App Development for a HS Sophomore? (1 Viewer)

[2Young2BBald]

My son has shown very high ability for all things computer, to the point that he pitched the idea of an independent study program for himself in App Development to his counselor and she was very receptive . I have a ton of questions:

1. Is it even conceivable that a 15-year old could self teach himself app development?

2. I see Apple has a "package" for an annual fee of $99 that would appear to include the basic tools. What is this package as is it even nearly enough at first?

3. We have a concept that, we think, does not exist in the market place and would be in demand both by users and advertisers. Is he dreaming to think he could make this a reality in, say, two years of high school if they will allow the independent study?

4. If he begins this process, all of our CPUs are driven by Windows. Do we need a MAC?

5. Is the development of Android Apps much different than Apple?

6. What else should we be researching?

In the end, I see tons of articles saying "if I'd known it would have been this difficult..." or "my 6 week app development that took 3 years...", but its more about my sons education and aptitude. My expectation is that we never see a dime from this and it'll cost me some $ in the process, but he'll develop some skills for college and beyond. TIA for any guidance.

 

[Scoresman]

My son has shown very high ability for all things computer, to the point that he pitched the idea of an independent study program for himself in App Development to his counselor and she was very receptive . I have a ton of questions:

1. Is it even conceivable that a 15-year old could self teach himself app development?

2. I see Apple has a "package" for an annual fee of $99 that would appear to include the basic tools. What is this package as is it even nearly enough at first?

3. We have a concept that, we think, does not exist in the market place and would be in demand both by users and advertisers. Is he dreaming to think he could make this a reality in, say, two years of high school if they will allow the independent study?

4. If he begins this process, all of our CPUs are driven by Windows. Do we need a MAC?

5. Is the development of Android Apps much different than Apple?

6. What else should we be researching?

In the end, I see tons of articles saying "if I'd known it would have been this difficult..." or "my 6 week app development that took 3 years...", but its more about my sons education and aptitude. My expectation is that we never see a dime from this and it'll cost me some $ in the process, but he'll develop some skills for college and beyond. TIA for any guidance.

1. Yes, I was programming on relatively the same level at his age. There are many good books and online resources. If he has the desire and is passionate, he can do it.

2. The $99 pays for your ability to put apps on the appstore as well as onto test devices. The software, called XCode is free but is for Mac only. Your son can download it and code his app, testing it in the provided simulator. To add the app to his device to test it or to the app store requires paying the $99. Keep in mind the fee is annual and if you stop paying it in the future, any apps that were on the app store will no longer be there.

3. Keep in mind that "making it" in the Appstore is very very difficult. It is a very tough market.

4. You will need a Mac to run code and put apps onto the app store and test devices. There are, I believe, Objective-C compilers for Windows, but cant speak to their quality/features.

5. I cant speak to Android development, but I believe it is more "open" and less restrictive, if that makes sense.

6. The part I bolded above is exactly what you should expect.

 

[mr roboto]

I know nothing about this specifically, but to #1, of course not. Just be glad he wants to spend time on something both intellectually stimulating and potentially commercially viable (either with his own app, or with skills he could use to get a job). Great job raising him!

 

[Scoresman]

To expand on my answer to number 3, whether or not something is doable in 2 years depends entirely on the app. A game, for example, would most likely take a lot longer than a weather app or cookbook app.

Also, when you say your kid is good at computers, has he done any other programming?

 

[belljr]

go to codenameone.com and poke around

 

[2Young2BBald]

To expand on my answer to number 3, whether or not something is doable in 2 years depends entirely on the app. A game, for example, would most likely take a lot longer than a weather app or cookbook app.

Also, when you say your kid is good at computers, has he done any other programming?

First off, thanks for your initial reply, its exactly what I needed. He is taking a programming course now and is bored because it makes so much sense to him. Where he has excelled so far, has been at understanding the inner workings of things like Minecraft, GTA V and beta versions of the iOS operating systems. We have had iPhones crash in every possible way and he has always been able, on his own, to get things restored. He is constantly reading blogs and other materials and, in conversation, appears to very much grasp the programming dynamics. I think he could use resources like YouTube and the test environment you'd mentioned to learn the basics at least. The app we've discussed could start simple. There is some "math" to it and I've built a prototype of how it could work in Excel.

 

[Scoresman]

To expand on my answer to number 3, whether or not something is doable in 2 years depends entirely on the app. A game, for example, would most likely take a lot longer than a weather app or cookbook app.

Also, when you say your kid is good at computers, has he done any other programming?

First off, thanks for your initial reply, its exactly what I needed. He is taking a programming course now and is bored because it makes so much sense to him. Where he has excelled so far, has been at understanding the inner workings of things like Minecraft, GTA V and beta versions of the iOS operating systems. We have had iPhones crash in every possible way and he has always been able, on his own, to get things restored. He is constantly reading blogs and other materials and, in conversation, appears to very much grasp the programming dynamics. I think he could use resources like YouTube and the test environment you'd mentioned to learn the basics at least. The app we've discussed could start simple. There is some "math" to it and I've built a prototype of how it could work in Excel.

Sounds entirely doable then and it would be great experience for him.