Hello App Inventor! : Android programming for kids and the rest of us PDF
Preview Hello App Inventor! : Android programming for kids and the rest of us
Hello App Inventor!: Android programming for kids and the rest of us Paula Beer and Carl Simmons Copyright For online information and ordering of this and other Manning books, please visit www.manning.com. The publisher offers discounts on this book when ordered in quantity. For more information, please contact: Special Sales Department Manning Publications Co. 20 Baldwin Road PO Box 261 Shelter Island, NY 11964 Email: [email protected] ©2015 by Manning Publications Co. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in the book, and Manning Publications was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in initial caps or all caps. Recognizing the importance of preserving what has been written, it is Manning’s policy to have the books we publish printed on acid-free paper, and we exert our best efforts to that end. Recognizing also our responsibility to conserve the resources of our planet, Manning books are printed on paper that is at least 15% recycled and processed without elemental chlorine. Manning Publications Co. Development editor: Susanna Kline 20 Baldwin Road Copyeditor: Tiffany Taylor PO Box 261 Proofreader: Alyson Brener Shelter Island, NY 11964 Technical proofreader: Jerome Baton Typesetter: Marija Tudor Cover designer: Leslie Haimes ISBN 9781617291432 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 – EBM – 19 18 17 16 15 14 Dedication To anyone who really, really tries. Come on, keep going, you’re nearly there. P.B. To Frank, who treated us like geniuses and loved us fiercely. C.S. Brief Table of Contents Copyright Brief Table of Contents Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments About this book Chapter 1. Getting to know App Inventor Chapter 2. Designing the user interface Chapter 3. Using the screen: layouts and the canvas Chapter 4. Fling, touch, and drag: user interaction with the touch screen Chapter 5. Variables, decisions, and procedures Chapter 6. Lists and loops Chapter 7. Clocks and timers Chapter 8. Animation Chapter 9. Position sensors Chapter 10. Barcodes and scanners Chapter 11. Using speech and storing data on your phone Chapter 12. Web-enabled apps Chapter 13. Location-aware apps Chapter 14. From idea to app Chapter 15. Publishing and beyond Index Table of Contents Copyright Brief Table of Contents Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments About this book Chapter 1. Getting to know App Inventor First a little history ... What can an Android smartphone do? App Inventor setup Option 1: Using Wi-Fi with the App Inventor companion phone software Option 2: using the onscreen emulator Option 3: connecting via USB cable Using all three options Troubleshooting The App Inventor juggling act 1. Designing the app screen 2. Telling the app what to do 3. Testing the program How will it look? App Inventor Designer Component properties How will it work? The Blocks Editor Built-in blocks Component-specific blocks Running and testing programs Running and testing: emulator vs. smartphone Your first app: Hello World! 1. Opening App Inventor 2. Starting with a new project 3. Adding a Notifier component to the project 4. Writing the program using blocks 5. Testing the app Computers never sleep: why you use events Saving in the cloud and using checkpoints Button click: Hello World! app, version 2 1. Saving a new copy of Hello World! 2. Adding a Button component 3. Programming the blocks 4. Testing your app Taking it further Packaging an app for your phone Downloading APKs directly to your phone or computer Downloading APKs as files to your computer Changing the app’s icon What did you learn? Test your knowledge Try it out Chapter 2. Designing the user interface What is a user interface? Using the Designer to make a UI Speeding along: built-in components Getting to Know Ewe app 1. Setting up the project 2. Adding a sheep image 3. Adding a “baa!” sound 4. Programming the blocks, part 1: playing the sound 5. Programming the blocks, part 2: vibrating the phone Extra challenge: Ewe Scared Her! app 1. Saving a new project 2. Adding components: accelerometer, reset button, and screen arrangement 3. Arranging the screen 4. Programming the blocks Taking it further What did you learn? Test your knowledge Try it out Chapter 3. Using the screen: layouts and the canvas Layout Layout: mini-project Spooky Sound FX app 1. Setting the screen properties: alignment, orientation, and scrolling 2. Setting up the table arrangement and eight buttons 3. Adding the eight Sound components and their source files 4. Coding the blocks Taking it further Introducing the Canvas component Graffiti Artist app 1. Setting up the user interface 2. Coding the blocks What did you learn? Test your knowledge Try it out Chapter 4. Fling, touch, and drag: user interaction with the touch screen Events up close Flung event Drag event Flingflung app 1. Dragging out the Ball1.Flung event handler from the Ball1 drawer 2. Giving the ball velocity 3. Enabling the Dragged event 4. Enabling the CollidedWith event Fling It! app 1. Making the touch sprite react to the user touching the sprite 2. Making the drag sprite react to the user dragging the sprite 3. Making the fling sprite react to the user flinging the sprite 4. Playing the soundtrack 5. Stopping the soundtrack Taking it further What did you learn? Test your knowledge Try it out Chapter 5. Variables, decisions, and procedures Remembering useful things Total recall: naming and retrieving variables Flattery app 1. Setting up the screen 2. Coding the blocks: creating a UsersName variable 3. Getting and storing UsersName 4. Revealing the buttons 5. Stringing it all together: making the flattery messages Taking it further Decisions, decisions: using variables to choose an action Comparison operators How can a dumb machine make a decision? Prankster Flattery app (Personality Judge app) 1. Setting up the app 2. Coding the if ... else blocks Using creative comparison conditions Taking it further Keeping track with comments Changing variables Dice Roll app 1. Programming the blocks 2. Taking it further Guess What I Am Thinking app 1. Setting up the screen
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