App Development PDF

# APP DEVELOPMENT ## Chapter 06 ### Your Aim - What is an App? - Types of Mobile Apps - Defining Android and iOS - Categories of Apps - Downloading and installing the App - Developing an App With the advancement in technology, smartphones play an important role in our daily lives. However, the...

# APP DEVELOPMENT ## Chapter 06 ### Your Aim - What is an App? - Types of Mobile Apps - Defining Android and iOS - Categories of Apps - Downloading and installing the App - Developing an App With the advancement in technology, smartphones play an important role in our daily lives. However, the main function of smartphones is telecommunication, but now with the help of apps, you can do many things that were previously unimaginable on smartphones. You can perform various tasks on smartphones, such as online bill payment, online shopping, video calling, message chat, and playing games. ### WHAT IS AN APP? An app is a software program primarily developed for hand-held smart devices such as mobiles and tablets. It helps the user perform their personal and professional tasks more effectively. "App" is a modern term derived from the word "application". Generally, the word "app" is used to refer to the applications on smart devices such as mobiles and tablets. Thousands of apps are available for smart devices. Most of the apps are freely downloadable from the app store. However, some of the apps need to be purchased from the app store. The three most popular app stores are Google's Play Store, Apple's App Store, and Microsoft Store. However, the Microsoft Store is not in use for mobile devices. But you can download the apps for your computer from the Microsoft Store. There are mainly three types of applications, which are as follows: - **Desktop**: The application that is mainly developed for a computer or laptop is called a desktop application. This type of application depends on the hardware and operating system on which it runs. It is usually developed for a particular operating system. Some examples of desktop applications are Paint, Notepad, and Word. - **Mobile**: Mobile application (also known as a mobile app) is a software program that is developed for hand-held devices such as smartphones and tablets. These apps are installed and run on the device itself. Some of the examples of mobile apps are Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger. - **Web**: A web app is an application program that is stored on a remote server and accessed over the Internet through a web browser interface. Some mobile apps and web apps look and work in the same way, with very little difference between them. However, these two are very different from each other. One of the major differences is that the web apps require an Internet connection to work. ### DEFINING ANDROID AND IOS Nowadays, most mobile devices run on Android and iOS. #### Android Android is an operating system for mobile devices developed by Google. It is the most commonly used operating system on mobile devices. Google and some other mobile manufacturing companies use Android as an operating system for their devices. Android provides an easy-to-use and friendly environment for its users. #### iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is also a popular operating system developed by Apple Inc. for its hand-held devices such as iPhone and iPad. The user interface of the iOS looks very professional. ### TYPES OF MOBILE APPS Apps provide specific functionality to your mobile and tablet devices in a more simple and user-friendly manner. We use so many apps on our mobile devices to perform different types of tasks. Generally, these apps can be divided into three types: native, web, and hybrid. Let us learn about these in detail. #### Native Apps Native apps are platform-dependent which means that these apps are primarily developed for a specific platform. For example, any app that is developed for iOS will not run on any other platform such as Android, Windows, or BlackBerry. In other words, you cannot install the app on the iOS platform because it is developed for the Android platform. Most of the apps installed on your mobile device are native apps. These apps are easily accessible through app stores and provide users with the fastest, most reliable, and responsive experience possible. Some examples of native apps are the camera, microphone, gallery, and address book. However, there are some alternatives also available for these apps, but using native apps is the easiest. #### Web Apps Web apps are actually web applications that give a user an experience similar to native apps. These apps are not available on the app store. Hence, you need an extra app called browser to access these apps on your mobile device. You also need an Internet connection to work with web apps. These apps are generally developed in HTML and CSS. Web apps are different from websites. The major difference is that a web app can be a small part of a website that provides a particular functionality. On the other hand, a website can contain many web apps. Some examples of web apps are OLX, Flipkart, and Pinterest. #### Hybrid Apps The app that is created by combining the features of