Table of Contents
1 Getting started 7
Introducing Android 8
Installing Java 10
Installing App Inventor 12
Beginning your first app 14
Adding components 16
Adding behavior 18
Preparing devices 20
Running your first app 22
Managing projects 24
Summary 26
2 Designing interfaces 27
Enabling buttons 28
Reading text input 30
Inserting images 32
Painting canvas 34
Picking list items 36
Checking boxes 38
Storing data 40
Telling the time 42
Configuring screens 44
Summary 46
3 Controlling progress 47
Composing programs 48
Defining variables 50
Performing operations 52
Branching flow 54
Providing alternatives 56
Notifying messages 58
Looping within a range 60
Looping through a list 62
Looping while true 64
Summary 66
4 Calling functions 67
Calling object methods 68
Creating procedures 70
Passing arguments 72
Returning results 74
Ignoring results 76
Calling subroutines 78
Validating input 80
Doing mathematics 82
Generating random numbers 84
Summary 86
5 Managing text 87
Manipulating strings 88
Querying strings 90
Comparing strings 92
Trimming strings 94
Splitting strings 96
Extracting substrings 98
Summary 100
6 Handling lists 101
Making lists 102
Querying lists 104
Adding list items 106
Selecting items 108
Swapping items 110
Manipulating lists 112
Separating lists 114
Summary 116
7 Embracing media 117
Playing sounds 118
Playing video 120
Snapping photos 122
Picking images 124
Switching screens 126
Animating components 128
Detecting collisions 130
Dragging objects 132
Dropping objects 134
Summary 136
8 Sensing conditions 137
Pin-pointing location 138
Recognizing orientation 140
Feeling movement 142
Picking contacts 144
Calling phone numbers 146
Texting messages 148
Tweeting updates 150
Storing data online 152
Summary 154
9 Deploying apps 155
Planning the program 156
Assigning static properties 158
Designing the interface 160
Initializing dynamic properties 162
Adding runtime functionality 164
Completing functionality 166
Distributing the application 168
Selling your app 170
Summary 172
10 Handy reference 173
Definition blocks 174
Text blocks 176
Lists blocks 178
Math blocks 180
Logic blocks 182
Control blocks 184
Colors blocks 186
Index 187