App Basics with App Inventor PDF

# App Basics with App Inventor ## Objectives: By the end of this chapter you will be able to: - Understand how app is different from software - List at least 10 features of app - Describe 3 types of apps - Understand apps organisation on app stores - Install apps on mobile device - Create apps on...

# App Basics with App Inventor ## Objectives: By the end of this chapter you will be able to: - Understand how app is different from software - List at least 10 features of app - Describe 3 types of apps - Understand apps organisation on app stores - Install apps on mobile device - Create apps on Appy Pie & App Inventor - Identify various types of apps - Install apps - Design and develop simple apps ## Targeted Skill Set: When the computers were invented, they were used by technical experts such as engineers, scientists and programmers because the programs were used to be too technical in language and design for the common public. As technology advanced further, the standalone computers came into existence for the common masses. There was no concept of networking at the time. After the advent of internet - the network world over, product and services were available on websites. Today, accessing a website from our computers and smartphones is just second nature for us. Mobile telephony played a revolutionary role in bringing the commerce into our pockets. We just unlock our phones, open the banking app and login securely to perform money transactions, or we install an eCommerce app and open it to browse the grocery store and order items after online payment, or we pursue online courses to upgrade ourselves through an educational app, etc. Present age is of apps – the programs that run on our hand-held devices. Apps are suited to be used on a small touch screen. Their interface is designed with a very intuitive interface loaded with icons, arrows, visual signs and lesser text. Apps utilize the small space on the screen very creatively to provide a user-friendly navigation for products and services. We use Mobile Internet for several reasons - - communication - entertainment - training, tour and travel - job search, banking, shopping, - booking flights, cabs and hotels – the list is too long to accommodate here. Most of our transactions are carried out by some app. An app runs under the control of Mobile operating system such as Android and iOS, etc. Apps are mostly free to download but user may have to pay for the services availed by the service provider of the app. ## The Age of Mobile Apps Today, we have smartphones and tablets which help us carry our world with us and remain online 24X7. We use Mobile Internet for several reasons - communication, entertainment, training, tour and travel, job search, banking, shopping, booking flights, cabs and hotels - the list is too long to accommodate here. Most of our transactions are carried out by some app. A mobile app is a piece of software specifically designed to be installed on the handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets to provide desired services. An app runs under the control of Mobile operating system such as Android and iOS, etc. Apps are mostly free to download but user may have to pay for the services availed by the service provider of the app. ## Main Features of Mobile Apps - Apps are easy to download and install on the device. - Apps are mostly free and very lightweight (on memory and processor) software easily run in lesser memory and CPU power. - Apps are generally not bound with licence restrictions as software. - App is an interface between the online services provided by the business and the customer. For example, if you have a bank account then major services of your account can be accessed through a mobile app made freely available by the bank. - Apps are a great way for businesses to reach their customers and develop a bigger customer base with lesser expenses of time and money. - Apps help businesses provide their customers quick and better services. This strengthens their relationship with the customer and ensures customer loyalty. - Apps are quicker way to address customer grievances. - Apps are a reliable way to carry out transactions since they are provided by the service provider and the responsibility of secured transactions lies with the business. - Apps are provided as an option. Users are still free to access web services through mobile micro-browser. - Apps do not have a detailed, comprehensive menu and navigation interface. They are designed to make best use of limited screen space and yet keep the interface intuitive and user friendly. - Apps in the form of Web Apps over mobile devices are used as responsive versions of the websites. **Note** Responsive version of a website is a version of the main website which works on every mobile device without distorting the website interface. It adapts to the screen size, touch features and display properties if the mobile device. ## Types of Mobile Apps Broadly, apps are of following types: ### Native Apps The term native means belonging to a particular place or location. A native app is designed to run on a specific operating system. For example, an app designed for any version may not run on Apple iOS and vice versa. Such apps can be downloaded from the app stores of respective company, for example, Google provides Play Store and Apple provides App Store. Microsoft has its own app store. Most of the game apps are native apps. They install and use processing power of the mobile device. ### Web Apps These apps are responsive versions of their websites. They have in-built micro browser to display the website interface adaptive to the small screen of mobile device. Web apps do not install on the user's device. These apps use the processing power of the web server on which the web site is hosted. These web apps run successfully on a good network connectivity since they are not installed on user's device. Examples of web apps are Facebook, OLX, Pinterest, BookMyShow, Flipkart, AliExpress, Forbes, etc. ### Hybrid Apps As the name suggests, hybrid means