Tag Archives: app

Writing Android apps in Javascript

Another way to develop apps for Android is to write apps in the Javascript program scripting language (note – Javascript is not related to Java, in spite of the similar name). By using a special platform called Cordova, it is possible to package Javascript programs into a self contained Android .apk file that runs on the Android OS.

Even better – it is possible to package your Javascript app, using Cordova, into forms that run on iOS (iPhones and iPad) and Windows Phone too!

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Scanning bar codes and QR Codes with App Inventor Apps

Overview

App Inventor supports scanning of product identification “bar codes” and QR codes. Bar codes are typically found on consumer product packaging. QR codes are used for web addresses (so you can scan the QR code and go directly to the web address), part and product inventory tracking, and to deliver short messages.

In this tutorial, we create a simple App Inventor app to scan bar and QR codes.

Update: José Luis Núñez provides his own tutorial (in Spanish) for a bar code scanning app to check seating in a theater (written in App Inventor). Watch it on Youtube here:  Curso de App Inventor 2 (José Luis Núñez)

User Interface

Our App Inventor app has a simple user interface – a single button to scan either a bar or QR code. When pressed, the app activates the camera to scan the code and then returns a result value.

If the code is a numeric bar code value, the app displays a web page of information about the item corresponding to the bar code. If the returned code contains a web address, then that web address is displayed on screen. Here is an example from scanning the UPC code on a package of tea:

Screenshot_20151130-134823In the next example, a QR code containing http://appinventor.mit.edu is scanned:

static_qr_code_without_logoAnd here is the result:

Screenshot_20151130-134746Designer View

Drag a WebViewer component from the Palette’s User Interface section, and drag a BarCodeScanner component from the Sensor’s section. The WebViewer is the “earth” icon in this screen, and the BarCodeScanner is an invisible component, below the canvas area.

BarCodeDesignerTwo labels are used – one to display the text “Result:” and the other to display the returned code.

BarCodeComponentsBlocks Code

To activate the BarCodeScanner, we call the DoScan method:

BarCodeBlocks1The above activates the camera and displays a view on screen (in Landscape mode). Once a bar code or QR code is successfully scanned, the camera is automatically turned off and an AfterScan event is generated.

The AfterScan event has one parameter named result; this contains the converted scan code – a numeric value for a bar code or an http:// URL for a web address (anything else is displayed in the lblBarCodeResult label, on screen).

BarCodeBlocks2Creating QR Codes

To create your own QR Code images use any of the QR code generators available online – just search for “Create QR Code free” – I used http://www.qrstuff.com/

Download Source

Right Click (or Ctrl-Click on Mac OS X) and choose “Save as” (or similar wording): BarCode_Scanner.aia

E-Books and Printed Books

If you find these tutorials helpful (I hope you do!) please take a look at my books on App Inventor. To learn more about the books and where to get them (they are inexpensive) please see my App Inventor Books page.

  • App Inventor 2 Introduction (Volume 1 e-book)
    Step-by-step guide to easy Android programming
  • App Inventor 2 Advanced Concepts (Volume 2 e-book)
    Step-by-step guide to Advanced features including TinyDB
  • App Inventor 2 Databases and Files (Volume 3 e-book)
    Step-by-step TinyDB, TinyWebDB, Fusion Tables and Files
  • App Inventor 2 Graphics, Animation and Charts (Volume 4 e-book and printed book)
    Step-by-step guide to graphics, animation and charts

Thank you for visiting! — Ed

 

Do you need to use a “real programming language” to create useful applications?

Do you need to use a “real programming language” to create useful applications?

No!

The history of programming begins long ago with the toggling of switches on a console to “program” a system. This primitive method advanced to the use of short text instructions called “assembly language”, which was then followed by programming languages such as Fortran and others.

In the past couple of decades, “real software” was often written in C/C++, Java or C#. Today, “real software” is written in PHP, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, Python, VBA and other new programming languages and support libraries.

