Building Your Own App? Don't Make these Mistakes!

Building Your Own App? Don't Make these Mistakes!

Whether you’re a new developer looking to break into the industry, or an experienced professional looking to start your next big project, chances are you’ve probably encountered the same challenges and errors over and over again. 
This article will help you avoid common pitfalls and give you valuable insight on how to succeed as an indie developer. Have you ever thought about building your own mobile app? Or do you already have an idea in mind? If so, this guide is for you! Keep reading to learn more about the field, the specifics of app development, as well as essential tips and advice on how to succeed as an indie developer.

What is an App?

An app is a software for mobile devices that allows you to perform certain tasks through the use of smartphones and other mobile devices. One of the biggest differences between an app and a website is that apps can be downloaded to a mobile device and run on that device, meaning you can’t use it from a computer.
Apps can perform a variety of functions, including messaging, social media, banking, health tracking, navigation, and more. Apps are especially popular in the health, fitness, and wellness sectors, with apps like Fitbit, Strava, and Runkeeper becoming popular among smartphone users.
Apps can range from simple text or image-based programs to more complex programs that allow users to perform various tasks, such as banking or ordering food. The most popular apps can earn developers millions of dollars each year, making app development a profitable and lucrative career path for anyone with a passion for technology.

Getting Started with App Development

If you’ve always dreamed of creating your own app, but you don’t have any coding experience, the best thing to do is to start small. Build the foundation for an app idea you’re interested in, and then expand upon that when you’re more experienced.
While there are plenty of sites and courses available to teach you how to code, the easiest way to get started is to get input from others in the development community. Post your app idea to social media and community forums, and see if anyone has similar ideas or wants to collaborate on an idea with you.
If you’re still unsure about the app idea you have, you can also try building a proof of concept app. Build an app that demonstrates the basic functionality that you want in your app, and then use that as a basis for your final idea.

Knowing the Basics of Programming

To create any type of software, you’re going to need to know how to code. If you’re just getting started with app development, or if you’re a developer who wants to branch out into app creation, you should learn the basics of programming.
Coding is a skill that requires focus and discipline, but once you learn the basics, it’s an imminently practical skill that can be applied to many areas of life.

- What Is Code? 
- The Development Lifecycle 
- The Development Process 
- Why Learn Programming? 
- Finding Programming Resources 
- Understanding How Apps Are Created

The Beauty of Developing an App

There are many reasons to love app development, such as the financial opportunity, the flexibility of building an app, and the ability to work on a project that you can actually see coming to fruition.
One of the biggest advantages of app development is that it’s an ideal career path for people who don’t have a background in computer science.
In fact, there are many successful app developers who have only a high school education or less.
As long as you have a passion for creating apps and have enough drive and perseverance, there’s no reason you can’t make a career out of app development.

The Dark Side of App Development

The downside of app development is that it’s time-consuming and challenging, and if you fail, you can lose a lot of money.
It takes hard work and dedication to succeed as an app developer, and the success rate is low. While the financial rewards can be high, the expense of hiring developers, software, and other expenses associated with app creation means that one wrong move can easily be costly.

Tips and advice for indie developers

You can’t become an app developer overnight. It takes time to learn new skills and build a foundation, and it takes even longer to build a successful app business.
That being said, the best way to succeed as an indie developer is to immerse yourself in the app development community. Join online forums, read articles, and talk to other developers who are actively creating apps.
There’s no better way to learn from others and get valuable insight from other developers than to actively participate in the community.
Another key tip for success as an indie developer is to create an app that solves a genuine problem for your target audience. This will make it easier for you to gain traction with your idea and make it easier for users to adopt your app.

Conclusion

Developing an app can be a lucrative and profitable career path, but it takes time and dedication to succeed. The best way to succeed as an indie developer is to immerse yourself in the app development community and actively participate in forums and read articles.

How to insert multiple records using an editable grid in Appian

Hi, Appian Developers! I hope you all are doing well and safe. Today we are going to learn to insert multiple records for customer in a database table named tbl_customer using an editable grid in Appian. I would clear in the starting, you must be certified with Appian Associate Developer, so it will be easy for you all. First I will tell you the whole requirements and what we are going to implement here.

Requirement:

Let’s consider, that we have a tbl_customer in the Appian cloud database. And this table has the following fields as

·      customerID
·      customerName
·      emailID
·      phoneNumber
·      profilePicture
·      description
·      createdBy
·      createdDate
·      isActive

You can see the below screenshot for how does your table looks like.

Now, we want to insert multiple customer details in one go instead of adding them one by one. It means we will add the multiple customer data from an interface using an editable grid in Appian.

e.g., Customer1, Customer2, Customer3, and Customer4 will have their own CustomerID, CustomerName, emailID, and so on. By implementing this, we are not required to add the n number of customer details one by one. So, without wasting our time, let’s switch to Appian Designer Console. As I am using the free community edition of Appian, I have my own Appian Designer console. You can also request your instance by clicking on this link https://community.appian.com/

 

I am creating a new application named “Practice for Appian” as below screenshot.

