Help me build an app,please. - The Bear and Badger

Hodge360

As you may have guessed,I'm interested in building an app. Probably for android and iOS if possible. I know of two examples of apps from forum members but perhaps there are more? (I don't want to make a game)
My idea is a simple one and there doesn't seem to be one already available to do what I want. I have no experience in this field so will be grateful for any help telling me what I'd need to do or learn.Â
Has anyone tried an online app builder?
Should you really know how to code?
Can coding be learned easily or is it best to hire someone?
Lots of questions so help please.

Petey

Hodge360 wrote:

Should you really know how to code? Can coding be learned easily or is it best to hire someone?

Yes.

There's a steep learning curve if you've never coded and want to learn by going straight into Objective-C / Java. Not insurmountable, and it'd certainly be a worthwhile effort, but you might want to consider how much time and effort you're willing to put in. Bear in mind too that, unless you have a good friend who you can personally talk into coding it for you, hiring a programmer can get a bit pricey. It really depends on what you want to do.

Hodge360

Cheers for the reply. Thing is I've been thinking for ages that I would like to learn some sort of coding but hadn't a clue where to start or what would be the best language to start with. The app idea came to me the other night and I've only just started looking into it. I'm up for a challenge and like getting the brain working so where do I start???

beano

Get into Android. It's more accessible. And by accessible I mean cheap. In terms of setting up a dev environment and getting something deployed.Â

It's essentially programmed in Java. Java is on the whole, shit. But it ain't going anywhere and the Java adaptation for Android is better than what Java ever was. YAY! Also when you get better you can consider native code. Which is not java. Maybe it's Objective C or something but who cares. Go Android! Go Java!

Petey

Ok, couple of things here:

Learning how to code, and learning how to code an app for (a) specific device(s) are two different things. There's a lot of core knowledge and experience that you'll be better off having before you start on your app; at the same time, however, sometimes it's easier if you learn whilst making something. So I don't think that there's any one way of learning that I can recommend; just try a lot of things and stick with what works.

In regards to what you learn, I'd suggest Java (which is used for Android). It's (to me at least) considerably easier to wrap your head around than Objective-C, which is used for iOS apps.

If you've never programmed before, I could suggest that you follow the tutorials here but a lot of it may go over your head simply because you won't have any context to apply it to and there's a lot of dense text. You might find it easier to go over the basics first (even if it's in a completely different language - Java and Javascript are only similar in name, but it'll help you get to grips with common concepts). This is also a decent guide to Java, so maybe read up on that.

Next step is getting yourself setup to actually work. This is a pretty good page with links to what you need - it can take a bit of faffing, so Google is your friend. Alternatively, feel free to PM me if you want help setting up Java or anything like that, it's not the most obvious of processes.

Still with me? Righto, now we can actually think about developing a really really simple app. This is Android development. It only gets more interesting/difficult from here on in.

I know this sounds like a lot and doesn't really answer your question, but it's a start. I'd heavily suggest giving it a go, but there's no shame in finding that it's just not your cup of tea. Google and Stack Overflow should be the first places to go to if you have a problem. It may take a bit of trawling, but you can usually find an answer. Failing that, whilst I haven't done any Android dev specifically, I'm happy to field any questions you may have regarding general programming / Java usage.

Mod74

You don't have to learn to code, depending on what you're trying to achieve.

http://www.appcelerator.com/

http://phonegap.com/

http://mobile.conduit.com/

Never used the iOS or Android tools (see above) but even medium complexity stuff in the Windows Phone SDK requires very little actual coding.

Hodge360

Petey,thanks a mill. That'll get me started!

Mod,have you used one of these sites for a windows phone app?
I was reading a site earlier but couldn't find what the catch is...surely they can't just make life simple for you?!

Mod74

I've used Coduit for a Windows Phone one. The only catch is you have to be a registered developer to actually publish. You can actually test on your phone using their container app that pulls your app* down from their server.

*really it's just HTML behaving like an app, but then strictly speaking so is developing one natively (in XML)

It's only really suitable for very simple stuff, but it works like a charm if that's all you need.

google

Hodge, are you looking to make money from this app?

What's the idea behind it?

monkey

Not being funny but keep it to yourself for the time being if you think it's genuinely good.Â
I know objective-c and iOS gubbins. You've got plenty to be going on with for now so I won't add any more. I would say that anything other than really trivial iOS development is not for beginners.Â
That doesn't mean don't do it, just be prepared to put some hard yards in learning a lot of the stuff you'd need.Â
I'm happy to provide any help or advice though, through PMs if necessary.

Hodge360

Not expecting a serious income but would like to stick a small fee on it rather than put it out there for free.Â
It's a really simple idea that probably only seems difficult due to my lack of skills. If I explained it to someone in the know,they'd prob lash it out in five mins!
Thanks for all the help and offers of more. Really appreciate it.

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