Category Archives: Software

Products, Programming Method, Software, STEM Education

“Visual Development” system for Arduino

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As you know, MIT App Inventor is a graphical-based programming system, or a “visual development” system where programs are constructed by dragging and dropping “blocks” onto a Blocks editor.

Arduino, which we mentioned in conjunction with our Bluetooth interface code, is a microcontroller system that is normally programmed in a language similar to the C++ programming language – which is text-based.

Mitov Softwware has introduced a new visual programming system for Arduino. I have not yet had a chance to try this out – the software is in “Beta” test phase and is not yet generally available.

The simplicity of an App Inventor type programming environment might then be available for Arduino applications. This is very exciting. It may be helpful for enabling more kinds of people, with different types of backgrounds than software developers(!) to write code for Arduino boards.

Program Arduino boards visually, fast and easy with Visuino #Visuino #Arduino

Source: Visuino – Visual Development for Arduino by Mitov Software

I have used this screen shot from their web site to illustrate the general idea – really looking forward to trying this out!

screenshot-03

Software, STEM Education

“Why Learning to Code is So Damn Hard”

Click through for the full post at Viking Code School – as they say, the early part can be easy, then things get tougher, followed by a challenging learning period – until confidence and skills flourish.

What every beginner absolutely needs to know about the journey ahead

Source: Why Learning to Code is So Damn Hard

MIT App Inventor makes many things easier – but eventually one must learn to think like a software developer and become familiar with concepts like data structures, algorithms, design patterns, and software engineering design and project management.

Programming Method, Software

“Siri” for Android, written in App Inventor

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Eric Payne has created an Apple Siri – like interface in App Inventor.

You can download his App Inventor source code here from Google Drive. Note that Google Drive displays the content of the .aia file (it is just a .zip file). Click on the “download arrow” icon at top center to download the .aia file to your computer, and then import the .aia file into your App Inventor account.

(This is posted here with Eric’s permission. Thanks Eric!)

Also check out the APP INVENTOR STUDY GROUP on Facebook!

 

General, History, Software

Google expected to introduce new Java compiler

The upcoming Jack & Jill compilers in Android | Saikoa.

Most Android apps are written in the Java programming language. Google’s Android software development system converts “source code” (a text file) written in Java, into the code that runs on the Android device.

In many programming language systems, source code is converted into the “machine instructions” of the processor. The processor does not speak “Java” but speaks its own language. A program called a “compiler” converts the original program source code into the “machine language” of the processor.

Many programs for Windows, for example, have been converted into the individual instructions that are processed by an Intel or AMD processor. The “compiler” converts the program source code into a .exe file that contains the machine language instructions of the Intel and AMD processor.

But what if you wanted your program to run on a hardware device that has a Qualcomm or ARM processor?

Continue reading Google expected to introduce new Java compiler →

App Inventor News, General, History, Software

What are the hot programming languages for today

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Here is an easy to read report on which programming languages are now “hot” in the market for software developers: Don’t Rely On Salary Data To Pick A Programming Language To Learn – ReadWrite.

The pace of change in software development is rapid – popular languages today may already be fading.  Pay scales for some niche languages are very high (such as Ruby)- but the market opportunity might not be large or lengthy.

Web applications and mobile applications are the “hot” categories. Within those categories, there are a variety of currently popular software development tools:

Continue reading What are the hot programming languages for today →

Components, Software

MIT App Inventor Source Code

This is for advanced software developers only: MIT App Inventor Sources. That’s the actual source code that makes App Inventor work behind the scenes – from the browser based editor to the server side support to the AI Companion. It’s all there.

MIT has made the source code for App Inventor publicly available. At a minimum, you need to be proficient in Java, Javascript, and have familiarity with various web techniques, such as JSON. Exploring this source code is not for the neophyte.

With access to the source code it is possible to host App Inventor on your own server and it is possible to develop your own App Inventor components (this also requires making a custom version of AI Companion).

Again, this is for advanced software developers.