Yet there remains an attitude that real software is not real unless its written in a traditional programming language (Java, for example). There is a joke, especially among hardware designers, that “real programmers program in solder”!

So what is a “real programming language”? Realistically, any programming language or system that enables you to deliver a software project that meets the customer needs and requirements is a “real programming language”.

Which gets us to the main point – MIT App Inventor is a real programming language – it is just a different way of programming than that used by “traditional” solutions. Do not let others tell you that App Inventor is not real programming! (But it is more fun!)

Free-Download App Inventor OrientationSensor “Cheat Sheet”!

Download here: App Inventor Orientation Sensor Cheat Sheet (PDF)

High res, suitable for printing. Feel free to share with others.

Here is a GIF of the cheat sheet but use the PDF for printing (higher resolution):

Voila_Capture 2015-10-28_12-25-22_PM

Post comments here or on our Facebook group page. Thank you!

E-Books and Printed Books

If you find these tutorials helpful (I hope you do!) please take a look at my books on App Inventor. To learn more about the books and where to get them (they are inexpensive) please see my App Inventor Books page.

  • App Inventor 2 Introduction (Volume 1 e-book)
    Step-by-step guide to easy Android programming
  • App Inventor 2 Advanced Concepts (Volume 2 e-book)
    Step-by-step guide to Advanced features including TinyDB
  • App Inventor 2 Databases and Files (Volume 3 e-book)
    Step-by-step TinyDB, TinyWebDB, Fusion Tables and Files
  • App Inventor 2 Graphics, Animation and Charts (Volume 4 e-book and printed book)
    Step-by-step guide to graphics, animation and charts

Thank you for visiting! — Ed

Implementing an “Array” in App Inventor

What is an “Array”?

An array is a variable data type that stores a collection of values referenced by an index number.

For example, suppose we wished to store the names of the 12 months of the year: January, February, March, … , November, December so we can convert a month number to a text name. Month 1 converts to “January”, Month 2 converts to “February” and Month 12 converts to “December”.

An easy way to do this conversion is to set up an array that, in concept, looks something like this:

Month[1] = “January”
Month[2] = “February”
Month[3] = “March”
Month[4] = “April”
Month[5] = “May”
Month[6] = “June”
Month[7] = “July”
Month[8] = “August”
Month[9] = “September”
Month[10] = “October”
Month[11] = “November”
Month[12] = “December”

Month is the name of this variable – but unlike other variables, this one stores 12 separate values. Each value is referenced by using an index – if the index value is 2, then Month[index] refers to “February”.

If we have a date, such as (US-style) – 2/14/15, meaning February 15, 2015, we can convert the month number of 2, into the text month name by referencing Month[2].

If you have studied algebra math or beyond, you have encountered array variables such as X1, X2, X3, … Xn where the value Xi is read as “X subscript i”. This is the same concept as an array of values. If you have not studied algebra, this notation may be new to you. 

Most programming languages support an array variable type but App Inventor does not support arrays. Yet arrays are a convenient way of storing and working with some types of data. To support an array-like variable in App Inventor, we can use a list and map the array subscript to an index position in the list.  By hiding this within a couple of procedures, we can simulate the array variable type.

Sample User Interface

I created a simple app to demonstrate the use and implementation of the array. You can download this app from the MIT App Inventor Gallery here.

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Example of the new App Inventor “Responsive Design” Feature

MIT App Inventor introduced today their new “responsive design” features so that apps can work “better” on different sized screens. Using these new features, you can create a single app that should run on both a smart phone and a tablet, yet still display proportional user interface controls. Prior to this, your nicely designed smart phone app could end up having very small buttons or text boxes when run on a tablet; now, these components will resize as needed.

The name “responsive” comes from the ability of the app to “respond” to the size of the device and to change the size of controls so they maintain a similar size on each device. The terminology “responsive web design” also refers to web sites that are designed to work with different sized mobile device screens – here is a link to a great article about responsive web site design, passed to us by reader David – thanks!

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