Liberty STEM App Camp introduction

A presentation I gave about Universal Uclick's app development process and what kids can start doing now if they want to pursue a career in app development.

Transcript

1. Ben Kreeger Andrews McMeel Universal / Universal Uclick
4. Who we are
5. Downtown Kansas City 12th & Walnut
7. part of Universal Uclick Technology, plus 3
8. Travis *David Michael Ashley Mike *Greg Evans (Luann) *Betty Evans
9. What I do
10. Many platforms Websites, databases, APIs, mobile apps.
11. "Legacy" systems L. content system Fileservers Creator Client FTP servers Jasmine client FTP delivery BBS Client email delivery Syndication servers Image servers Perl webservers Filemover Percival UPSNAS AMUNAS Other internal fileservers Coloration processes Sherpa creator Jasmine (creator FTP upload) External servers ftp.funne.com ftp.creators.com tribune.com Other external fileservers Content system HFContent01 HFMySQL01 Admin tools Client admin Content admin Consumer admin MySQL2 Webservices Content service Feeds service Asset engine new PuzzleSociety GoComics OpenSocial gadgets Content API Mobile apps new uExpress new hosted pages new Filemover GoComics email delivery Doonesbury
12. Many languages Ruby, Java, Objective-C, JavaScript, CSS, HTML. Usually in the same day.
14. iPhone apps GoComics. USA Today Crossword. QuickCross. Entertainment. Leisure games.
16. Designing an app
17. Pen and paper Your best design tool
19. Context is crucial Apps are portable, and screen size is limited Present only what’s needed, when needed
20. What we did •One developer/designer for iOS •One developer, one designer for Android •Third-party for Windows Phone, finished up in-house
21. What we did •Focused on the most important part •Built out from there •What features get pushed to v2.0? •Wrote code throughout entire process
22. GoComics => app • Most important: comic viewing • Never more than one tap away • Keep the “experience” consistent, simple • Same navigation options • Same terms • Social sharing is key
23. Native or not? •Objective-C on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch •Java on Android •C# or HTML/JS on Windows Phone
24. Native or not? •PhoneGap & Appcelerator: code in HTML & JavaScript, get native look •Xamarin/Mono: write shared code in C#, reuse between platforms •Mobile web sites: use what you have online already; tailor for small screens
25. Native or not? •Universal Uclick wrote native code •Took more time to develop •Didn't sacrifice performance and speed •You should too, if you can afford to
26. What you should do
27. Take the right classes. Math builds logical reasoning skills. Physics definitely counts. And business classes are important.
28. Get a formal education. Like math and physics? Computer Science. Like a broader approach? Computer Information Systems.
29. Self-study. There are tons of free resources on the Internet. Seek them out and use them!
30. •StackOverflow.com: questions and answers. •RayWenderlich.com: great iOS tutorials (and Android, too). •google.com: when all else fails.
31. Get a GitHub account. Learn version control (specifically git). Share your projects. Track your changes. Collaborate with others.
32. What we look for Employers these days like these things.
33. 4-year degree Masters totally not required.
34. Experience Protip: get placement during high school or college.
35. GitHub profile Share your projects and contributions. Employers like to see concrete examples of what you've done.
36. An appetite for learning Never stop learning new things. Software development changes every second. Keep up!
37. Never stop learning. Never stop building. Long story short.
38. ben@kree.gr http://ben.kree.gr http://github.com/kreeger http://gocomics.com http://appstore.com/gocomics http://speakerdeck.com/kreeger