TouchDevelop: Programming on the Go (Expert's Voice in Web Development)

"The book is great! It's clear and easy to read, with loads of examples that showed my students what to do." -- Larry Snyder, Emeritus Professor, University of Washington, Department of Computer Science and Engineering “Having the TouchDevelop book available made our events so much easier. Students could figure things out for themselves with help from the book.” -- Jennifer Marsman, Microsoft Principal Developer Evangelist Mobiledevices such as smartphones and tablets are set to become the main computersthat virtually all people will own and carry with them at all times. And yet,mobile devices are not yet used for all computing tasks. A project at MicrosoftResearch was created to answer a simple question: “It is possible to createinteresting apps directly on a smartphone or tablet, without using a separatePC or a keyboard?” The result is TouchDevelop, a programming environment thatruns on all modern mobile devices such as Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, Androidphones and tablets, and also on PCs and Macs. This book walks you through all of the screens of the TouchDevelop app, and itpoints out similarities and differences of the TouchDevelop language comparedto other programming languages. For users, the book can serve as a handyreference next to the phone. The book systematically addresses all programminglanguage constructs, starting from the very basic constructs such as variablesand loops. The book also explores many of the phone sensors and data sourceswhich make creating apps for mobile devices so rewarding. If you are new to programming with TouchDevelop, or if you have not yet workedon touchscreen devices, we suggest that you read the book starting from Chapter1. If you are already familiar with the basic paradigm of the TouchDevelopprogramming environment, then feel free to jump ahead to the later chaptersthat address particular topic areas. This book is written from theperspective of a person developing their code using a web browser. TheTouchDevelop Web App runs in many modern browsers on many different devicesincluding smartphones and tablets, Macs, PC. All screenshots and navigationinstructions refer to the TouchDevelop Web App running in a browser. ForWindows Phone, there is a dedicated TouchDevelop app in the Windows Phone Storewhich gives access to many more sensors and data sources. Starting with theTouchDevelop app v3.0 for Windows Phone 8, the phone app will share the samelook and navigation structure and all features of the Web App. What you’ll learn* The little tricks to programming on your mobile devices and for a mobile device * The scripting language and cloud-based ecosystem * Using cameras, video and audio, and other sensors such as a microphone, accelerometer, compass, and gyroscope * Access to the web, authorized access to web services * How to write simple games using a built-in physics engine Who this book is for This programming language was written for people who wish tobe able to create apps from their phone. This scenario is particularlyappealing to enthusiastic end-users who own mobile devices and students, whoare the target audience of this book. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction to TouchDevelop Chapter 2 The Scripting Language Chapter 3 The Wall – using the screen Chapter 4 The Web Chapter 5 Audio Chapter 6 Camera, Graphics and Video Chapter 7 Sensors Chapter 8 Interactions Chapter 9 Game Board Chapter 10 UI with Boxes and Pages Chapter 11 Authenticating Web Services Appendix A Editing TouchDevelop Scripts Appendix B TouchDevelop Services Appendix C TouchDevelop Datatypes Appendix D Platform Capabilities Appendix E TouchDevelop Editor on a Windows Phone "The book is great! It's clear and easy to read, with loads of examples that showed my students what to do." — Larry Snyder, Emeritus Professor, University of Washington, Department of Computer Science and Engineering "Having the TouchDevelop book available made our events so much easier. Students could figure things out for themselves with help from the book." — Jennifer Marsman, Microsoft Principal Developer Evangelist Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are set to become the main computers that virtually all people will own and carry with them at all times. And yet,mobile devices are not yet used for all computing tasks. A project at Microsoft Research was created to answer a simple question: "It is possible to create interesting apps directly on a smartphone or tablet, without using a separate PC or a keyboard?" The result is TouchDevelop, a programming environment that runs on all modern mobile devices such as Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and also on PCs and Macs. This book walks you through all of the screens of the TouchDevelop app, and it points out similarities and differences of the TouchDevelop language compared to other programming languages. For users, the book can serve as a handyreference next to the phone. The book systematically addresses all programming language constructs, starting from the very basic constructs such as variables and loops. The book also explores many of the phone sensors and data sources which make creating apps for mobile devices so rewarding. If you are new to programming with TouchDevelop, or if you have not yet worked on touchscreen devices, we suggest that you read the book starting from Chapter 1. If you are already familiar with the basic paradigm of the TouchDevelop programming environment, then feel free to jump ahead to the later chapters that address particular topic areas. This book is written from the perspective of a person developing their code using a web browser. The TouchDevelop Web App runs in many modern browsers on many different devices including smartphones and tablets, Macs, PC. All screenshots and navigation instructions refer to the TouchDevelop Web App running in a browser. For Windows Phone, there is a dedicated TouchDevelop app in the Windows Phone Store which gives access to many more sensors and data sources. Starting with the TouchDevelop app v3.0 for Windows Phone 8, the phone app will share the same look and navigation structure and all features of the Web App. "The book is great! It's clear and easy to read, with loads of examples that showed my students what to do."