Basic4android App software - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 09:51:04 am
content: I'm looking at writing an Android app, never done that before.Has anyone used Basic4android?http://www.basic4ppc.com/Looks pretty good, and being BASIC sounds and looks very easy, just like Visual Basic that I am quite familiar with.Any downsides to using this?I know that one downsides is obviously that it's Android only, no Apple option?Any better easy to use (for dummies like me) alternatives?I don't really want to have to invest a lot of time and effort into learning a complex app development system.Dave.

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 10:48:07 am
content: I'd rather any app developer have support only for android, apple has limitations back front left and right

author: saturation
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 11:08:57 am
content: I looked into App Inventor under google, now its back with MIT. Very easy to get started:http://www.appinventorblocks.com/homehttp://www.appinventor.mit.edu/

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 01:00:32 pm
content: The APIs in Android are Java classes, although Google compiles for their own virtual machine, not an official Java VM. But that is a compiler detail of not much concern for the programmer.Because of the APIs being in Java the most natural and easy to use language for Android is Java, and Google's SDKhttp://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.htmlIt is very unlikely to find a simple and cheap cross-development environment for Android and iPhone/iPad. And if you find one and use it, it increase the chance your application gets rejected. The main problem here is Apple. They forcefully prohibit any execution of interpreted code on iPhones. A number of companies who provided simple to use languages were not admitted or removed from Apple's store, effectively excluding them from the market. Apple further restricts the use of programming languages, code generators and intermediate librariesQuoteIn short, you have to bend over and spread wide when you want to develop for iPhone/iPad.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 01:24:33 pm
content: What will be the nature of the application? Will is communicate with a hardware piece? You have to make sure that solutions like Basic4android, will do what you need.Alexander.

author: johnnyfp
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 09:05:32 pm
content: Why pay money for it! Learn Java, it's not that different from Basic honest :p and then you can use the the free IDE, based on eclipse and is very powerful.This is OK and yes very VB like, but if you plan on doing anything in Ernest you'll find that you'll swap to java soon enough. Or most likely start of your design in this and then tweak and fiddle with the Java code it generates afterwards.Jfp.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 10:42:42 pm
content: Quote from: johnnyfp on June 10, 2012, 09:05:32 pmBecause the paid full version of Basic4Android is not worth even 1 hour of my time. So if Java takes me more than 1 hour to learn, it's actually "cheaper" to use Basic4Android!Dave.

author: Spikee
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 11:18:51 pm
content: http://thenewboston.org/list.php?cat=6200 vids learning android app programming. Takes 15 mins to make an basic app.

author: PedroDiogo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 10, 2012, 11:31:49 pm
content: I strongly discorage you use it for a production app.Sure it could be easier at first but what happens when you need support using the Android APIs and all the examples are in Java?If you dont want to learn Java and the Android environment I suggest you use Phonegap (or something similar) where you code in HTML5/CSS and Javascript, have (some) support of the OS APIs, and most importantly you can easily find support for it. Also, it has support for multiple platforms so you can release that app for iOS in the future if you choose.

author: AlfBaz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2012, 12:16:19 am
content: Quote from: Spikee on June 10, 2012, 11:18:51 pmThank you!On my own it took me an hour just to figure out which Eclipse IDE to downloadDave, I mostly program in C/C++ and VB6. I have had occasion to download some source for various android utitlites to see how they work. Code looked pretty straight forward to me (I'm sure it can get more complex). Syntax etc would be the only problem but I'm sure any basic lang you decide to go with will have similar quirks. The IDE will soon point out errors anyhow

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2012, 01:33:15 am
content: Dave, is this for an App for the app market, or is it just some functionality you want to get from your hardware to a phone?If you really just want to be able to run a script to allow you phone to be able to control, say, your power supply, you can use any of the Python, Perl, Ruby or Lua scripting apps.Using scripting makes it very easy for anyone to extend the functionality. You still end up with a graphical touch interface. Anyone can modify the script and try new ideas easily. In this case, you give people the scripts, and they have to download the language app separately.Lua is very easy to learn - the syntax definition for the whole language is something like a page or two. It is also very compact, and yet it is a proper object-oriented programming language. Lua scripting apps from the Marketplace can be just a few hundred K's in size, and it is probably a little easier then Basic. Much less variable/object types for a start. That would probably be my first choice, and there are a number of Lua apps available.A Python scripting app would be over 10 times the size of a Lua app, but there will be a lot more power in the libraries.Releasing a script would mean you can just post the script, and then let others take the idea further.If you make your own marketplace-type app, it probably need to be written in Java. I have to admit Basic4Android looks like it may be very good as long as the apps do not end up being so bloated that an average HTC Desire users cannot load it due to lack of space. I might get the demo and try it out myself.If you do do a marketplace app, people will expect you to do all the programming, platform bug fixes, etc. It can be a lot of work.Richard.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 11, 2012, 01:51:35 am
content: Quote from: amspire on June 11, 2012, 01:33:15 amYes, it's a app for the app market.Basic4android is proper compiled java I believe, it just adds a nice BASIC wrapper and VB style GUI around it.Yes, my main concern would be product bloat.Dave.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2012, 06:02:44 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 10, 2012, 10:42:42 pmHire someone. The world is full of Android App programmers for hire for small change. E.g. if don't mind someone from anywhere in the world, including Ebonia, and quality is not a requirementhttp://www.vworker.com/(previously known as rent a coder) . Or just google "android programmer for hire india", and check the first ten of 50 search results.

