Rapid Application Development
Chapter 7
: Development RAD with CASE tool: App InventorAnd Cloud computing Technology
Dr.Orawit Thinnukool College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University Cr: appinventor.org
Contents
- Introduction to App Inventor
- Characteristics Cloud computing - App Inventor Process
- Preparing App Inventor environment - Learning App Inventor tools
MIT
App Inventor
is the fastest way to build apps for Android phones and tablets. Even with no prior experience, you can learn to build apps within hours. You'll learn from USF Professor David Wolber, who has been teachingbeginners programming with App Inventor since its inception in 2009.
Introduction to App Inventor
- Cloud computing is a recently evolved computing terminology or metaphor based on utility and consumption of computing
resources.
-Cloud computing involves deploying groups of remote servers and software networks that allow centralized data storage and online access to computer services or resources. Clouds can be classified as public, private or hybrid.
- App Inventor also used Cloud computing technology to contribute android application.
If you do not have an Android phone or tablet, you can still build apps with App Inventor.
App Inventor provides an Android emulator, which works just like an Android but
appears on your computer screen. So you can test your apps on an emulator and still distribute the app to others, even through the Play Store. Some schools and after-school programs develop primarily on
emulators and provide a few Androids for final testing.
Characteristics Cloud computing
Cloud computing exhibits the following key characteristics:
Agility improves with users' ability to re-provision technological infrastructure resources.
Service models of Cloud computing
Cloud computing providers offer their services according to several fundamental models
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
IaaS clouds often offer additional resources such as a virtual-machine disk image library, raw block storage, and file or
object storage.
There is type of facility service such as storage which they supports the virtualization for software and application .
-Support to fix the problem of Down Time - High Cost
Service models of Cloud computing
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)
-Cloud providers services of Software and Application manage via internet system.
-SaaS is sometimes referred to as "on-demand software" and is usually priced on a pay-per-use basis or using a
subscription fee (rent). Cost of rent depends on number of users and rent-time .
- Low cost maintenance
Platform as a service (PaaS)
- In the PaaS models, cloud providers deliver a computing platform, typically including operating system, programming language execution environment, database, and web server.
1.Application programming interface (API) accessibility to
software that enables machines to interact with cloud software in the same way that a traditional user interface (e.g., a computer desktop) facilitates interaction between humans and computers.
2.Cost reductions claimed by cloud providers. A public-cloud delivery model converts capital expenditure to operational expenditure.
3.Device and location independence enable users to access
systems using a web browser regardless of their location or what device they use (e.g., PC, mobile phone). As infrastructure is off-site (typically provided by a third-party) and accessed via the
Internet, users can connect from anywhere.
Characteristics Cloud computing
4.Maintenance of cloud computing applications is easier, because they do not need to be installed on each user's computer and can be accessed from different places.5.Performance is monitored, and consistent and loosely
coupled architectures are constructed using web services as the system interface.
6.Productivity may be increased when multiple users can work on the same data simultaneously, rather than waiting for it to be saved and emailed. Time may be saved as information does not need to be re-entered when fields are matched, nor do users
Characteristics Cloud computing
7.Reliability improves with the use of multiple redundant sites, which makes well-designed cloud computing suitable
for business continuity and disaster recovery.
8. Scalability and elasticity via dynamic ("on
demand") provisioning of resources on a fine-grained,
self-service basis in near real-time. For example, App inventor calls program function via web browser.
Setting up phone or emulator Before you can start working with App Inventor, a few things need to happen. Depending on what brand of phone you have, you need to
download the drivers for your phone so that the computer and the phone can
communicate.
Google and put phone model and
manufacturer into a search and you should find the correct drivers. If you can't find them right away, be sure to ask a counselor for
help. If you don’t have a phone then you
should be all set, as App Inventor has a built in emulator that will simulate what you would see on a phone if one was connected to the computer
Preparing App Inventor environment
Installing the App Inventor Setup software package.
This step is the same for all Android devices, and the same for Windows XP, Vista, and 7.
If you choose to use the USB cable to connect to a device, then you'll need to install Windows drivers for your Android phone.
Preparing App Inventor environment
>> Install and run to setup JAVA RUNTIME
Preparing App Inventor environment
Preparing App Inventor environment
Click
Preparing App Inventor environment
Preparing App Inventor environment
Click to download and Install
Preparing App Inventor environment
Click to start App inventor
Click to create new project
9
Starting to project Go to http://beta.appinventor. mit.edu/ for download an application