a native app and a web app is called a hybrid app. Similar to native apps, hybrid apps are developed for a specific platform and deployed on the app store. You need to install the hybrid app before using it on your mobile. A hybrid app can be developed by using HTML and CSS similar to a web app. Nowadays, developers use development tools to package the code of the hybrid app with a browser to make it as a native app. In this way, hybrid apps become cross-platform, which means that the same code can be run on multiple platforms. This technique saves the development time and cost also. Some examples of hybrid apps are Instagram, Gmail, and ### CATEGORIES OF APPS Apps have become an integral part of our lives. People are using mobile phones for many purposes nowadays, such as communicating, learning, teaching, and playing games. This has led to the development of several types of apps. As you know, Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store are the two most popular app stores. These stores contain different types of apps, which are further categorised into various categories. #### Gaming Apps Today's most popular category of mobile apps is gaming apps, which share more than 24% of the app store. Gaming apps allow us to improve our cognitive skills such as attention and focus. Some of the gaming apps allow children to learn while playing. These apps also allow us to play games with other friends and share scores on social media. The most commonly used gaming apps are Ludo King, Candy Crush Saga, and Garena Free Fire MAX. #### Productivity Apps Productivity apps, also known as business apps, are used by businessmen to perform several complex tasks. These apps allow businessmen to do their work more effectively. The most commonly used productive apps are Google Calendar, Evernote, and Dropbox. #### Entertainment Apps Entertainment apps are developed to entertain people. These apps allow users to watch videos, post photos, search for upcoming events, etc. The main purpose of entertainment apps is to keep their users engaged. Gaming apps also entertain users, but they are different from entertainment apps. The most commonly used entertainment apps are Netflix, My Disney+ Hotstar, and YouTube. #### Utility Apps Utility apps allow us to do our daily tasks, such as booking a cab, booking a railway ticket, booking an appointment with a doctor, sharing files, and performing calculations. These apps make our work easy. The most commonly used utility apps are Ola, Calculator, and Flashlight. #### Educational Apps Today's world is more cautious about self-education. Educational apps provide a platform for children to learn from anywhere and anytime. These apps use advanced methodologies and new concepts to make the learning easier. Some of the educational apps help teachers support their teaching processes. The most commonly used educational apps are Khan Academy, Vedantu, and Grammar EN. #### Social Networking Apps Social networking apps allow us to connect with friends and family members. The main motive of these apps is to keep track of the lives of your friends, family, and some other people whom you do not meet regularly. By using social networking apps, you can share your personal and professional views, photos, and videos. Some people also use these apps to expand their businesses and spread their products all over the world. The most commonly used social networking apps are Facebook, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. #### Communication Apps Communication apps allow us to communicate with each other by sending and receiving messages, information, and opinions in the form of texts, videos, and audio. These apps also allow us to see the face of the person with whom we are talking. The most commonly used communication apps are Skype, Signal, and FaceTime. #### E-Commerce Apps E-commerce means buying or selling products on an online service over the Internet. E-commerce apps allow us to buy or sell products while sitting at home or any other place. Amazon is the leading online marketplace and provides an excellent shopping experience for its users. Some other examples of e-commerce apps are Amazon, Paytm, and Blinkit. ### DOWNLOADING AND INSTALLING THE APP As you already know, an app is a software program. Hence, to use any app, you need to first install it on your mobile device. As we have already learnt, the Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store are the most commonly used app stores. Among these two, Google's Play Store is more popular due to the huge market of Android devices. So we are taking an example of an Android device to install an app from the Google's Play Store. To download and install an app on an Android device, follow the given steps: 1. Tap on the Play Store icon. 2. Type the name of the app or related keyword. 3. Tap on the app you want to install. 4. Tap on the Install button. 