App development

[Will.]

Hey guys, would like some help regarding building apps for phones.

Part of my degree requires me to have a large project and one of the things my tutor has suggested is creating an app for a mobile device. Now the two that I have seen are apple and android developments.

My question, what would be the best platform to use? I have some programming knowledge but don't mind sitting down and learning a s**t load more (tbh I need some form of hobby and this could be it).

Also maybe some suggestions of apps that I could build. What would you like to see out there?

 

[Revels]

Depends what you want to make really.

A soundboard type app, where you press and it plays a sound, like a fart app, you could make very easily.

Obviously it depends what your degree is actually for and how complex you want to be.

It's not easy by any stretch of imagination. But there are various books and with effort you can learn it.

 

[Craigus]

I would have thought Apple would be better.

How about an app that takes peoples clothes off when you hold it up to them?

 

[.Adam.]

Good luck getting that approved by Apple!

 

[Will.]

Revels: It needs to be a bit more advance than a sound board but still at entry level development. As this is part of my degree I will have lot's of time to learn the language and will have lot's of help available. I won't be average Joe sat at home with no knowledge thinking that making an app could be just a bit of fun.

Oh and I won't need to get the app published.

 

[SHAX182]

app for iPad ... to browse cs ?

 

[Rob]

What's the degree in dot? And what roughly are you thinking of creating?

 

[Revels]

Revels: It needs to be a bit more advance than a sound board but still at entry level development. As this is part of my degree I will have lot's of time to learn the language and will have lot's of help available. I won't be average Joe sat at home with no knowledge thinking that making an app could be just a bit of fun.

Oh and I won't need to get the app published.

You'll need a developer account to get the app onto a device. That's $99 for a year. But you can test on the simulator anyway.

As you've done that, you may as well release it. Ignore what ar90 said about the approval service. As long as you haven't broken the obvious guidelines, got broken code or trying to sneak in something, you'll be fine.

Make a game. Have a look at the cocos2d framework. But get a handle on Objective C first. Just make something simple that works and learn how things are structured, how the code works etc.

 

[Will.]

Foundation Degree IT level 2. So the 2nd out of 3 stages (3rd stage being Bsc). I'm not sure what I want to create yet, maybe something for photos or a game. Just doing my research at the moment.

 

[Will.]

You'll need a developer account to get the app onto a device. That's $99 for a year. But you can test on the simulator anyway.

As you've done that, you may as well release it. Ignore what ar90 said about the approval service. As long as you haven't broken the obvious guidelines, got broken code or trying to sneak in something, you'll be fine.

Make a game. Have a look at the cocos2d framework. But get a handle on Objective C first. Just make something simple that works and learn how things are structured, how the code works etc.

As it will be assesed, it will be all very strict on the guidelines so there won't be and sneaking or cheating. Shall be 100% my own code. Just spoke to my tutor and he said I would only need to simulate the app and not get it approved.

 

[Jon.G]

I would advise looking into both platforms in dept.

Just finished a module of Mobile development, And found that the iOS was the most common device out of the 2 (with blackberry being close). You should consider the target audience, who your cater for, you budget (remember you will need a mac and app development licence to iOS). Have a think about the languages as well. From what I can remember android uses the java platform and iOS uses C++ (again from what I can remember).

I would personally hit up the iOS route as you could potentially hit more of an audience (if you were to launch it) and I have a c++ background so could pick that up fairly easily. However Java is pretty simple and there is lots on the web to help you get started with syntax etc.

Probably best to start off simple like a mind game (maybe one that includes maths if your good at that) then build it up and onto something with physics.

btw the market share is as follows:

At the top of the statistics comes the Apples iOS which is used on only 4 handset but still manages to have a 44.38% of the mobile market in the UK. Next is BlackBerry OS which is used by only BlackBerry devices and is close to Apple’s iOS on 33.54% in the UK. Taking up a smaller portion of the market are operating systems which have a more generic OS, such operating systems as SymbianOS that has 7.33%, Android on 6.64%. (statcounter, 2010)

 

[Will.]

Silly question, but would I need a mac to create an apple app?

I have done programming in Java before and not C++ but have heard they are similar. Should that influence my decision>?

 

[Revels]

You need a Mac and a dev account. The account is free for the simulator etc. But to get it working on a device you have to pay.

So the only cost for you will be the Mac. You'll need to download interface builder and xcode too. Those are free.

But if you can code with Java. You'd be best off going with something that runs Java.

 

[Jon.G]

I'm pretty sure that you do will. However im sure there are simulators out there that will let you test. I'd say you could just develop it for the right resolution etc, but you would need to test functionality, speed, orientation and use of the gyro/accelerometer or GPS if needed.

Sorry it Is objective C and not C++.

Heres a quick guide from the gaurdian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/feb/10/gameculture-apple

 

[sn00p]

Objective C is a superset of "C", it's unrelated (thankfully) to C++ and is properly object oriented. Don't waste your time learning C++ if you're targetting iOS because nothing in iOS is C++, it's either Objective C or C. If you really need/want to you can use Objective C++ (you just name the files .mm), but you only really end up doing this if you're reusing other code.

Android used to only have Java at the heart of its SDK, but you can write native applications now. Blackberry use Java.

You'll also find that the iOS development environment is leagues ahead of the other platforms.

 

[Will.]

Looks like I shall be going with android then as I don't have or have access to a mac.

 

[Sparky]

Thought about making a Windows App? Using XNA you can make a application for xbox pc or windows phone 7 and I can give you the details of a world famous Microsoft designer if you need

 

[Ms_Technical]

Java would be a good route to go down. You can build basic games that run on phones.

 

[Will.]

Forgot about this thread.

So far I have got all the software for Android and now currently going through tutorials on how to learn it (I already have basic Java knowledge). Trying to get my head around the XML language at the moment but once I have got that, it looks to be straight forward.

As for ideas, I still have no idea what to make. The plan is to create a really simple app and then to build on that app gradually to make it more complex. That way, when it comes to handing the project in, I will definitely have a working app and then I can continue to build the app in my own time.

Ideas anyone? Maybe something educational, so I can link it with a different assignment I have that relies on me creating a multimedia application for educational purpose.

 

[The Boosh!]

A good idea would be to select 3 basic ingredients and it give you a decent recepie.

IE in my fridge i've got
cheese
beans
bacon

What s**t can i make

 

[Will.]

Cook the bacon, chop it up, stir into the beans and grate the cheese on top. (Put it on toast if you have bread).

My fridge only has a can of beans in at the moment

 

[Will.]

Cook the bacon, chop it up, stir into the beans and grate the cheese on top. (Put it on toast if you have bread).

My fridge only has a can of beans in at the moment