App Inventor for Android
App Inventor for Android
Posted Jul 13, 2010 11:41 UTC (Tue) by tialaramex (subscriber, #21167)In reply to: App Inventor for Android by mingo
Parent article: App Inventor for Android
My experience of "non-programmers" is that without a doubt the most powerful factor is motivation. The language used by the KiSS paper doll software to make the dolls interactive is a nasty, primitive thing, with horrible syntax and runtime environment that is hostile to beginners. It ought to have zero users, but since it's the only way to make your doll interactive lots of people who'd have no patience for a beginners course in Logo or some other elegant introductory language are willing to wrestle with it.
So App Inventor has some hope if it allows people who think of themselves as non-programmers to scratch a powerful itch. As part of the Android sales pitch it makes sense: With the iPhone you can buy apps, but despite the advertising if your interests are obscure there probably isn't "an app for that" and with App Inventor maybe you can make one.
Posted Jul 14, 2010 21:17 UTC (Wed)
by Julie (guest, #66693)
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Sometimes linear text is the right thing, despite not being very pretty. Yes - I don't know if linear text _is_ that difficult for young kids to get to grips with. My (geek idol) brother was 6 years old when someone gave him an Acorn Electron and he had no trouble teaching himself BASIC. He also went around the house getting anything vaguely electronic he could find, taking it to bits and then soldering it back together again. (If you want to hack something, you're going to hack it... :-) ) Later when we both were a bit older I pestered him to teach me BASIC too (I still have the hand-written notes I did as a memento). This failed but only because he had the computer and wouldn't let me use it (don't laugh :-) - He made it up to me - a _lot_ later - by getting me into kernel hacking).
Posted Jul 15, 2010 17:42 UTC (Thu)
by nix (subscriber, #2304)
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Posted Jul 16, 2010 17:58 UTC (Fri)
by hathawsh (guest, #11289)
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App Inventor for Android
App Inventor for Android
Later when we both were a bit older I pestered him to teach me BASIC too (I still have the hand-written notes I did as a memento). This failed but only because he had the computer and wouldn't let me use it (don't laugh :-)
I suspect this was fairly common in not-especially-rich families with older brothers/younger sisters in the 1980s. I know I have shameful memories of doing exactly the same to my sister. To my regret I have not yet figured out a way to make it up to her (though she seems to have forgiven me, or perhaps just forgotten about it).
App Inventor for Android