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Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?

By | July 12, 2010, 5:41am PDT

Summary: If evil is the exception opening up the creation of apps to users should be no big deal. Yet to many in this profession it is a big deal.

If you believe in open source this should be good news.

App Inventor for Android opens the creation of apps, for the first time, to non-programmers. The apps you write can access the phone and the system’s GPS. You can write custom apps for sites like Amazon and Twitter.

It’s all drag-and-drop, based on the Open Blocks Java Library distributed by MIT.

So why are some who cover the Android calling this “your route to spam app stardom?” Why is Techcrunch calling it “a gateway drug or a doomsday device for Android?”

The New York Times says the new tool has been beta-tested with sixth graders, high school girls, nursing students and undergraduates. Why is this somehow a bad thing, a dangerous thing?

Are you more ethical than a sixth grader?

From the start of the open source movement, the ability to create code and publish it was democratized. Open source is based on the theory that most people are decent, that most of us aren’t out to destroy the other guy, that evil is the exception and not the rule.

Open source has thrived for 10 years on this idea. Sure, there are bad people. There are spammers and crackers and gangs. But they’re the exception. They’re not the rule.

And if they are the exception, then opening up the creation of apps to people who don’t know code, to users, should be no big deal.

Yet to many in this profession it is a big deal.

I should add it’s not a big deal to the Times or the BBC or even the people at the Guardian.  Only some of us who talk to programmers for a living seem to be put-out.

Why is that? Is open only supposed to be available if you’re part of the programming priesthood? Does learning to code Java bring with it some magical ethical cloak? Is there a secret handshake no one told me about?

I don’t think there is. But feel free to disagree.

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Dana Blankenhorn, Programming, Development Tools, Open Source, Software Development, Software/Web Development

Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983.

Disclosure

Dana Blankenhorn

Dana Blankenhorn has been a journalist, writer and part-time futurist for over 30 years.

At the present moment I run only a personal blog in addition to my ZDNet open source blog.

DanaBlankenhorn.Com has the subtitle The War Against Oil. In the past I have used it to write about political history, e-commerce, personal matters, some ideas related to open source, and The World of Always On, which is the idea of using sensors, motes and RFID to turn WiFi links into platforms for applications which live in the air.

My IRA account at Schwab holds a few tech shares, most notably some Intel and Applied Materials, but there are no open source companies in it. I don’t even own any CBS stock.

Biography

Dana Blankenhorn

Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for nearly 25 years and has covered the online world professionally since 1985. He founded the Interactive Age Daily for CMP Media, and has written for the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age's "NetMarketing" supplement, and dozens of other publications over the years.

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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
musdahi Updated - 16th Sep
Android programming be about it is bank that website attacked from the site support from any soldier site to the light home page is great open
View in thread
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You need an analytical mind
Uralbas 12th Jul 2010
To develop apps, but getting over the syntax of java and Eclipse will make it easier on many people.

Android was ready to overtake Apple in the App department by Jan 2011:


http://viusmartphones.blogspot.com/2010/07/android-may-overtake-iphone-apps-early.html

This will happen a lot sooner now. Apple must be extremely worried, all of its coolness factor is eroding faster than sand in the wind!
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
tymiles 13th Jul 2010
@Uralbas Android has a WAY's to go to catch up to Apple in the App dept. Apple's cool factor is still there. Apple is still selling more iPhones then almost every Android seller combined. Apple is still making tons more money then Google and App developers are making tons more money on the iOS then over in Android land.

In the end it's all about making money. And if you can't make money then why is it worth it. On top of that now kids will be able to make apps that may take sales away from other developers. LOL!

In the end I doubt there will be 100 plus thousand Android apps made in the next 18 months. Not seeing it happen. Still waiting from them to hit the 100,000 app mark.

And I know, people will say, well Apple has 250,000 apps but 50,000 are fart apps. Wait till this program gets in place there are going to be 50,000 fart apps on android for sure now! LOL!
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
musdahi Updated - 16th Sep
Android programming be about it is bank that website attacked from the site support from any soldier site to the light home page is great open
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You can write MS Windows Drag/Drop Apps
Dietrich T. Schmitz, ~ Your Linux Advocate 12th Jul 2010
How is this any different???
(Example: MS Access)
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
rlawler 12th Jul 2010
@Dietrich T. Schmitz, Your Linux Advocate

It's not different. What has been different on mobile is a certain company which has been saying "no" to these sorts of tools.
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While I wasn't looking...
mr1972 12th Jul 2010
I have been writing software code for about 10 years now. My actual degree was in digital hardware and I still do design work there as well. When was there an "official" designation "Programmer"? Anyone who can work there way through logic and master syntax and grammar can "program". I have "programmed" in Hex code, C, C++, Java, and can pretty much get a working knowledge of a new language in a few weeks.