As I have checked the box in yellow highlighted in the above screenshot.

It will create some default folders and groups for me. This feature is available in only Appian version 21.4 release or later. Now click on the save button and you will see your application is created with default objects with folders and groups as below.

First, we will create our Data Store for our application which helps to establish a connection between our database and application. To create the Data Store, please click on the new button and select Data Store as below screenshot.

You must enter your datastore name and description as below.

Now click on Create button and choose your security for datastore object and click on the Save button as below.

Note: Once your CDT is created, do not forget to verify and publish your Data Store.

As we have already created our database table, so now we will create our CDT. To create a CDT, please click on the New button and select Data Type as below screenshot.

We will create our CDT using "Create from a database table or view" and select your Data Source name and table as below.

Now you must enter your CDT name and select your Data Store which we have created as above. Please see the below screenshot for your reference.

Once your CDT is created, now we will create a Constant for our entity as below.

Both Datastore and CDT have been created, now we will create our interface using an editable grid. To create an Interface, please click on the New button and select Interface as below.

Please enter your Interface name below.

Now click on Create button, and you will see the below window.

Now switch to expression mode and paste the below code into your Interface.

Once you pasted the above code, you will see what your interface looks like as below screenshot.

Wow, Congratulations!!! Our interface is ready to insert the multiple customer data into our database table tbl_Customer.

Let's add a few customer details to the form and click on Submit button as below.

Congratulation...!!! 💓💓💓

Successfully, we have inserted our 5 customer details into the database table. As you can see from the below screenshot for our table record.

Note:

I have created two constants, one is to save the customer profile picture, the constant type is a folder, and the second is for CDT, the constant type is the Data Store Entity. And Please add one rule input as items to your interface.

I have used a!writeToDataStoreEntity function on Submit button in the interface to save the customer data into the database table.

Please see my below objects for the application.

I hope, this blog will help you to understand the use of an editable grid within the interface.

Thank you so much for your time.

Please comment if you have any issues regarding the same.

Happy Coding! ✌💓

What are the NEW features added in 21.4 Appian Release?

Hello, Appian Developers!

Hope you all are doing well and safe in this pandemic. So, today we are gonna learn about the new release of Appian i.e, 21.4 Appian Release. In this article, we will talk about the new things added to the 21.4 release of Appian. The Appian team is working hard and coming up with the new features, functions etc in its every release.

As far I have gone through the academy videos and community, I found that New features are added from mainly 6 topics which are newly added to the 21.4 Appian release.

1. Automation
2. Interface Design
3. Records
4. App Deployment and Monitoring
5. Application Design
6. Mobile App Development

I have not covered all the topics which are added to the 21.4 Appian Release. I covered the important features which are added to this new release, especially helpful for the freshers to Appian.

Records:

Skip Failed Syncs:

Now Appian introduced a new feature to Records, you can skip failed syncs. It means if your record type got syncs failed, this new feature will skip the failed syncs and it will simply use the data from the last successful sync.

You can turn Off-On skip failed syncs from record type object as below screenshot.

Alerts for Failed Syncs:

Now record type admins and system admins will receive an email if any syncs are failed or skipped without configuring any additional steps. This email alert will explain the details about record type failures and how you can troubleshoot to resolve this issue.

Important Points about Record Type:

• A single batch can be retried up to 3 times before failing.
• Up to 10 retries total before the entire sync fails.
• Enhancements to the record type object.
• "Search" is now "Search and User Filters" and "Views" is now "Views and Headers".
• Improved layout for configuring the record views.

Interface:

Appian introduced the new feature in the Interface i.e, Card Choice Component as a virtually engaging alternative to checkboxes and radio buttons.

We can also decorate the bar with cards to attract and enhance the user experience in terms of UI design.

Introduced two new interface patterns Tabs(Cards) and Tabs(Lightweight).

Appian introduced some new functions as below:

• a!keys()
• a!isNullOrEmpty()
• a! isNotNullOrEmpty()
• a!doesGroupExist()

The main feature which I love the most in the 21.4 Appian release is that now New Application will add the groups and folders automatically. While creating a new application, you can see an option to check if you want the application to create groups and folders automatically.

Once you checked the checkbox, you will see the below popup window that will show how groups and folders will be added automatically.

It will also use them in any new objects you create in the application which started with the application itself.

it specifies the default securities for the new objects.

 
Appian improved its searching functionality to search the applications faster by using the prefix of the application name.

Powerful New Design Capabilities:

• Wizards
• Custom Validations
• Cascading Dropdowns
• Conditional Displays

Please like and share if you like the new features of the 21.4 Appian release.

Happy Learning 😊!