Visual Programming of Mobile Apps

Want to make an app that runs on mobile platforms, like Android or iOS or FirefoxOS or Ubuntu Mobile?

Code them!

If you want to make an app for Android, code it in Java. If you want to make it for iOS, code it in Objective-C. If you want to make it for other platforms, you can use HTML & JavaScript. What a mess!

If you want to make a mobile app, use a visual programming tool that is language and platform-agnostic (builds apps that are cross-platform).

Task

Learn your options. You can use

• MIT AppInventor (recommended),
• Mozilla AppMaker
• Bryan Lunduke’s visual software creator/make-inator,
• appery.io.

If you choose MIT AppInventor, which is very similar to Scratch, you should follow this AppInventor guide. Unfortunately, AppInventor apps (at the time of writing) work with Android OS only.

After becoming well-acquainted with the tool, now build a real mobile app of your own. It can be about anything, but imagine it first. It has to have certain above-banal complexity and it has to be either useful or fun!