If the API is a free download and a person can figure out the language, what is the problem?

If Google has created a programming UI that makes it even easier to write code, again, what is the question? A programmer is pretty much anyone who can successfully write code.

I fully admit that there are very good and efficient ways to write code and very sloppy and stupid ways to write code but I have seen both being paid as programmers in companies. Why would amateur programmers be any different. Especially with a heavy UI controlled environment. While I haven't looked at this particular tool set yet, if it prevents some obvious mistakes, why not let the broader community have at it?
I have seen professional code with unaccounted logic states, uncaught exceptions, code branches that lead to infinite loops. Don't get me started on the documentation either.

So really what is the difference between a skilled/unskilled professional programmer and a skilled/unskilled amateur programmer? I would put a skilled amateur up against an unskilled professional any day of the week.
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We Can NOT Allow Amateurs To See Behind The Curtain
sismoc 12th Jul 2010
The hallowed halls of geekdom MUST be kept secure against the onslaught of "sixth graders, high school girls, nursing students and undergraduates"!!! Pull up the drawbridge! Man all battle stations! We must defend our right to be part of an exclusive club! No Amateurs Allowed!
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
douglasac10 12th Jul 2010
@sismoc

I'm not sure if you're making an attempt at humour or being serious.

If it's the former, it was a very poor attempt. If it was the latter, please leave, the door is over there. No, a little more to the left.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
DanaBlankenhorn 12th Jul 2010
@douglasac10 I do think I detect the rare and beautiful snark in what sismoc wrote.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
don3605 12th Jul 2010
@sismoc
That's pretty good. I would have probably added RED ALERT...RAISE SHIELDS as well.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
jabster17 12th Jul 2010
@sismoc
Yeah, someone might make the modern equivalent of a GOTO statement....
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
Clewin 12th Jul 2010
I think this is more of an "about time" thing than a real revelation. Smalltalk had this circa... 1987 or earlier (the first time I saw Smalltalk this was shown - in 1988 - a hello world window with an OK to close button and an "info" button generated entirely with drag-and-drop), and largely non-programmatic interface building has existed on NeXT and java for many years (late 1980s to early 1990s on NeXT, late 1990s on java [circa java 2], as I recall). NetBeans improved on the java interface design over earlier tools, but still had a ways to go to be fully drag-n-drop. Codewarrior for mac OS 7/8/9 also had an interface builder for mac, but it was largely non-functional without coding the callbacks (you could make it completely contained, but not without programming extension classes). On Linux I've done some KDevelop and QT Creator Gui design, but both required programming for callbacks (note: my knowledge on this is likely dated - KDE has released 2 versions since I programmed it last, and I think GNOME may be 3).

You probably noticed I didn't mention Windows. Most people I know do VB (Visual Basic) mockups for Windows and then program the code for the Window in C or C++. Visual Studio introduced WPF Designer in 2008, but I haven't personally tried it (my work is still using VC2005, and while I have 2010 express installed at home, I haven't had a need to develop any UI lately for my OSS project).
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Let a thousand flowers bloom!
rlawler 12th Jul 2010
I think App Inventor and Flash/AIR for Android are so cool.

By opening up generative capabilities to a broad audience they have the potential to really change the game for mobile.

(I am a professional software developer BTW.)
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
DannyO_0x98 Updated - 12th Jul 2010
Nothing wrong with this: it might even inspire a generation of kids who will master the basics, want to extend their applications and will have to truly understand what's under the hood. (Ooops, ding me a quarter-point, I'm pretty close to a car metaphor there.)

Pre-fabricated blocks of code, if that's what's going on, would work incredibly well as implementation of a single-threaded, non-concurrent solution. That style of programming solves a very, very large problem set.

I'm going to bracket the following because I wrote it, and I don't stand by it. [But, I think we may agree that the real bugbears, the things that require the professionals, are interface usability optimization, output design, format, and implementation (especially user customizations) and concurrency.] The problem is that the world is rarely a pipeline or a tree and often an undirected graph.

Put another way, while we all agree that black box modules are the correct way, some problems require a communication and control channel between blocks, and that stuff gets tricky.

