The latest update to Basic4android was released today, introducing new programming methods and adding new keywords to make writing your own Android apps even easier.
The biggest change is the addition of support for class modules along with the inclusion of CallSubDelayed keywords for making interaction between services and activities even easier. If you want to know the exact details of what is new or improved check out B4A's forum thread or if you don't know what Basic4android is and want to find out, or want to get it for half price while you can, read on....
Basic, to many that word still conjures up memories of old school programming with BBC, Spectrum or Commodore computers and scouring through lines of "If then else" code or having to sit through another "hello world" example.
Most versions of the Basic language used interpreters, you would write some lines of code and the computer would interpret them and act on them. It was fun, easy to learn and meant you could write your own computer programs but also meant that because it was interpreted the resulting programs weren't as fast or powerful as native software written in machine code.
Step forward in time to the twenty first century and with the Android operating system being the most used OS for mobile devices Anywhere Software took the ease of Basic but threw away the interpreter.
Adding new commands and reworking old ones they came up with a new programming language called Basic4android that instead of needing an additional interpreter app on your Android would produce native apps without the programmer needing to learn java or understand the ins and outs of the eclipse ide used by many traditional developers.
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| The Basic4android IDE |
I have a bias towards B4A (Basic4android), my first app written with it was a gps program that showed your position in real time on a satellite image and it then reverse geocoded your location to give you a postal address.
It took around five hours to finish coding (learning the language as I went) and after spending a day or so rigorously testing the code I placed it on the Android Market (before it became the Play Store). It now has over 40,000 downloads and while that may not be much compared to big software companies it's still pretty good for a first app and shows how easy learning the language can be.
To program in Basic4android you need the ide from Anywhere Software, plus the free Android SDK and Java development environment. The ide (short for intergrated development environment) is simply a program you run on your pc that lets you type in the lines of code that tell your app what to do.
It allows you to write applications for Android that easily support multiple screen resolutions and gives your apps full access to the key areas of the Android operating system including gps, bluetooth, internet, cameras, nfc, multi touch, push notifications, advertising, openGL, networking and even USB modes.
It also offers features which make writing and debugging apps much easier than it has been before such as a powerful step by step debugger which can run your app line by line to help you find any errors as well as making it possible to test your app on any Android device using the wireless bridge app which will install your app without you needing to plug your Android into a usb socket on your pc.
The wysiwyg gui designer is one very useful part of B4A that makes creating good looking apps much easier. You can add or remove things such as buttons or drop down menus, rearrange them, test different graphics or add support for a variety of different screen resolutions and densities all with a few mouse clicks.
One thing that makes Basic4android unique is its ability to use libraries to extend its functionality, there are libraries for a wide variety of uses including youtube, openGL, custom message dialogues, ftp, pop3, audio recording, writing games, image processing, gps, geocoding and more with users adding new ones on the products libraries forum on a regular basis.
A list of its features in more detail is available at the Basic4android website, but if you want to dive right in and try it for yourself visit this page and see what you can do.
If you want to get the full version at half price use the coupon code ckncvc when you buy from the products online store but be aware this code can only be used for twenty individual purchases so while it's unique to readers of bigfatuniverse when the codes gone it's gone.
Without discount the full version starts at just $49, those lucky enough to use the discount can get it for half that price which, at just over fifteen UK pounds is a very cost effective way to make your own Android apps.
