alternative in more detail.
Read more