Learn to Program with App Inventor

Learn to Program with App Inventor

by Lyra Blizzard Logan
Released November 2019
Publisher(s): No Starch Press
ISBN: 9781593279684

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Book description

Build a mobile phone app!

You've swiped and tapped your way through countless apps, but have you ever created one? Now you can, thanks to Learn to Program with App Inventor. In less than an hour, you'll be able to build and run your first app!

App Inventor is a free software for making Android apps. All you need is a PC with an Internet connection to build your app, and a mobile phone for testing. You'll use a simple drag-and-drop interface, which minimizes errors and avoids too much typing.

A certified App Inventor Master Trainer, Logan breaks down each project into logical steps, lists the components you'll need, and then shows you how to create screen designs, control program flow with conditionals and loops, and store data in variables and lists. Once you've tested the app on your phone, you can test what you learned with challenges at the end of each chapter.

You'll build cool apps like:

•Hi, World!: Use your voice to send a text message
•Practice Makes Perfect: Rehearse a speech or dance routine with this video recording app
•Fruit Loot: Catch randomly failing fruit in this exciting game
•Beat the Bus: Track a friend’s journey using location services and maps
•Virtual Shades: Take a selfie, then try on some virtual sunglasses

Join the 6 million people who have tried App Inventor, and make the journey from app user to app inventor.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  5. ABOUT THE TECHNICAL REVIEWER
  6. BRIEF CONTENTS
  7. CONTENTS IN DETAIL
  8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  9. INTRODUCTION
    1. What Is App Inventor?
    2. Who Should Read This Book?
    3. What’s in This Book?
    4. How to Use This Book
    5. Getting Started with App Inventor
    6. Live-Testing Your Apps
    7. A Note on Conventions
  10. 1 BUILDING APPS WITH APP INVENTOR
    1. Planning a New App
    2. Laying Out Your App
    3. Programming Your App in the Blocks Editor
    4. Building the “Hi, World!” App
    5. Summary
    6. On Your Own
  11. 2 APP INVENTOR AND EVENT-DRIVEN PROGRAMMING
    1. Building the “Practice Makes Perfect” App
    2. Programming “Practice Makes Perfect” in the Blocks Editor
    3. Summary
    4. On Your Own
  12. 3 FRUIT LOOT: CREATING A SIMPLE ANIMATED GAME
    1. Animating and Moving Randomly
    2. Declaring and Initializing Variables
    3. Building the “Fruit Loot” App
    4. Decomposing “Fruit Loot”
    5. Laying Out “Fruit Loot” in the Designer
    6. Programming “Fruit Loot” in the Blocks Editor
    7. Summary
    8. On Your Own
  13. 4 MULTIPLICATION STATION: MAKING DECISIONS WITH CODE
    1. The Selection Control Structure
    2. Building the “Multiplication Station” App
    3. Decomposing “Multiplication Station”
    4. Laying Out “Multiplication Station” in the Designer
    5. Programming “Multiplication Station”
    6. Testing the App
    7. Summary
    8. On Your Own
  14. 5 BEAT THE BUS: TRACKING LOCATION WITH MAPS AND SENSORS
    1. Building the “Beat the Bus” App
    2. Decomposing “Beat the Bus”
    3. Laying Out “Beat the Bus” in the Designer
    4. Programming “Beat the Bus”
    5. Summary
    6. On Your Own
  15. 6 TIC TAC TOE: USING LOOPS TO CREATE A GAME
    1. Using Loops in App Inventor
    2. Building the “Tic Tac Toe” App
    3. Programming “Tic Tac Toe”
    4. Testing the App
    5. Summary
    6. On Your Own
  16. 7 MULTIPLICATION STATION II: REUSING CODE WITH PROCEDURES
    1. Procedures Can Take Parameters
    2. Creating Your Own Procedure
    3. Building the “Multiplication Station II” App
    4. Programming “Multiplication Station II”
    5. Summary
    6. On Your Own
  17. 8 VIRTUAL SHADES: DRAWING AND DRAGGING IMAGES
    1. Building the “Virtual Shades” App
    2. Programming “Virtual Shades” in the Blocks Editor
    3. Summary
    4. On Your Own
  18. APPENDIX APP INVENTOR COMPONENTS AND BUILT-IN BLOCKS
    1. App Inventor Components
    2. App Inventor’s Built-in Blocks
  19. INDEX

Product information

  • Title: Learn to Program with App Inventor
  • Author(s): Lyra Blizzard Logan
  • Release date: November 2019
  • Publisher(s): No Starch Press
  • ISBN: 9781593279684