Question for App Developers

Hello,

I've been considering developing apps for BB and I was wondering if some of you could give me any suggestions you think may help me do this.

I have no programming experience at all. I just love BB and I am willing to learn. Making money is nice but this would be a hobby for me so it is not a priority. I just want to write awesome apps for the OS7 devices.

I have been poking at the idea of learning HTML5 and C++. Would that be a good start?

My goal is to create apps part time after spending about a year preparing. I expect six to nine months to get some programming experience and then 3 - 6 months developing an app.

Thanks in advance.
Guerllamo7

A lot of it depends on which BB OS you want to program for and what type of app you want to make.

The other comment I would make is that C++ is a more difficult language certainly to start with if you have no other programming experience. A lot of schools start with something like java or python and then work up to C++ later.

But, like anything else, it all depends on how much time and focus you want to put into it.

If you have specific questions on Java, C++, or C, fire away.

app_Developer,

Thanks for the info.

I guess I'd like to ask you, if you were going to develop for BB knowing what you know now, where would you start?

At the end of the day, which language allows you to control the details of the app better?
Which app is best for integration with HTML5?

Thanks again. :)

I think it depends on what you want to build. Personally, I develop in Objective-C, C++ and Java on Android and iOS. That gives me full access to all of the APIs and the ability to craft exactly the interface and performance we want. The current native APIs for PB are C and I would guess the API for cascades will be largely C++ (but I haven't seen them announce that for sure yet). I would assume the same for BB10.

For BB6 and BB7 the native environment is Java. But I have no experience with that platform at all, other than reading the APIs and building a little prototype, so someone else can hopefully say more about that.

If you want to do an immersive game, you might want to learn about open GL ES and frameworks built on that. Those are often C or C++ (but not necessarily)

And if you're just starting out, maybe you just want to build something in Air or HTML5. Those are easier to jump into if you have no programming background.

I think a good start is spending time with blackberry users and see what apps they want. Research. What resources they need and how to manipulate them.
Just knowing the language is just part of the equation.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Yeah, figure out the type of apps you like to build and then choose the APIs you need to make that happen, and then figure out what language(s) work for those APIs.

An app I would like that I'm researching now that I think will be a good hit is a soft reset added to the power off button for the 9850/9860. I would like to make a utility menu for the power button. When held down you have a menu to reset, go inro help me, clear memory, power off etc.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

13echo4,

I have been using BB for a while and I think what it would benefit from is app integration and usability. I'm not interested in building game apps.

This is one reason I love SCM and MKB. I think BB has some unique opportunities with the use of BB secure servers.

As great as my Bold 9930 is, I see room for improvement on the UI in terms of customization.

Thanks for the suggestions.:)