What does it take to have an App made?

[23]

Anyone with any experience with this situation?

Cost and time, and what to do period etc

[Blzer]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

I'm guessing just knowledge of iOS programming, like Xcode. It looked pretty standard when I took a peek at it, but I've never coded with it myself.

Also depends on what kind of app you're trying to make, obviously. My friend came to me wanting to help him code some literature app for autistic children, but once I didn't settle in SD I never jumped on the project. I also was going to make a grocery inventory app before a quick Google search revealed that's obviously been made already.

Are you trying to make a game? Games like Flappy Birds annoy me where I go like, "I literally could have made that game in a few days. Why didn't I think of that?" Probably because I said to myself, "That game seems so stupid I don't know who would play that."

[23]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

LOL...

Nah I'm not trying to make a game..but there is so much different info online to I'm not sure what really takes.

[Blzer]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

Do you have any programming experience? That will be the first thing.

[23]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

Not to do this kind of thing, nope.

[Blzer]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

Haha then I don't know what to say. I majored in CS so obviously I'm of a different breed, but I almost feel you could walk through some online stuff for a few weeks and you'd be caught up to my rusty self heh.

No but seriously, once you get the gist of classes, methods, assignments, and debugging... your code won't look good and it might not be optimal or efficient, but it'll run what you intend to run. To my knowledge, iOS uses Xcode, and although it's different from something like Java or C#, it appears to have a very familiar workable structure.

What are you going for specifically?

[slickdtc]

What does it take to have an App made?

Someone get GiGGAS or CM Hooe in here.

I'm interested in hearing more info on this. Not that I have any experience, but it's something I've thought about down the line as a project.

[wwharton]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

Can't speak much on the actual code, but I have worked with apps in general a bit. Android is still the wild wild west. It's the gift and the curse of the platform. From a developer's stand point, it's great but as consumers we really need to be careful what we download... anyway back on topic, Apple requires jumping through some hoops to get your app approved and available in the app store. I didn't have to do any of the actual "paperwork" but I do know it takes some time for approval.

An area rarely discussed when talking about "apps", facebook may be the best place to start playing around with developing one. I create my first fb app years ago just creating something on the actual website and displaying it on fb through an iframe. The next was maybe a year or two later, and actually used php with the fb api.

Facebook is known to change things it seems almost daily sometimes, so things may have changed, but I'd also assume any changes since then would be to make things easier for developers, especially with advancements in html5 and all. Either way, if you're trying to get into it yourself, this may be a fun place to start.

[Hooe]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

Someone get GiGGAS or CM Hooe in here.

I'm interested in hearing more info on this. Not that I have any experience, but it's something I've thought about down the line as a project.

/sees bat signal

Focusing on iOS programming, here's what I'd recommend -

• knowledge of how to write code (in this case, Objective-C is the language you'll need, it's similar to C or C++ but uses a unique syntax which makes it look weird to newcomers; Xcode is the program you will need)
• knowledge of how to write good code (not just writing loops and if-else blocks, but knowing how to architect a system, how to get different things talking to each other properly, etc.
• a good idea of what you want to do; doesn't have to be 100% fleshed out, but you should have a minimal idea of what you want, be able to build a minimum viable version, and move on from there

Note to use Xcode, generally you're going to need an Apple computer of some sort as well.

Generally you want to have a toolset and know how to use it; be it Obj-C and Xcode, Java and Android Studio, Visual Studio and C++, Unity / Unreal and C#, etc. Programming concepts like data structures, algorithms, design patterns, and whatnot are pretty universal, so learn those things in one language and you'll be able to apply them anywhere else, really.

Beyond that, it's tough to suggest much without knowing the nature of the project. Is this a self-motivated thing? A project for a client? A video game? A one-off public-facing app? An enterprise application?

(those questions would be part of the very first stage of building an app, that being requirements gathering, haha)

Cost varies depending on what you want and what concessions you're willing to make. A senior iOS dev can command upwards of $150 / hr for freelance work in some states, assuming no equity stake in the project / company backing the thing. Know who you're working with and what you're willing to give to get.

