Summer School question

[Opaquer]

Hey guys!

This isn't really a technical question with Livecode, but more of a "I wouldn't mind some advice" type of question . So, I'm with a youth group, and being the head of technology federally, I'm making a phone app (woo!)

I've had a bit of experience with VB before (though that didn't help with making phone apps!), and I've just found out about Livecode, and it's great! It's pretty much exactly what we need to be able to make a phone app!

So, there I was, trying to make the app in LC, and I came across the Summer School bundle on the LC website. When I saw it, my day was literally made - it looked like everything I needed to not only make the app, but everything I needed to perfect it, make it look good, have it work, licences to be able to publish it for iOs and Android! Unfortunately, being in a non profit youth group, we're a bit low on money, and as much as I think the Summer School bundle would be one of the best things to happen, I need to convince the people in charge of money the same thing!

So, my question to you guys is just how useful is the Summer School bundle? Are there things that you can do with it that you can't do without it? Is the support good if we get stuck in the coding? Does it include absolutely everything we need to buy to publish the apps for iOs and Android? Anything you have that can help me convince the people in charge of money that getting it is a good idea would be greatly appreciated !

[Simon]

I haven't taken the summer school but I'm sure it is good.
This is about money...There is a cost involved with publishing for iOS, $99/year to become a developer and you need a Mac. If you have that covered then I hope someone taking the course can advise you.

2nd thing, it's best for you if you ask here before any money is spent if your app can be made in LC, like if your app has to run in the background, don't hold your breath. So go ahead and post a brief outline of what you intend to do.

Simon
EDIT: Ahh I see you have posted some info on your app... that is going to take some thinking.

[Opaquer]

By the amount of questions of mine you've answered, I'm surprised you haven't been able to publish my app already

I've got the Mac covered (about half the people in the youth group I'm in use Macs, so I can borrow one of theirs for sure!) Is the $99 above the $499 that we have to pay for the Summer School bundle?

As to what I want the app to do, it's got a few things. Most of it is figured out (or, at least, I know it can be done [maybe]), but a few things I'm still not quite sure about. Here's a list of everything I can think of at the moment

- Splash screen (done)
- Ability to choose and save default states (uhh, getting there )
- Ability to see a list of events from a dropbox file (done)
- Ability to see a calender of events from something like Google Calender, and to import that calender into the user's phone so they can keep up to date (not done, still stuck there )
- A list of leaders in the various states for parents to call/email/text etc (done, but I've just hard coded some datagrids with the info, so I'll probably end up looking into databases and seeing if I can make it get the list of leaders from a dropbox file or something)
- A section for leaders to log in so that they can see when there are leader meetings etc (not done, but pretty sure I can do it easily)
- Social media integration, allowing parents/kids to see the youth group's Facebook/Twitter page (I've heard it's doable, but I got stuck here, so not done)
- Maybe push notifications/Facebook notifications (not done, but I did see an article about push notifications. That said, I can't really think of what I could push, except for when it's close to an event as a reminder, but not sure about that yet)

That's basically it I think. There's a few more things, like a section about the youth group and stuff like that, but that's all hard coded into it (though I might make it read a dropbox text file or something if I need to).

I can't really think of any other features we decided were necessary, so after all that's done, all that's left is to make it look good. Admittedly, that might actually be a bit hard for me, since I'm definitely not an arty person, but there are other people in the youth movement I can ask who can do the art for it

[Coffee1633]

If you are going to publish to the app store or other marketplace you will need to buy a commercial LC license. No way around it. That is going to run you $500. Now for one dollar less, $499 you can get that same commercial license PLUS all those extras, and there are a lot of extras, some in the form of plugins and assets, and others in the form of training and personalized support.

The short of it is you can pay 500 dollars, get a commercial license and be on your way OR you can pay the same price and get tons of training in the form of 1on1 skype support, access to other academies... well just read the summer school package promo on the web site, its all listed there. And those extras are not trivial.

Basically, you will get out of the summer school what time you invest into it. It is not just about having the proper tools, although this summer school package really does give most if not all of the main tools you will need. I mean it's really, really comprehensive. So clear your calendar for the next 6 weeks and start watching the academies and reading the online tutorials.

Hope to see you on the forums.

PS: I did not get paid to write that...

Coffee16

[Opaquer]

Ach, now I'm just that much more excited to get it hopefully!

So, with the commercial licence for $500, I need that to publish anything at all? Or can I still publish Android apps without buying that licence?

And thanks! I too hope to see me on the forums more, but coming from a VB background, I've got to get used to LC first I imagine

[Simon]

Yeah, the summer school package does look great! (hadn't seen it before).

Is the $99 above the $499
yes (it's not listed at least)

- Ability to see a calender of events from something like Google Calender, and to import that calender into the user's phone so they can keep up to date (not done, still stuck there )
Not to store in the mobiles calendar. mobile browser, it runs inside your app. There may be a way to set a local notification the question for me is days or weeks in advance?

- Social media integration, allowing parents/kids to see the youth group's Facebook/Twitter page
A link or mobile browser?

Otherwise I think you are good to go, just may have to do a few workarounds.

Simon

[Opaquer]

Ah, so it'll be a total of $598?

As for the calender, ideally I'd like for it to be in the app. I know that Google Calenders has a link that adds it's calender to your Google Calender, so if there was something similar for phone calenders, that would be awesome!

As for the social media, ideally not a link - they can get to it themselves without the app, so what we'd like to do is have a section where they can see the Facebook feed directly if possible

[jacque]

Some confusion about the $99 -- that is paid to Apple. RunRev has no connection with it, it's what Apple charges per year to become a developer and be able to publish apps to their app store. It's a recurring annual charge, and if you don't pay every year, they remove your app from their store.

The summer school fees are paid to RunRev and are a training package, unrelated to the Apple charges.

[Opaquer]

Ah, I see! So, for the $500 licence - do I need that to publish anything at all?

[Simon]

To publish for iOS yes, you need a commercial licence.
but the 499 is the one you want because you get a lot more.

Simon

[Opaquer]

Well, of course I'd want the $499 one . But what exactly is the LC licence for :S? If I need it to publish anything at all, there's a high chance I'll be able to convince the people with money that they should get the Summer School bundle!

[Simon]

The LC licence plus the $99 Apple developer licence is for publishing to iOS.
If you are only doing Android and desktop then you can use the free LC.
Note that with the free version you cannot password protect (hide the code of) your stacks.

Simon

[Opaquer]

Ah, so for Android publishing, once it's done, I can publish it straight away, but for iOs, I need the commercial licence plus the extra $99, for a total of $598 if I get the Summer School bundle?

[Simon]

YES
Your message contains 3 characters. The minimum number of characters you need to enter is 10.

[Opaquer]

Sweet! Also, I was quite confused about the second half of your message until I read it a few times