author: PeteInTexas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2012, 06:21:11 am
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on June 10, 2012, 01:00:32 pmJust to be sure, the Google virtual machine (Dalvik) is nothing like any Java VM, official or otherwise.

author: PeteInTexas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2012, 06:35:48 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 10, 2012, 10:42:42 pmIf this is just for giggles and grins then by all means. Beyond that, learning Java is really the only way to go for now until proven compilers show up for the Dalvik VM. I don't know how basic4android does it but if it does BASIC -> Java bytecode -> Dalvik bytecode, its not worth the hassle.

author: PeteInTexas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2012, 06:42:05 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 10, 2012, 09:51:04 amBeyond the perfunctory "hello world", and other copy and paste efforts, I'm afraid you can't get away from this. IMHO.

author: Sionyn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 11, 2012, 01:03:57 pm
content: id stick with Eclipse and android sdk comes with some very nice debug tools toothat basic seems to add unnecessary complexity.java isnt hard language to learn

author: codeboy2k
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 12, 2012, 03:43:13 am
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on June 11, 2012, 06:02:44 amOoohh oohhhhh.. pick me .. pick me... I'm an out of work Engineer and been programming in Java since about 1998 and the Android APIs since maybe mid 2009.(and many other languages before those)....bonus... I speak English and I know electronics better than the average programmer you might find in the wild (if that's helpful for your app developer to know). The downside is I am not in one of those low-cost countries, so I might not be cheap, but if a vendor has given you something for review that you don't want anymore... I could accept payment-in-kindbut there is that damn overseas shipping charge to Canada.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 11, 2012, 09:10:52 am
content: Dave did you came to a decision? Did you found what you wanted? I might need to develop an application for android.Alexander.

author: shdo
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: July 11, 2012, 11:49:34 pm
content: Dave,I'm going to buck the "conventional" wisdom here. If your comfortable in BASIC/VB then I would purchase the Basic4Android and build your app in that.For the price it's a cheap entry into app development since you know the language. This will speed up development time and let you add the options you want. If in the future you feel that you need to have someone else write/work on the code you can export the Java code and have them use that.If you feel the desire/need to learn a new programming language then having a project you want to do can assist you in doing it or frustrate you to the point you shelve it. Depends on the person and the project. I'm guessing you have a lot going on and may or may not have the time to learn a new language in addition to getting your app out.the downsides to using B4A is that you 1) may have a harder time getting help if your doing something out of the ordinary and 2) there may be a default overhead to the size of the applications you can't get rid of. Looking at the applications they list on their page I suspect that is less of an issue than I think it could be. (Oh TurboPascal how you burned me in the past!)Regardless at between $49 to $99 US for a license it would probably be a very good way to make a proof of concept application even if you were going to send it out for someone else to work on.james

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2012, 06:46:28 am
content: Just noticed that currently, Basic4Android is 30% off.http://www.basic4ppc.com/android/purchase_30.html?utm_source=adroll&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=adroll_campaign_nameThey do not say how long this "special offer" will last.Richard.

author: CarolBlame
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: January 12, 2017, 12:00:12 pm
content: Hi!I think I've got a wonderful idea - you can hire a freelancer in the necessary field here:https://www.xplace.com/. This freelance job board has a large number of freelance experts in need of such an opportunity. Please, consider this suggestion!

author: chris_leyson
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2017, 12:28:06 pm
content: Hi Dave, I've used B4A a few years ago, it's a nice and easy to use development platform. I couldn't get my head around Java but then again Java programmers will tell you otherwise.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2017, 12:36:46 pm
content: This thread is approaching being 5 years old, so I've put this image up, to hopefully stop other posters from wasting their time. On what (I assume) is a long time finished thread.

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 12, 2017, 12:52:41 pm
content: I've not tried it myself but looks like lazarus/FPC can do Android.Lazarus/FPC is basically an opensource copy of Delphi.The only thing i'm not sure about is how easy the whole IDE is to setup and deploying.