How tough is it to build an app?

Mobile is a hot topic. Many want to play the game, but industry knowledge (i.e., how the app store works) resides with the app developers. If I were an investor, an aspiring entrepreneur, or an author who wants to launch a line of book apps – where would I start in order to learn about the space? I Would Tinker! Grab a college intern or do it yourself, because the value of launching a “test title” can lend valuable insight to your future plans. In this article, Ian of TapTeach Apps discusses tools for Do-It-Yourself app development. Even when you have that big idea – a little tinkering may go a long way. 

Do you have a great idea for an iPhone or iPad app, but Objective-C and XCode are enough to send your head spinning? There is hope. The mobile market for apps is growing, and as a result there are a lot of enterprising young businesses that are attempting to capture the market of “rapid development”.

Using tools a bit beyond Apple’s standard might seem a little worrisome, but recently Apple has relaxed some of their SDK rules to accommodate these simplified methods of app development. The current license language from Apple states:

“In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code.”

So what does this mean for you? Well for one, it means that you may already have the tools to build your dream iOS or Android app without getting bogged down with a complicated new language like Objective-C, or spending thousands of dollars hiring a developer to do the job for you. Having a little knowledge in HTML and CSS can go a long way, transforming your web site prowess into app abundance! Let’s take a look a some “alternative” app development methods.

HTML5

Building a “web app” might be a good alternative to posting your app in a storefront environment and HTML5 is the preferred language to do it. Ostensibly you are building a web page, but one that is optimized for the mobile browser. This method does not require a developer license fee or submission to a store. For free apps, this might seem like a perfectly good solution. But what you gain in freedom from the conformity of SDKs, you lose in the exposure of an app store. Fortunately there are other methods that exist for the DIY users out there.

Third Party Libraries

In lieu of hiring a mobile app development house (those that charge big bucks for rapidly built apps), there are new tools for developers that make app development no more difficult than building a simple web site. One such tool is the RareWire App Creation Studio, which aims to replace the standard tool of XCode with an XML based code library (known as the Wire), where apps can be built quickly through a web interface and tested right on your device. Rarewire and other similar tools take a fresh approach by offering novice developers a method to build apps in a matter of hours using simple proprietary command libraries geared towards iOS and Android actions.  The advantage to tools like this are clean simple code outputs for multiple platforms at once, in easy to read language libraries unsurpassed by standard Apple and Android development tools. Build once and submit to both Android and Apple? Seems a lot less scary now doesn’t it?

Whether you take on the task of learning Objective-C, Java or choose a different route through HTML5 or a third party library like RareWire, you will still enjoy the satisfaction of creating an app to share with millions of smart phone and tablet users. To publish an app requires only a strong desire and an idea that needs to come to life.