Sell b4a app+code to company

[yiankos1]

Hello my friends,
I want to share my thoughts about developing apps with b4a. Let's say i developed the next BIG app with b4a and tomorrow morning i recieve an email says that i offer you 60K to buy your app. If i developed with Android Studio everything will be easy, but what am i supposed to do? If i tell him that my code is in b4a, not in Android Studio, i think his offer will stop exists.
Looking forward to hearing your opinions.

p.s. I am little bit curious that none asked about this at forums. No offer about all these apps developed with b4a?

 

[f0raster0]

same question here when I had a big offer that finished because of b4x-code,
I was asking myselft if I can say: (if they will update the App to googleplay)
"it is developed in b4a but if in the future you would like to use Android Studio you can update the same project to googleplay using that information that I will give to you"

Now, I don't know what is "that" information to update from b4a to Android Studio (googleplay).

About companies, yes, they see it better if using Android Studio, but looks like it's only important when they are really sure that they will continue developing the App.

 

[canalrun]

In my experience a company that is interested in an App is more interested in using the App than it is in the development process. But, I have never sold a previously developed app to a company. I have sold Apps that were engineered and designed to solve specific problems for the company.

I believe the real value of an App is the concept and engineering, not the implementation or source code.

If a company ever wanted to buy one of my Apps, I would expect them to take what I have and hire me for any further development.

Barry.

 

[f0raster0]

I believe the real value of an App is the concept and engineering, not the implementation or source code.

totally agree!!

 

[moster67]

I have done that, twice.
I just explained the advantages of B4A and that any developer can pick up B4A with ease and speed.

 

[Star-Dust]

In my experience a company that is interested in an App is more interested in using the App than it is in the development process. But, I have never sold a previously developed app to a company. I have sold Apps that were engineered and designed to solve specific problems for the company.

I believe the real value of an App is the concept and engineering, not the implementation or source code.

If a company ever wanted to buy one of my Apps, I would expect them to take what I have and hire me for any further development.

Barry.

For many companies that buy App and source it is also important that the company's developers are able to continue updating the code.
If the language is not used in the company or that the developers know, it will be difficult to invest time and resources to learn a new language to their team, unless it is necessary.

For example, more than 10 years ago I was contacted by a software company that developed for IBM Mainframe (S-360 etc ...) and wanted me to teach newcomers Java. Because in the future it was planned to integrate Java into Mainframes (I do not know if it happened), so the new developers would have needed it in a few years.

I do not know if this could happen for B4X, even if I strongly hope for it at the moment I do not think there are the conditions for such an idea. It is more common for companies to invest because developers learn Android Studio or Swift etc.

On some occasions, as indicated by @moster67, that the project will be purchased but will continue to be updated by you if necessary.
Obviously we can not consider it a strict rule. In every part of the world different evaluations could be made from the place where I live. And the same for companies that could make different choices between them

 

[BillMeyer]

p.s. I am little bit curious that none asked about this at forums. No offer about all these apps developed with b4a?

If a motor mechanic, who has his own workshop somewhere, chooses to use either Gedore or SnapOn tools to repair your car, does the fact that he is using Gedore as opposed to SnapOn make the repair a better repair ? The result must be "My Car is repaired and Running Again"

If a company wants to buy your App and develop it further AND use their tools - the risk is quiet obviously in their court and they need to play the ball !!

In my years using Clarion, I was often asked the same question and more often asked "What if a bus hits you ? " - My counter question was always - "What if it does NOT ? - How much have you lost then ?"

My reply to this question of "B4A/B4i/B4j/B4R" as opposed to "Xamarin, The Various Studios, XCode/Swift" is - "Sure - go try them/use them - your choice". My company has just completed a project for a client now whose internal programmer took two years to NOT produce a product on Xamarin and we completed on both platforms in 3 weeks. The result - we now have extra work - as they are now purchasing B4X and we need to train their developers to use it effectively.

With the explosion in IoT (termed the 4th Industrial Revolution), just take a look around you and tell me which other suite can offer Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP8266, Android, iOS, Windows and Linux solutions - all in one suite with code that is hugely similar across all four ?

And finally, if you review the cost of a Windows PC (decent Developers Unit), the cost of a Mac, and all the software and libraries you need to buy to develop for Android and iOS as a start, as opposed to going the B4X route to get the same if not better result - then you must be a special kind of stupid to NOT choose B4X.

All my clients want the end result - they don't care how we get there.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[Johan Hormaza]

just take a look around you and tell me which other suite can offer Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP8266, Android, iOS, Windows and Linux solutions - all in one suite with code that is hugely similar across all four ?

You are absolutely right my friend.
These tools (B4X) are the best. It is the future!

 

[Eme Fibonacci]

In my opinion if you make a successful app everything will be fine. B4X is a real, competitive and stable solution.

 

[LucaMs]

In my opinion if you make a successful app everything will be fine. B4X is a real, competitive and stable solution.

Sure, but the question is another, it is related to the source code.