--Larry Snyder, Emeritus Professor, University of Washington, Department of Computer Science and Engineering "Having the TouchDevelop book available made our events so much easier. Students could figure things out for themselves with help from the book." -- Jennifer Marsman, Microsoft Principal Developer Evangelist Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are set to become the main computers that virtually all people will own and carry with them at all times. And yet, mobile devices are not yet used for all computing tasks. A project at Microsoft Research was created to answer a simple question: "It is possible to create interesting apps directly on a smartphone or tablet, without using a separate PC or a keyboard?" The result is TouchDevelop, a programming environment that runs on all modern mobile devices such as Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and also on PCs and Macs. This book walks you through all of the screens of the TouchDevelop app, and it points out similarities and differences of the TouchDevelop language compared to other programming languages. For users, the book can serve as a handyreference next to the phone. The book systematically addresses all programming language constructs, starting from the very basic constructs such as variables and loops. The book also explores many of the phone sensors and data sources which make creating apps for mobile devices so rewarding. If you are new to programming with TouchDevelop, or if you have not yet worked on touchscreen devices, we suggest that you read the book starting from Chapter 1. If you are already familiar with the basic paradigm of the TouchDevelop programming environment, then feel free to jump ahead to the later chapters that address particular topic areas. This book is written from the perspective of a person developing their code using a web browser. The TouchDevelop Web App runs in many modern browsers on many different devices including smartphones and tablets, Macs, PC. All screenshots and navigation instructions refer to the TouchDevelop Web App running in a browser. For Windows Phone, there is a dedicated TouchDevelop app in the Windows Phone Store which gives access to many more sensors and data sources. Starting with the TouchDevelop app v3.0 for Windows Phone 8, the phone app will share the same look and navigation structure and all features of the Web App "The book is great! It's clear and easy to read, with loads of examples that showed my students what to do."--Larry Snyder, Emeritus Professor, University of Washington, Department of Computer Science and Engineering "Having the TouchDevelop book available made our events so much easier. Students could figure things out for themselves with help from the book."--Jennifer Marsman, Microsoft Principal Developer Evangelist Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets are set to become the main computers that virtually all people will own and carry with them at all times. And yet, mobile devices are not yet used for all computing tasks. A project at Microsoft Research was created to answer a simple question: "It is possible to create interesting apps directly on a smartphone or tablet, without using a separate PC or a keyboard?" The result is TouchDevelop, a programming environment that runs on all modern mobile devices such as Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, and also on PCs and Macs. This book walks you through all of the screens of the TouchDevelop app, and it points out similarities and differences of the TouchDevelop language compared to other programming languages. For users, the book can serve as a handy reference next to the phone. The book systematically addresses all programming language constructs, starting from the very basic constructs such as variables and loops. The book also explores many of the phone sensors and data sources which make creating apps for mobile devices so rewarding. If you are new to programming with TouchDevelop, or if you have not yet worked on touchscreen devices, we suggest that you read the book starting from Chapter 1. If you are already familiar with the basic paradigm of the TouchDevelop programming environment, then feel free to jump ahead to the later chapters that address particular topic areas. This book is written from the perspective of a person developing their code using a web browser. The TouchDevelop Web App runs in many modern browsers on many different devices including smartphones and tablets, Macs, PC. All screenshots and navigation instructions refer to the TouchDevelop Web App running in a browser. For Windows Phone, there is a dedicated TouchDevelop app in the Windows Phone Store which gives access to many more sensors and data sources. Starting with the TouchDevelop app v3.0 for Windows Phone 8, the phone app will share the same look and navigation structure and all features of the Web App Front Matter....Pages i-xx Introduction to TouchDevelop....Pages 1-9 The Scripting Language....Pages 11-36 The Wall – using the screen....Pages 37-52 The Web....Pages 53-69 Audio....Pages 73-81 Camera, Graphics and Video....Pages 83-96 Sensors....Pages 97-107 Interactions....Pages 111-121 Game Board....Pages 123-140 UI with Boxes and Pages....Pages 141-153 Authenticating Web Services....Pages 157-161 Editing TouchDevelop Scripts....Pages 163-174 TouchDevelop Services....Pages 178-194 TouchDevelop Datatypes....Pages 197-228 Platform Capabilities....Pages 231-233 TouchDevelop Editor on a Windows Phone....Pages 235-243 Back Matter....Pages 245-250