I have just started learning about mobile app development. I'm pretty comfortable with C and C++, and I've done programming in a bunch of different languages over a longer time than I feel comfortable specifying. In general, as a programmer, I'm pretty good at coming up with an algorithm to solve a problem, but not very good at making code more efficient. I'm a graduate student in Brazil, living on a Brazilian grad student stipend in a city whose cost of living was not properly taken into account when the amount of the stipend was set, so money's tight. I'm not a Buzztouch member yet because I'm holding off to avoid starting the clock on my one-year membership until I'm 100% ready (it'll be in the next several days, possibly over the weekend, which is the next two days). I'm thrilled to see that Buzztouch has many free and free-for-members plugins available, and those can save me a lot of work and help get my apps developed faster without costing me more money. I'm starting with Android development, but I intend to get into iOS development too. Right now, I've got ideas for three apps, and I'm pretty sure I can make them in the Buzztouch Control Panel without even needing any paid plugins. I've also got an idea for two plugins, one of which would be very nice to have for one of my apps (but not NECESSARY, so it could go into a later version), and am looking for other ideas for plugins. There are all kinds of reasons I think the Buzztouch membership will be worthwhile for me. I don't know Java or Objective-C, but I've got experience learning programming languages starting with a reference book and somebody else's program. Being able to build simple apps in Buzztouch and then download the source code will be very useful to me as I learn Java for Android and then Objective-C for iOS. Additionally, by planning right, I can use Buzztouch as a bridge to iOS development. Since most plugins are for iOS or both iOS and Android, if I can make an app for Android, it should be relatively easy to make the same app for iOS. But of course the biggest advantage right now as I'm getting started is that I think I can get my first app working in a couple of days with Buzztouch, but if I had to try to learn Java for Android first, then start making my app, it would take a long time. I could try to learn just the things I need in Java as I go (and I've done things like this before - I learned Visual Basic that way), but it'll be both faster and easier to use Buzztouch to make apps, then use the source code to learn how the different features were implemented. I really want to see my apps working on my phone, and I don't want to wait until after I've gone through a long Java course. Of course, the really interesting apps (and the plugins) will come when I'm comfortable with Java and Objective-C. I look forward to being able to add the power of my own code to apps (and make plugins).

Sounds like you have a bunch of awesome ideas! Welcome to the Buzztouch community! David

Welcome! Can't wait to see what you come up with. You're definitely thinking right about things - the fact that everything is open-source here makes learning really easy.

Welcome! Let us know if you have questions. You will see that BT software will save so much time when dev your apps. Cheers!

Welcome Research! (Or should I call you Mr. Department?) Welcome to Buzztouch! I'm thrilled to see what ideas you've got. I made my first app with almost all Free Plugins. It was targeted for a local Realtor friend of mine, and it's done rather well for him. Not everything good costs money! All it takes is imagination! Before BT, I stayed mostly with Visual Basic and Visual C++ products, and I think you'll find the transition fairly straightforward. To me Android Java and iOS Objective-C is like Spanish and Portugese; close, but not close enough, lol! The biggest differences will be in the User Interface design and implementation. The backend code is "relatively" similar. There are not that many Foriegn applications on the market yet, so you have a bit of a boost in potential revenue sources. Hopefully it can all add up to a BT Membership when the numbers substantiate it :) And if you have questions, the forum is the best place to be! Cheers! -- Smug

Welcome to Buzztouch, then! Although it seems you have the knack for learning programming languages, try first to put up one, two or three apps for Android, including publishing them to the Play store. You can do quite a lot with free plugins, free photo editing software such as GIMP and so on. Whenever you cannot do something, just post your question in the forums, here. You will find that there are a lot of people who have been there before you and who have already solved your problem. The beauty of these forums is that they will be willing to help you out, a quality you will not so easily find anywhere else. Having at least one app in the store means that you have successfully nailed the entire process. Take your time. Buzztouch actually has a steep learning curve but the entire process is so full of fun that you simply don't notice how technical it all is. Once you get the mechanics of publishing an app under your belt, you can turn on to programming issues. People here talk about plugin development all too easy. Creating plugins for the market is for the select few and almost has nothing to do with the creation of apps themselves. Perseverance and willingness to learn are you best friends for now!

Welcome! Don't hesitate to post any questions/solutions! LA

Updating: * I decided to take the iOS development track at Buzztouch U, so I've been doing that. I'll prob'ly finish it tomorrow. * I just became a member. I plan to set up my self-hosting solution tomorrow.

Awesome! Being a member is definitely worth it!

Updating again. I've finished the iOS development track at Buzztouch U, and I've started watching the plugin videos on Buzztouch's YouTube channel. I've also started using Amazon Web Services's (AWS's) EC2, because "free" fits my budget perfectly. I've launched an Ubuntu server and am in the process of making sure it's got everything it needs (installed software and configurations) for a complete LAMP (Linux-Apache-MySQL-PHP) stack, after which I think I'll be able to get to trying to install the self-hosted Buzztouch Control Panel. There were tons of AMIs listed when I searched on "lamp" at AWS, but I decided that starting from scratch wouldn't be much more work (if at all), especially with all the information on setting up EC2 servers I've found. I noticed that the how-to on self-hosting using EC2, which I found on Buzztouch's how-to page, is now pretty seriously out of date. I searched for the AMI mentioned in that document, and AWS told me it couldn't find any such AMI. I'm using some other instructions I've found around the web for setting up LAMP stacks on EC2's free tier, plus some of the stuff in the existing how-to. Assuming I can get this running, maybe I'll make an updated how-to so others can get self-hosting on EC2 working more easily. I have a few ideas for apps and a few ideas for plugins. I had originally planned to start by making apps for which I won't need any custom (or even premium) plugins, then move on to plugin development later. I'm now leaning more toward making a coupla plugins first, then making apps using those plugins (and my coupla simple app ideas that don't need any special plugins beyond what Buzztouch gives all developers free). I think part of it is that I feel like writing a little of my own code and learning a little Java and/or Objective-C that way. I'll decide what to do once I've got my self-hosted CP running.

Keep us updated on how you're doing. Plugins are always welcome to the BT community, so whatever you have up your sleeve will be well recieved by all! Congrats on your achievement stars and your BT Membership! If you have problems, hiccups, issues, challenges or whatever, let us know; the entire community is here to help :) Cheers! -- Smug

I've got a server instance with a complete working LAMP stack. I'm now uploading the Buzztouch v. 3.0.0 files to it. It's getting late, so I might go to sleep soon, but I hope to have my self-hosted CP running either tonight or Sunday. EDITED TO ADD: I think I had it working by the time I went to bed around 04:00 local time, but there were some things that I had misunderstood during the process and I thought the final result was a little sloppy. More important, I was too curious and excited, so I didn't write down all the details, much less take screen shots that I could use in a how-to. I think the best thing for me to do is start fresh with a new instance today and see if I can get through the whole process going a bit more slowly and carefully, writing down (and taking screen shots of) the details as I go.