App Programming 101

This is an introductory series for anyone who does not have a background in programming, or anyone who wants to brush up on their knowledge

Introduction

Welcome! This an overview of the series, in which we'll go through and explain programming concepts such as variables, data, functions and much more.

The parts 1-5 are a quick introduction to some of the key concepts and terminology, so you can just view them at your own pace. In parts 6 - 10 we'll build a full app from scratch!

The Fundamentals

Part 1 - What are Variables?

Variables are a fundamental programming concept. In the video we explain what they are and create some of our own in Composer Pro.

Part 2 - What are Bindings?

Bindings are an important part of how modern apps work. In this video we learn how they work in Composer Pro.

Part 3 - What is Data?

Data is a commonly used word, but in programming it has a specific meaning. In this video we take a look at the concept of data as well as widely used JSON data format which Composer Pro also uses.

Part 4 - What are Functions pt. 1

Functions are a fundamental programming concept. In this video we'll see how to work with these building blocks of programming in Composer Pro.

Part 5 - What are Functions pt. 2

In this video we dive into the second type of functions in Composer Pro: formula functions.

Creating an App

Now it’s time to put what we’ve learned to use by creating an application. The application we’re going to create is going to scan barcodes from food packaging and displays information about the product using the OpenFoodFacts API.

Part 6 - Creating an App, Sketching it out

In this video we'll set out our plans for the app and also create the UI for the app.

Part 7 - Scanning the Code

In this video we create a logic flow that opens up the device camera for scanning barcodes.

Part 8 - Connecting to the API

In this video we create a data resource to integrate with the API.

Example API url: https://world.openfoodfacts.org/api/v0/product/6416453061361.json
OpenFoodFacts API page: https://world.openfoodfacts.org/data

Part 9 - Fetching the Data

In this video we use more logic flows to send requests to the API and get data back.

Part 10 - Working with the Data

In this video we take the data from the API and put it in our UI, finalizing the app!