A Mobile Visual Programming System For Android Smartphones and Tablets
A Mobile Visual Programming System For Android Smartphones and Tablets
A Mobile Visual Programming System For Android Smartphones and Tablets
Wolfgang Slany
Institute for Software Technology
Graz University of Technology
Inffeldgasse 16b, 8010 Graz, Austria
[email protected]
INTRODUCTION
Why programming for children? There is a worldwide Figure 1. Interactive music video animation.
shortage of software developers. This is due to rapidly Scratch programming system2. As known from Scratch or
increasing demand together with stagnating or even declining Google/MIT’s App Inventor3, Catroid programs are written in a
number of computer science students. At the same time our visual Lego-style, where individual commands are stuck
society increasingly relies on software which is less and less together by arranging them visually with one’s fingers.
understood by the general population. Moreover, software
Figure 1 on the right shows the screen one sees when
development skills are of interest also for philosophical
executing a Hannah Montana interactive music video
reasons: Developing software is helps understanding the
animation programmed with Catroid which was originally
mechanisms and limitations underlying rational thinking.
created by a young girl (it is a remix from a Scratch project that
Why mobile devices? High-quality low-cost smartphones can be found at http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/tyster/443306).
are increasingly becoming available. In June 2012 300 million On the left of Figure 1, a part of the visual program controlling
Android devices were in use. Moreover, one’s smartphone the movements of the dancer is shown. Creating interactive
nowadays is always in one’s pocket and can easily be used music video animations is tremendously motivating both for
everywhere without preparation, e.g., when commuting to boys and girls even though a lot of programming is required
one’s school using public transportation or at the backseat of and kids can spend days on their creations. Being able to
the family car. Being able to program mobile devices also has upload such animations as videos to YouTube is an additional
become an important job qualification. strong motivator as kids in general love to show off their
FEATURES OF CATROID creations to their friends regardless of what mobile phone or
1 PC their friends are using. A YouTube recorder for Catroid
Catroid runs on smartphones and tablets, is intended for programs is available, and kids will soon be able to upload their
the use by children, and has been strongly inspired by MIT’s animations to YouTube in high quality (the video encoding is
1 2
http://catroid.org/ – I thank the team members and supporters of the Catrobat http://scratch.mit.edu/ and http://stats.scratch.mit.edu/ (2012-06)
3
umbrella project (http://developer.catrobat.org/credits). http://appinventor.mit.edu/
978-1-4673-0853-3/12/$31.00
2012
c IEEE 265
Figure 3. Parrot’s AR.Drone quadccopter programmed and
controlled via Wi-Fi by a user’s progrram written using Catroid.
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