having features of both or dual features, hybrid apps demonstrate the features of both native and web apps. They combine the elements of native as well as web apps. They provide certain important features even if device is not connected with the Internet. They are integrated with the operating system of the mobile device as well as the web based services. Hybrid apps are more popular since they combine best of both the types. Hybrid apps store some content locally while rest of the content is stored on web server. Popular cloud services are in the form of Web apps such as cloud based office tools for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations. Other examples are Instagram, Gmail, Twitter, Uber, Ola, etc. ## How are apps organised in App Stores or Markets? There are several hundreds of apps available online for each possible service. For users, it is very difficult to look up for the desired app. App stores organise the apps in various categories for the ease of search and navigation for the users. ## Common Categories Some common categories under which apps are organised in app stores are: 1. Art & Design 2. Business 3. Entertainment 4. Food & Drink 5. Lifestyle 6. News 7. Travel and Tour 8. Auto & Vehicles 9. Communication 10. Family 11. Health 12. Medical 13. Shopping 14. Weather 15. Books and References 16. Education 17. Finance 18. House 19. Music & Audio 20. Social 21. App stores further ## Broad and Standard Categories Some app stores put the abovementioned categories under certain broader categories. These broad categories are created on the basis of popularity and demand of apps. Some examples of broad categories are Games, Movies, Books, Music, Travel, etc. Each broader category may have standard categories like Trending, Top 100, Premium, Free, Editor's choice, Verified, Recommended, New updates, Offline, Based on your recent activity, etc. ## Uses of Common Apps Though there are several thousand apps categorised under several categories, most popular and frequently used app types are a few. Let us have a look at some popular apps. ### Gaming Apps Popular among all age groups, this category lists a variety of games, puzzles and riddles. Offline, online, multiplayer are some broad categories of games. Recently Pikachu and Pubg have been most popular games. Other popular games are: - Clash of Clans - Candy Crush Saga - Angry Birds Go - Temple Run - Solitaire - Trivial Crack ### Educational Apps Various self-paced learning apps as well as comprehensive online courses from recognised universities and colleges worldover are available through various apps. Popular examples are: - Duolingo - Learn Languages for Free - Photomath - Camera Calculator - Quizlet: Flashcard & Language App to Study & Learn - Lumosity - Brain Training - TED - Udemy - Byju ### Business Apps Business-to-business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) types of apps are available. B2B apps allow the businesses to network and collaborate together to sell their products and services. Manufacturers, distributers and retailers use such apps. B2C apps allow customers and consumers to browse, subscribe or buy and use the products and services. C2C apps allow the users to sell their product and services using the platform provided by the business website. Here, customers can publish their services for other customers to use. Some examples are: - B2B apps: Google analytic, Hootsuite, WebEx, SalesForce, Docusign. - B2C apps: Snapchat, Flipkart, Amazon, All gaming apps, Banking apps. - C2C apps: EBay, OLX, MagicBricks, Quikr. Amazon also provides such services now. ## Downloading and Installing an App? Having an app on your mobile devices is not a challenging task at all. You just need to search it in the app market, once found, download it with one click and after download, install it with one click. ### Getting an App from Google Play Store Let us see how we can install a Google android app from Google Play Store. 1. Open Google Play Store App. You can also go to play.google.com. 2. Search the desired app by typing its full or partial name in search bar at the top or browse for the app in various categories. 3. Select the app once it is found by touching its icon on the mobile device screen. It will display the features, rating and reviews of the app along with the button Install. If app is already installed then it may show Update button. If app is not free then click on item's price and complete the payment steps. 4. Touch on Install button. App will begin downloading showing the download progress bar and after a short while it will install. 5. After installation, Open button will appear. Click on it to launch the app. A shortcut icon for installed app will be created on the device screen and main icon will be created in the menu. ## Developing Apps App creation involves a lot of planning and basic programming language but certain websites provide simple app building services to create apps through a graphical interface with user requiring to have no knowledge of programming. Appy Pie is one such online platform. If you have a Facebook or Google account you can quickly register with Appy Pie or you can use their registration page to do so. After registration and logging in, you can begin creating your app. ### Creating App Using Appy Pie 1. Go to https://appypie.com and click on Get Started. 2. On the next page, enter your app name and click Next. 3. On next page, specify the brief purpose of your app and click Next. 4. At this point, if you have not already registered with Appy Pie, it will prompt you to register and login. Easiest way is to use your Google or Facebook account. Click accordingly on the relevant choice. 5. Choose the Free Plan to continue. 6. Click on the icon (image) of your app. 7. Click on Edit App/Website. 8. Select an app background and click OK. 9. Select a splash screen and click OK. 10. Choose a layout for your app. 11. Select the fonts, colours and image settings in the layout and click on Save & Continue. 12. On next page, click on Continue to My Apps. On next page click Edit App/Website.