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