Just over a year ago I was looking for the simplest way to develop an application that I had in mind for the Android operating system when I stumbled across Basic4Android.
I decided to go with the Enterprise version from the outset, and I'm glad I did. I've been using B4A for just over a year and it has developed so much since then.
I would not consider myself an expert programmer, I've been dabbling with computers for nearly 40 years and had a Job programming in Basic on mini computers for about 5 years until I got promoted out of harms way.
After having spent a year using B4A I firmly believe that the key to understanding B4A as with any environment is to be patient. Spend some time to understand as much as you can of the target you are programming for (Android). That is changing at a pace too, so it can be difficult to keep up especially for those of us not doing this for a living.
I earn my living as a musician and part of that is teaching, the students that do best are the ones that want to understand more about music, and not just the instrument they are learning, and the same applies here.
Over the last year, documentation of all sorts has been contributed by more experienced users willing to give their time. There is a wealth of information there and in existing forum posts. It is almost always quicker to search the forum and documentation to find an answer, than to wait for a reply to a question, which if the answer is available, may courteously say read the documentation with a link to the relevant document.
Overall, I think that using B4A is the easiest way to be involved in cutting edge technology. There are some things that aren't implemented in B4A yet, and some things that Android can't or won't do for security or other probably political reasons.
I for one am certainly looking forward to seeing what's in store for the next year.
I decided to go with the Enterprise version from the outset, and I'm glad I did. I've been using B4A for just over a year and it has developed so much since then.
I would not consider myself an expert programmer, I've been dabbling with computers for nearly 40 years and had a Job programming in Basic on mini computers for about 5 years until I got promoted out of harms way.
After having spent a year using B4A I firmly believe that the key to understanding B4A as with any environment is to be patient. Spend some time to understand as much as you can of the target you are programming for (Android). That is changing at a pace too, so it can be difficult to keep up especially for those of us not doing this for a living.
I earn my living as a musician and part of that is teaching, the students that do best are the ones that want to understand more about music, and not just the instrument they are learning, and the same applies here.
Over the last year, documentation of all sorts has been contributed by more experienced users willing to give their time. There is a wealth of information there and in existing forum posts. It is almost always quicker to search the forum and documentation to find an answer, than to wait for a reply to a question, which if the answer is available, may courteously say read the documentation with a link to the relevant document.
Overall, I think that using B4A is the easiest way to be involved in cutting edge technology. There are some things that aren't implemented in B4A yet, and some things that Android can't or won't do for security or other probably political reasons.
I for one am certainly looking forward to seeing what's in store for the next year.