Let's put this another way: there's no such thing as a silver bullet. All solutions are sub-optimal for some non-empty problem space. Murphy's Law says that at least one or all of your problems will fall into the sub-optimal space.
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You should read the articles you quote
rarsa Updated - 12th Jul 2010
You make it sound as if it is the open source community that is complaining about enabling this kind of development.

Actually the "your route to spam" link you posted says nothing like that. Are you sure you read it?

The second link is a rhetorical question. Did you see the question mark? that hardly qualifies as "is calling it..."

Here is a real quote from that article:

"So is that what App Inventor is going to do for Android? Create a flood of crappy apps? Maybe. But there?s a flip-side to this as well."

As you can see, they are presenting a balanced view. unlike your post.

You should really read the articles you quote.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
DanaBlankenhorn 12th Jul 2010
@rarsa There is a distinct difference in tone and headlines between those stories I saw this morning for general audiences and those that ran in the computer press. I think we have a right to point that out.
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That's why I recommended going beyond the headlines
rarsa Updated - 12th Jul 2010
@DanaBlankenhorn :

Hi Dana, That's why I recommended going beyond the headlines.

If I write "We should bring back slavery, right?" and then go on to explain why that is not a good idea, I wouldn't like to be quoted as saying that I support slavery.

Do you agree?
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I would assume this is obvious, but...
paferg Updated - 12th Jul 2010
Though Android's Marketplace isn't quite as closed as Apple's App Store (you can usually install apps from other sources), most people still get their apps there, and most people still use the weak tools available to find new apps. There is no problem with opening up app creation to non-developers, except that the apps they create -- many of which are likely to be poorly thought-out and of limited utility -- are likely to choke the Marketplace with their sheer volume. I fully support any and all methods of getting people's ideas out there, but when there is only one source for apps for a given platform, and no great method for determining what's good, I could see this making the Marketplace even more of a wasteland than it is already.

Oh, and I should point out that it's not Sally's sixth-grade science project app that I'm worried about, it's spambarrage.com's 15,000 hastily assembled micro-spam apps that are likely to be the problem. Hey, I hope I'm wrong.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
CobraA1 12th Jul 2010
"Why is this somehow a bad thing, a dangerous thing?

Are you more ethical than a sixth grader?"

Bah, programmers are no more ethical than anybody else. I know of a lot of devs that are doing questionable things. Many are borderline "this isn't the greatest idea," and there are a few doing things that are outright unethical, and a few that are even doing the outright illegal.

"Open source is based on the theory that most people are decent, that most of us aren?t out to destroy the other guy, that evil is the exception and not the rule."

A fantasy world I wish were true.

Alas, since programmers aren't any more ethical than others, it doesn't matter anyways.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
samiup 12th Jul 2010
i am open source all the way, and this is actually great news for me.

i really fail to see any conflict or even path crossing between this feature and open source.

creativity is not limited to techy developers and ideas are not exclusive to a specific group of people, the more people we can get creating native apps or web apps, the better the apps will become.
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App Store Will Be Cluttered With More Crap
Boulder_Bum 12th Jul 2010
The issue I see is that a lower barrier of entry, with the by-definition limited functional nature of pre-defined functional components will create an environment in the Android App Store where a lot of low-skills dabblers throw together and public a worthless "hello world" app.

This will likely clutter the app store with junk and make it even more difficult to find a higher quality app worth downloading.
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Remember HyperCard? Non-programmers created apps for Mac.
gmeader 12th Jul 2010
Maybe an open source HyperCard for mobile will appear as well...
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
mrlinux 12th Jul 2010
@gmeader Along with HyperPad for DOS.
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Remember Vic20, Commodore, Spectrum?
peter_erskine@... 12th Jul 2010
Not to mention the BBC Micro, whose purpose was to bring programming to all and sundry? Well, this is the same. There will be lots of poor coding and pointless programs, but that's not the end of the word. Or wasn't last time around.
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Foolish. And, I dont even see how its programming.
SiO2 12th Jul 2010
Granted I'm a bit of a purist and like to roll my sleeves up and pound keyboard until the small hours looking for that elusive mistyped value but thats not everyone. I do it because I like to have control over what my code is doing. I do use visual tools but thats not programming, its cut and paste of coded objects that handle and pass their data to my code and vice-versa.
When the coding becomes completely based on other's code snippets built into these objects, you are no longer coding.