5. Tap on the Open button to use the app. You can also uninstall the application from the Settings -> Apps Management of your Android mobile. ### DEVELOPING AN APP All apps are developed by using an app development tool. An app development tool can be a standalone software or a web app. There are different types of free or paid app development tools available on the market. One of the free and most popular app development tools is AppyPie. Some other popular app development tools are MIT App Inventor, Mobile Roadie, Appery, and AppMachine. They help us develop an app. While developing an app, we should keep the following points in mind: * The idea of developing an app should be unique. * The app we are going to develop should contain all the relevant features. * The app should be user-friendly. Let us create a mobile app with the help of a freeware software provided by Google called App Inventor. With the help of App Inventor, we can create apps. #### App Inventor App Inventor is a free app development tool provided by Google. With the help of App Inventor, we can create apps for smartphones. The operation of App Inventor is similar to the Scratch programming language in which we drag and drop blocks to make an app. App Inventor has two basic views: * The Design View: This view contains all the components required to design an application. * The Block Editor View: This view is the place where we combine blocks to execute an application. #### Setting up App Inventor For setting up the App Inventor, we should have a Gmail account. To create an app using App Inventor, follow the given steps: 1. Type URL: https://appinventor.mit.edu/ and press Enter key. 2. Click on Create Apps! button. 3. Type your Gmail username and password. 4. Click on Next button. 5. Click on I accept the terms of service! Button. 6. Click on Continue to create an app. 7. Click on Start new project button to start your first project. 8. Type the name of your project in the Project name: box. 9. Click on OK button. The Project Designer window appears. It is divided into four panes: * Palette Pane: On the left, there is a palette pane from where we can select components like buttons, images, and other functions required for our app. * View Pane: To the right of the palette is the white area where we can view and arrange the added components. * Components Pane: This pane shows a list of all the components added to the screen in a hierarchical view. * Properties Pane: When we click on a component in the viewer, we see its properties listed here. The properties of the components can be changed from here. In the Project Designer window, we will design the interface by choosing buttons, images, or text boxes and specifying the functionalities of our app. We are going to create a simple talking app. #### Adding a Button Drag and drop a button from the Palette pane to the View pane. #### Testing the App App Inventor allows us to test our app it is being created. So, to test your app, connect your Android device and download MI A12 companion. Now, follow the given steps: 1. Click on the Connect menu. 2. Select AI Companion from the drop-down list. 3. Open MIT A12 Companion on your device and connect by scanning the QR code or typing the code displayed on your screen. Make sure your device and computer are connected to the wireless network to perform these steps. If you do not have any Android devices, you can download an Emulator on your computer that works just like an Android device but works on the computer. The commonly used Android Emulators are Android Studio, LD Player, Make Your Own, etc. #### Rename the Button In the components pane, the button is displayed as Button1. You can rename it. To rename a button, follow the given steps: 1. Click on the Rename button. 2. Type the new name for the component. In this example, we have given Talking Me. 3. Click on the OK button. The new name for the button will appear in the Component pane, but in the View pane, the button still has the name Text for Button1 displayed on it. #### Change the display name of the button To change the display name, follow the given steps: 1. Click on the button in the View pane. 2. Type a new name for the button in the Text box. In this example, we have changed it to Click to Talk. #### Adding a Text to Speech Component From the Palette Pane, open the Media drawer and click and drag the TextToSpeech component to the View Pane. This component will not appear in the View pane because it will drop under Non-visible components that will show up on the app's user interface. You can still find it in the Component pane and Properties pane. ___ * An app is a software program primarily developed for hand-held smart devices such as mobiles and tablets. * The three most popular app stores are Google's Play Store, Apple's App Store, and Microsoft Store. * There are mainly three main types of applications: Desktop, Mobile, and Web. * Android is an operating system for mobile devices developed by Google. * iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is also a popular operating system developed by Apple Inc. for its hand-held devices such as iPhone and iPad. * There are three types of mobile apps: Native, Web, and Hybrid. * App Inventor is a free app development tool provided by Google. ___ **One Touch Learn** **A. Tick (✔) the correct option.** 1. What are apps primarily developed for? * a. Hand-held devices * **b. Browser** * c. Desktop * d. None of these **Section A (Objective)**