Google Android App creator for n00bs launched
No computing degree needed
Google is close to releasing a new app creation tool, which will open up the Android API to non developers.
Called simply the Google App Inventor, the software has apparently been under development for around a year now, and will mean that those who don't know a jot about coding will be able to create their own applications, as it requires no programming knowledge.
Code breakers
"Instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app's behaviour," says the App Inventor site.
"App Inventor is simple to use, but also very powerful. Apps you build can even store data created by users in a database, so you can create a make-a-quiz app in which the teachers can save questions in a quiz for their students to answer."
The apps you make can also have GPS capabilities so you can make your application more location specific if you feel the need.
Collaboration tools
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The software has been created in collaboration with a number of institutes, including MIT and the Free Software Foundation.
At the moment it is closed beta and won't be available for a few weeks, but to request the software go to http://services.google.com/fb/forms/appinventorinterest.
And, please, if you do make an app dedicated to your kittens think to yourself: is it worth sharing?
Watch the video below, to see what it's all about.
Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.