This article actually started as a post on Facebook. A question was posed by a potential LC user. “Is LiveCode more of mobile apps and not desktop? cos everyone seems to be talking of mobile not desktop” A few answered that they use it exclusively for desktop apps. Having just finished a project for a client that required both a desktop and a mobile component, I decided to share this with him, and the group.

A short while after posting, I was contacted with the suggestion that my story might make an interesting newsletter article. And here it is.

I came to the RunRev community just before Rev (now LiveCode) 4.5 was released. I have always wanted to be a “programmer,” but never had the time I would have liked to devote to learning the craft well. But I did learn Filemaker fairly well. I developed an application for a restaurant to handle their event planning. The gentleman who I developed it for thought it was great and wanted to market it with me. Making a runtime version of Filemaker is very easy, but it was missing 2 important components. Runtime versions do not generate PDF’s and they cannot be networked. This caused a problem. So I set about finding a solution. As luck would have it, I received an email for a “Runtime Revolution Megabundle.” It seemed to have been just what I was looking for and needed. So started my LiveCode journey!

Just recently, I’ve completed an app for a landscaping company. They wanted to be able to give their men in the field an established route, and instructions while they were in the field as things can change during the course of the workday. After meeting with them, we decided on a desktop app, and an Android version.

The biggest requirement was “ease of use.” Most of their workmen only speak Spanish, so the client wanted translation built in. It was also required that they not be able to edit any info except for being able to write in notes if necessary. The client wanted a big button that was an open gate, and when pressed, it “closed the gate” on this job and they would move to the next stop on their route.

In screenshot one, we see the main page of the app.  The app when opening talks to a MySql server and downloads the client list. A datagrid is then populated. There are several buttons, which allow them to add, delete, and edit client records. On the bottom are buttons which sort the records by day and route number. From here, the route can be adjusted by changing the route number.

In screenshot two, individual client records can be edited, services added or deleted, notes for the office and special instructions for the workmen. And that’s all this app does. Remember, “keep it simple!”

When the Android app opens, it requests the current days stops. Requests are sent  via PHP to the webserver which queries the MySql and returns the results to the app. It opens on the first stop of the day and shows the workmen where to go and what has to be done. There is a translate button which takes the instructions field and makes a call to Google Translate which returns the text in Spanish. After that, the only interaction with the app is to write a note, mark the stop as skipped, and “close the gate” and proceed to the next stop.

I thought that this was a pretty decent illustration of what LiveCode can do. My response to the question on Facebook, besides describing the app was

“Without LiveCode, I could not have created this app. I just don’t possess the skills".

I did have to make some adjustments for the Android app, such as screen size, and database calls, but otherwise I was able to take the app as written and just save it as an Android app. I’m sure you’ll agree, this is just awesome. Remember, I am not a very experienced programmer to begin with, so again, it’s pretty awesome that an intermediate/novice user can produce these kind of results!

But I cannot take all of the credit. I was able to leverage an amazing community! I used the Forums when I was stuck and found some answers, and received direct answers from other users within a very short time. I also used some great plugins, such as MobGui, dbLib, and tmControls. Using those plugins shortened development time considerably and solved a couple of problems!

LiveCode has offered me a great opportunity to develop apps in a much shorter time, and on all platforms. Between the built-in abilities, the dizzying array of plugins available, and the contributions of a welcoming community, anyone can produce great results! My sincere thanks to everyone!

Credits & Special Thanks to:
John Craig – MobGUI – (John also responded very quickly to some questions)
Andre Garzia – dbLib –I know MySQL pretty well, but this plugin just makes it super easy to get the results I needed.
Scott Rossi – tmControls – Nobody makes it prettier than Scott!