MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Has anyone done it non professionally? I fancy the idea of building one for fun / interest but I dont want to plough mega bucks into it. A few pointers on platforms, costs and good websites would be ideal.
An app for what platform?
iOS? Android? Windows Mobile?
Or just a mobile-friendly web app?
Ideally i'd like to start on IOS but have looked into Android
Android's easier/quicker to get going with.
This takes you through developing your first ios app:
https://developer.apple.com/library/iOS/referencelibrary/GettingStarted/RoadMapiOS/index.html
The development environment XCode is free (though obviously you'll need a Mac to run it on)
You could try this.....
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/begin-programming-autumn-2014
There is other interesting stuff on future learn as well...
Some top advice so far thanks,
Does everyone use websites now or is there a good advice book out there I could read over the weekend/week?
It all depends what you want it to do. if you think you will need to port it to multiple OSs and if you want or need to use other libraries etc. Combined with what languages you already know this will shape the route you take. What development experience do you have? Do you own a Mac?
I used app inventor for android as part of an open university module. Very simple and intuitive to use but doesn't actually teach you a programming language as you don't get to see the source code behind the apps you make. However its possible to have an app up and running in an hour or 2.
http://appinventor.mit.edu/explore/
Yes, sort of, back in January we released Bike Setup, I had the idea for it a while back, luckily my wife is a mac developer and wanted to do more iOS work and had the time to do it, even still it was a learning curve for her but not too difficult if you have a programming background. I look at the code and don't understand a bit of it. I had fun doing the website, graphics, and bugging the likes of chipps to publish a story about it, you can read more on our website www.bike-setup.com, there's a bunch of stats on the news page if you like that sort of thing, its not easy getting it off the ground even with features on numerous bike websites. There's definitely a lot to it even for a very simple app like ours.
RS, That's absolutely gutting. That was the exact app I am currently developing. I did a good search but found nothing like it at all. Great minds think alike eh,
Well back to the drawing.board for me I guess, thanks for the advice guys
haha! sorry! at least you can buy it for a $1 now with very little effort 😛
I did a good search but found nothing like it at all. Great minds think alike eh,
You might also want to look at http://www.sizemybike.com/ which is an app that recommends fits based on body size.
[url= http://www.coursera.org ]Coursera[/url] has regular(ish) Android development courses, I've just finished one. If you know how to program a course isn't really necessary, but it's nice to do one just to make sure you haven't missed out on any of the basics. You could also work through the official Android tutorial, but it's nothing like as user friendly.
It's not just something you can click a few buttons and do. There's a lot of skill involved - you are programming after all.
Having said that there are platforms that you can use to simplify it, but I guess it depends on what kind of app you want to write. You'll be able to make something appear on your screen, which may be enough for you, but how much you get into it depends on how much you want to be a software engineer 🙂
This thread has just spammed me taking me to the Apple App Store.
STW stil not fixed this nonsense.
If you want to get a good grounding in programming then check out Harvard University's CS50 course on edx.com.
It's not a shortcut to banging out an app, but it is a fantastic introduction to computer science and C programming, with forays into Java and Python too.
https://www.edx.org/course/harvardx/harvardx-cs50x-introduction-computer-1022#.U1GVZ6KPO0U
If your are a beginner and would like to learn basic coding , try using a website called code.org . Great little games and lessons on their from Bill gates to mark Zuckberg .
This one is highly recommended [url= http://www.codecademy.com/ ]http://www.codecademy.com/[/url]
I teach computing, building on the vb work we do for those wishing to do apps I use basic4android. Very good, lots of help, fairly easy too.
Look into it if you want to try your hand at it. It's very enjoyable.