 

[Eme Fibonacci]

Sure, but the question is another, it is related to the source code.

View attachment 73252

I'm referring to buying and maintaining a source code made with b4x.

 

[f0raster0]

I think are two things: Our thinking about B4x and the client thinking about a "new tool".

The question here is client thinking before to use/to know b4a

 

[Erel]

While I don't recommend this approach B4A generates Java code. It is possible to take the code and continue to develop it with a Java editor.
It might help if someone insists on having Java code.

 

[Multiverse app]

same question here when I had a big offer that finished because of b4x-code

Same here...

 

[Multiverse app]

I believe the real value of an App is the concept and engineering, not the implementation or source code.

In my experience a company that is interested in an App is more interested in using the App than it is in the development process.

the "development process" is not for interest.
The company will obviously will want to change/update things in the future.
and if the app is developed in some unfamiliar language (for them), they are not going out of their way to hire engineers to code just for that project.

For many companies that buy App and source it is also important that the company's developers are able to continue updating the code.
If the language is not used in the company or that the developers know, it will be difficult to invest time and resources to learn a new language to their team, unless it is necessary.

Exactly

 

[Indic Software]

Hello my friends,
I want to share my thoughts about developing apps with b4a. Let's say i developed the next BIG app with b4a and tomorrow morning i recieve an email says that i offer you 60K to buy your app.

Check out CodeCanyon. There are around two projects offered with source code and created in B4A! So it is perfectly alright and never shy away from admitting that you are a B4A expert.

Say it openly!!!

 

[yiankos1]

Check out CodeCanyon. There are around two projects offered with source code and created in B4A! So it is perfectly alright and never shy away from admitting that you are a B4A expert.

Say it openly!!!

Good morning my friend,
As I searched, I found only one project made by a b4a user selling it about 10$. I am not reffering this kind of selling code. I am talking about "company's" interest and if is gonna fall if they get informed about b4a.

P.s. If you read comments at codecanyon about this b4a project, it is a little bit sad.

 

[yiankos1]

My thoughts:
I am really satisfied and sad at the same time about b4a.
I am a member and subscriber from the very first moves of b4a. I made some quite good apps with b4a that made really good profit by admob ads.
Things that make me sad is that b4a dev versus android studio dev is always far away from latests developments Google announces. In case you want to add a git code or stackoverflow created by another dev, in order to save you time and at the same time add "NEW" things at your app and be competitive, there comes difficult times. You have to count only at Don's and about three other users, if they are in mood to create a new lib and keep up to date these libs(rare). Moreover, many crashes caused because you need to use wrappers. If you want to use Google services like Firebase etc, always you have to take the longest path which quite often is unstable or half of attributes don't work.
Other users mention that is the most powerful IDE, in my opinion it is not. It's just really handy that you can use quite a lot same code but in many cases if you make a professional app it's not handy like ULV and xCLV. B4A is dozens of features behind than other IDEs.
I am about to launch a new game-app (developed with b4a) next days, which is the most professional app I have ever made UI, WEB API etc and I realise that it took me 6 months to develop. Last month I tried to learn java - android studio and I realise that this project could finish in about 1/3 time, using GitHub, stackoverflow and Google services.
I am saying all these, because as b4a dev i feel too much isolated from latest developments that happen out there.
No offense Erel, just an old-b4a-user's thoughts.

 

[MarcoRome]

While I don't recommend this approach B4A generates Java code. It is possible to take the code and continue to develop it with a Java editor.
It might help if someone insists on having Java code.

I think B4X is generally a great product. B4X is multiplatform is a big plus unlike many other tools. I think that in a short time it will become a reference product.
Well, said this, is also true that in some cases there are customers who ask for the source that can be modified with Android Studio. Would it be possible to implement in the future (for customers who require the source but have a skill with Android Studio) one works that export the project and make it compatible for Android Studio?

 

[LucaMs]

I am about to launch a new game-app next days, which is the most professional app I have ever made UI, WEB API etc and I realise that took me 6 months to develop it. Last month I tried to learn java - android studio and I realise that this project could finish in about 1/3 time, using GitHub, stackoverflow and Google services.

Are you realizing? You think that's how it is, as we all think that developing a sw we have in mind will be something that will bind us for a short time and then, on time, the times get longer.

I think the opposite is true, ie that developing using b4a is much faster. Of course I agree with some things:

You have to count only at Don's and about three other users, if they are in mood to create a new lib and keep up to date these libs(rare).

Learning Java, relative to its syntax, is certainly not difficult. Object oriented concepts are a bit less easy, which you do not need to use with b4a. I thnk that you have had often planned to learn Java because of the reasons you mentioned but you didn't do it; obviously you're not sure it's worth it either.

Learn Kotlin ... which companies use Kotlin? So much better spending time on Java (better still: stay up to date with B4A. Indeed, B4X!).

The only thing in which Android Studio is better is its price; but this does not worry me, as I read somewhere that Erel will not let me pay other licenses (I read? No, maybe I remember badly ).