This app design system is more on a par with the rubbish game designers that have plagued every platform I've ever written on (31 years now, thats a lot of platforms) that purport to allow a 'noob' to write a game without coding a single line. All this has done is widened the gap between real games (apps) and amateur bugriddled rubbish that is ill-conceived, poorly constructed and worse, available worldwide for free.

A real coder knows how the system he is coding for works, knows its limitations and how to overcome them. An amateur has an idea and makes a rough sketch of it using jigsaw pieces that both limit the code's function and design and has no clue whether his code SHOULD be written even. In other words, a real coder wont produce a piece of trash unless his reputation and income doesnt depend on it, and thats why a lot of open source is amateur-looking and buggy, although it may be powerful. He has no responsibility any more...

No-one in their right mind would attend college and spend endless days locked in a room with a computer to learn the skills needed to steal - thats the whole point of stealing, its easier than working.

If you give the tools and knowledge, plus access to the platform to the general population and make it easier than working, its just a license to abuse and steal with no hard work whatsoever. Give them an inch and they'll have your wristwatch, arm and everything these days.

Bye bye Android, nice knowing ya!
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
SiO2 13th Jul 2010
@ZDNet

Sort your garbage out will you? Punctuation isnt spam you morons. You cant keep out spammers but you can prevent legitimate posts...

This is the exact reason why programming should be left to programmers and not designers. And definitely not an idiot.

I've been a programmer for 31 years, since I was 12, and I do know the difference. I've been building little things to amuse and help out of maths and of real materials all that time - art, sculpture and even music and its taught me this:

The average human will try to eat, get intimate with or fiddle with a plaything until it breaks. The more intelligent uses it to further his greed but only a handful appreciate it.

People are pretty disgusting and dont even deserve this.
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Have you written your own compiler, BIOS, and CPU instruction set?
rarsa Updated - 13th Jul 2010
@HexHammer67 :

Quite a funny post of yours. You are a master at making people believe you are an angry person with a narrow view of the world.

Just in case someone took it seriously, I wrote a response:

http://rarsa.blogspot.com/2010/07/do-you-need-to-type-to-program-that-was.html
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
SiO2 Updated - 13th Jul 2010
@rarsa

And you appear to actually be a nerd without a life. Certainly you have never created a work of art yourself, and had it vandalised or sullied, or you wouldnt ride off other peoples work yourself.

Show some respect, clickbait, and create your own content. Whats that? No talent? No surprise there then!

Edit: I am an artist by the way, not a programmer. I program extensively because PIC and microprocessor controlled hardware require me to write my own libraries in microcode. It used to be a lot harder for the Z80a based systems in Assembler, which I had written myself for Sharp MZ700 and VIC20 because they were rubbish.

So yes, if that makes me a nerd too I could care less. But I do have an extensive and dynamic life that you my friend can only be jealous of, if thats what you think.

Your comment by the way, that SOMEONE would have to write the framework at low level is your only redemption. That would be someone like me, who doesnt rely on libraries. I can and do use them, and high level code, but only to prevent reinvention of the wheel which is their purpose.
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So you were serious?
rarsa 13th Jul 2010
Woow, so you have actually written your own OS, compiler, BIOS, CPU instruction set and all the other code required to run your applications?

Hats off to you.

We lesser mortals, rely on some other people building part of the application stack we use.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
atari_z 12th Jul 2010
"opening up the creation of apps to people who don?t know code" ? This has never been the reason why open Source existed. Believing that anybody can code a good app, or even a remotely useful app, without knowing anything about coding, is completely wrong, in ANY language and SDK. To believe the contrary is to be utterly naive.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
atari_z Updated - 12th Jul 2010
@atari_z Additionally, thinking that Open Source programmers are basically people who did not know how to code but found that they were capable of doing it with no problem is extremely arrogant and misleading about the real nature of the Open Source movement. Which worries me about the real nature of google's intentions.
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Kids learning how to program and seeing results
Maarek 13th Jul 2010
This will teach and interest younger people to program. The big thing is to keep the programs OFF the app store.