If you expect to have graphics in the app, having a graphic designer helps. Can also help design the user interface of and user experience with the app as well.

This sounds like a lot, but really, if it's something you want to learn to do, don't hesitate to jump in. Just start small and build up. Start out by making something you'd never intend to release, like a tic-tac-toe game or something. If you bite off more than you can chew you'll only discourage yourself. But start off building something small, see if you like it, and if you do take some steps to improve your knowledge base as you build something bigger.

[daflyboys]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

I had the same question, but I don't want to get into all of the time learning programming.

More so, I'm wondering are there people out there who will do the service for/with you and then how does one submit the idea of the app or the app itself for publishing?

[mgoblue]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

I had the same question, but I don't want to get into all of the time learning programming.

More so, I'm wondering are there people out there who will do the service for/with you and then how does one submit the idea of the app or the app itself for publishing?

Well, yeah, there are programmers or companies who make apps for sure. Essentially you'd have to find either a freelance guy or a company and get them to quote your app. You'd need to come up with some specs on what the app has to do and whatnot, and it probably won't be cheap.

It's theoretically possible you could know someone who makes apps to do it cheaper for you.

In general though it's not just as simple as my sister-in-law can tend to think lol. She's said "Oh, you do programming, you should make this intense and very deep/interactive game/tracking app for kids" lol

[23]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

Im not looking to do it myself@blzr @Hooe @wwharton

Say you wanted to come to town and find a particular kind of school, church to visit, reataurant to go to...see what its like if possible,link to their site..etc...

Its sorta like that in a general plain sense.

If i were to visit NY...and i wanted to visit one of those cooking classes for a night. ..pull up the app and bam.

Its not necessarily that but it's sort of the idea. Give you information you want but dont have direct access to,especially if you dont know who to ask...you can find for yourself and decide where to go or visit or whatever.

[wwharton]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

Im not looking to do it myself@blzr @Hooe @wwharton

Say you wanted to come to town and find a particular kind of school, church to visit, reataurant to go to...see what its like if possible,link to their site..etc...

Its sorta like that in a general plain sense.

If i were to visit NY...and i wanted to visit one of those cooking classes for a night. ..pull up the app and bam.

Its not necessarily that but it's sort of the idea. Give you information you want but dont have direct access to,especially if you dont know who to ask...you can find for yourself and decide where to go or visit or whatever.

Yeah, then your focus needs to be on figuring out how much you have to spend and/or how much equity you're willing to offer to offset price. As mentioned, app developers (good ones) can get to be a bit expensive, but faith in the product can make up for the worry with that.

By the way, I love all of you in the OS family, but I wouldn't put out too many more details. If you've done your research and are fairly sure there is a demand for what you want to do and nothing similar already out there, it wouldn't be hard for someone who already has the know with all or connections to try to get it built before you can.

Maybe someone here who builds apps can get into it more in PM or off site, or you can hit up a freelancer site (can't remember the ones I was taking a look at a few years ago).

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

Yeah, then your focus needs to be on figuring out how much you have to spend and/or how much equity you're willing to offer to offset price. As mentioned, app developers (good ones) can get to be a bit expensive, but faith in the product can make up for the worry with that.

By the way, I love all of you in the OS family, but I wouldn't put out too many more details. If you've done your research and are fairly sure there is a demand for what you want to do and nothing similar already out there, it wouldn't be hard for someone who already has the know with all or connections to try to get it built before you can.

Maybe someone here who builds apps can get into it more in PM or off site, or you can hit up a freelancer site (can't remember the ones I was taking a look at a few years ago).

Yeah, I learned the hard way 4 years ago sharing too much info on OS on an idea and they took my idea and got it out before I could.

[23]

Re: What does it take to have an App made?

I never gave the idea out I just gave an example of something like how an app could work.

I mean i dont even know a demand for what I'm thinking. I had a dream months ago about one...maybe ill come to it maybe not. The details weren't clear but its something i could use in my life right now