With MIT’s App Inventor 2, anyone can build complete, working Android apps—without writing code! This complete tutorial will help you do just that, even if you have absolutely no programming experience.   Unlike books focused on the obsolete Google version, Learning MIT App Inventor is written from the ground up for MIT’s dramatically updated Version 2.   The authors guide you step-by-step through every task and feature, showing you how to create apps by dragging, dropping, and connecting puzzle pieces—not writing code. As you learn, you’ll also master expert design and development techniques you can build on if you ever do want to write code.   Through hands-on projects, you’ll master features ranging from GPS to animation, build high-quality user interfaces, make everything work, and test it all with App Inventor’s emulator. (You won’t even need an Android device!)   All examples for this book are available at theapplanet.com/appinventor    Coverage includes: Understanding mobile devices and how mobile apps run on them Planning your app's behavior and appearance with the Designer Using the Blocks Editor to tell your app what to do and how to do it Creating variables and learning how to use them effectively Using procedures to group and reuse pieces of code in larger, more complicated apps Storing data in lists and databases Using App Inventor's gaming, animation, and media features Creating more sophisticated apps by using multiple screens Integrating sensors to make your app location-aware Debugging apps and fixing problems Combining creativity and logical thinking to envision more complex apps

Table of Contents:
Preface     xiv 1 An Introduction to Programming     1   Operating Systems     2     User Interface     4   Android Strengths     6     Extending App Capabilities     8     Google Services     9   Applications     10   Programming Languages     11   Summary     13   Exercises     14 2 Building with MIT App Inventor     17   The MIT App Inventor Site     17     Signing In     18     Designer     20     Blocks Editor     20     The AI2 Companion App     21     The Android Emulator     23     USB Connection to Android Device     23   Getting Inside an App     25     Event Handlers     25     Doing One Thing at a Time     26   Exercise: Sherlock Is Watching     27     Adding an Image     29   What Can You Build?    31     Speak, Android!    31     Pollock     31     Fore     32     Android Quiz     32   Uploading to Google Play     32   Summary     33   Exercises     34 3 App Inventor Toolkit     35   Creating a New Project     36   Designer Essentials     36     Palette     37     Viewer     44     Components     45     Properties     46     Media     46   Exercise: Speak, Android!    47     Connecting Your Device     48     See Your App on a Connected Device     50   Summary     54   Exercises     54 4 Variables     55   Component Properties: The Built-in Variables     56     Clicker-Counter App     56     Properties: Getters and Setters     57     Clicker Counter Extensions     58   Event Parameters: Special Variables    58   Exercise: Pollock     60     The Interface     60     Programming Blocks     62     Additional Exercises     64   Scope: Global and Local Variables     64   Global Variables     66     Example App: Up/Down Counter     67   Local Variables     68     An Example App: Random Guess     69   What You Can Store in Variables     72   Summary     72 5 Procedures     75   What Is a Procedure?    75   Types of Procedures     76   Why Use Procedures?    79   Arguments     79   Exercise: Flick     81   Additional Exercises     83   Summary     84 6 Working with Lists     85   Modeling Things with Data     85     The List Block     85   The Basics     87     Creating an Empty List     87     Creating a List with Some Stuff Already In It     88     Working with Lists     91     Color as a List     92   Types of Lists     92     The One-Dimensional List     92     Lists as Data Structures     93     Using Multiple Lists Together (That Expand on Demand)    94   Abstraction with Lists and Procedures     98     Lists that Expand on Demand     100   Common Problems     102     Running Off the End of the List     102     Defining a Variable That Depends on Runtime Elements     104   Exercise: Android Quiz     105   Additional Exercises     112   Summary     112 7 Games and Animations     113   Adding Animations     113     ImageSprite     114     Ball     115     Canvas     116   Animation Examples     117     Smoother Animation     118     Edges and Collisions     119   Exercise: Fore     119   Additional Exercises     123   Summary     123 8 Multiple Screens and Debugging Techniques     125   Why More Than One Screen?    125   Building Apps with Multiple Screens     126     What Screens Are Good At     127     Issues with Multiple Screens     127     Switching Screens     128     Sharing Data Between Screens     129   Debugging Techniques     130     Leaving Comments     130     Test Small and Test Often     131     Do It     131     Name Well     132   Backing up Your Work     133   Exercise: Pollock Plus One     134   Additional Exercises     136   Summary     136 9 Using Media     139   Audio     140   Images     141     The ImagePicker     141     The Camera     144   Video 1    45   Exercise: Camera Action     146   Additional Exercises     146   Summary     147 10 Sensors     149   Building Location-Aware Apps     150     Using Location     150     Location Data     152     Using the Maps App with Intents     153     Saving Location Data     155   The Accelerometer     158     Detecting Tilt (and a Little Background Physics)    159   The Orientation Sensor     160   Exercise: Pushpin     161     Part 1: Designing Current Location Readout     161     Programming Part 1: The Current Location Readout     165     Part 2: Pinning a Location to Remember Later     168     Programming Part 2: Pinning a Location     170     Extension Activities     172   Summary     172 11 Databases     173   TinyDB     174     Retrieving Data from TinyDB     175     A Few TinyDB Details     176   TinyWebDB     176     Setting Up Your Own Web Database Service     176     Security and Privacy     177   FusionTables     177   Using Web GET and POST     180     Basic Files     181     Web APIs     182   Exercise: WriteMore     182   Additional Exercises     186   Summary     187 12 Distributing an App     189   Live Mode     189   Security Settings     190   Creating an APK File     191     Downloading Directly to a Computer     192     Downloading with a QR Code     196   Creating an .aia File     198   Exercise: App Distribution     200     Version Codes     200     Google Play Developer Console     201   Summary     205 Index     207