You do have to pay $25 to be a member, company name, and upload your programs. I think this beta program should be strickly development only and distributed locally though friends and family. I don't want the App store to become the CRAP store.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
orendon 13th Jul 2010
Supply and demand market law. If more does it, our salary will drop. But at the end, We will have more lower quality software.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
Garrett Williams 13th Jul 2010
This could lead me to buying an Android phone, having an easy way to make an app to go with my other projects. Just like YouTube, this will bring about a lot of junk, but with it will bring some amazing gems that wouldn't have happened otherwise. I'd love to play with this and see what I could do with it.
Oh and just like YouTube, yes, there will be plenty of clones(I've seen the same TV clip listed several times, on many occasions). Search first before you create, plz(nobody making an app will see this advice).
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Programmers make ethical choices
Red_Beard 14th Jul 2010
Dana,

There is a conception among most of nerddom that most all programming nerds are ethical to a fault. The glaring exception to this are those recruited to nefarious deeds such as virus coding, though the quality of coding for those have been somewhat poor and it could be postulated that the recruits might have had trouble coding for a living elsewhere.
The process of logic allows one to think about ethics in a logical manner. It allows for divergent opinions, but at the same time forces us to analyze facts and draw reasonable conclusions.
I believe it to be the fear of coders world-wide that if the power of coding were thrown into the hands of the masses, then that coding would more easily represent the agendas of those masses. To be honest, we don't trust the masses.
Those same masses beat us up in school, or refused to help as our fifteenth pair of underwear became a show and tell item out our backsides. Those masses refused to acknowledge us as suitable dates to the prom and elicited the constant sound of "ewwww" as we walked the corridors of public humiliation.
When we finally escaped this world into the brotherhood of nerddom, we found accepting people with similar experiences. People who looked beyond the shallow self motivation to which others clung. We found ourselves in a position to help others, at first it was simple stuff, but the power to help was in our control. We knew the responsibilities we had as we pushed the boundaries and found ever more ways to control this "computer thingy". It involved dialing into bank lines and seeing how far it could be pushed, but knowing that even if we could do something like steal just by manipulating data, it would lower us, and debase us and we would be no better than everyone else. But we had something to prove. That we took Uncle Ben's message seriously, and no amount of temptation would bring us from our ethical course. It was illogical. It came to no good end. We could see it because we were disciplined in the art of logic.
Others. They appreciated us getting them out of a bind, but otherwise had changed very little.
The fear? Trusting illogical people with the power to manipulate your world.

If you wanted the fear articulated, I think this is a good place to start.
-RB
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Realization of a dream
tonyhanu 14th Jul 2010
A few weeks ago I read a post called "Did Steve Jobs Steal the iPad" which was an excellent interview with genius inventor/computer pioneer Alan Kay available here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/alan-kay-steve-jobs-ipad-iphone,10209.html
In that interview Mr. Kay mentioned that one of the hopes of the early pioneers was that someday anyone, even school kids, would be able to create their own apps simply by dragging and dropping things. It looks like this is the beginning of the realization of that dream. I think it is a good thing in spite of what the Geeks and Overlords from Geekland feel about the need to protect their fiefdom from the technology-unwashed.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
raidermp@... 7th Aug 2010
I don't see the problem. Crap programs won't get used. Repeated errors and problems will ensure the apps go down in flames but we might actually get some good ones out of it. Just like something like Crystal Reports helps make seamless db reports, this might help the ones with decent ideas put something together. If it's good, others will improve on it; if not, it will disappear. Sure we'll probably see something like the stage when WYSIWYG editors made it easy for everyone to create web pages. We had to wade through some bad pages, but in the end, the strong survived and the others disappeared. I say, let's see what happens.
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Alternatives to Java
Erel2 8th Dec 2010
There are several alternatives to Java Android programming besides AppInventor.
One for example is Basic4android: www.basic4android.com
The language is similar to Visual Basic.
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RE: Should Android programming be open to non-programmers?
Arivoran 6th Jan 2011
Do you know any 8 year olds that can program advanced Java? I don't. Ethical judgement, as a rule of thumb, develops with maturity. When was the last time you fried ants with a magnifying glass?

The realization that "Oh, flooding the market with apps that secretly delete all your contacts is actually not as cool as I thought it was." comes with maturity.

The realization that an app that displays a "slideshow" of three pictures will not be popular, and that making a dozen of them with "All new, enhanced pictures!" with MS Paint Smiley-faces drawn on them will not be more popular comes with reason.

Additionally, what happens when someone releases an App-Inventor Block Edit "Source" for one of the "Mafia Wars" type apps? You know, the rubber-stamp ones that give you Quests, Fighting against other players, and Income by building things? The whole companies formed by using the same template with different logos and descriptive text to make a dozen games will be nothing compared to the absolute flood of hundreds of them made.

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