I have no background or knowledge on this. I would like to make an app for performance engine building that has various pages with various formulas, unit conversions, tool lists, etc. What program do I use to make an app? I’ve seen Surge, Bevy, and Godot but those seem to be for games.

Edit: Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. Unfortunately I can only see the responses left on my post, not replys to top level responses. I think this is an instance problem and I’m trying to find out because I would love to see everyone’s comments. All is working now

  • Flatfire
    241·
    6 months ago

    Android Studio is the primary toolkit for developing native android apps. If you have no background in programming, there are some more visual tools like Budibase (open source) or Softr (closed source), but you are likely to run into difficulty getting them to apply logic the way you’d like.

    If you’re a tinkerer, then honestly I’d look into learning more about Android Studio and Kotlin, the language most used these days for app development on Android.

      • Flatfire
        2·
        6 months ago

        As far as I’m aware, Samsung or Amazon are the only other real app “marketplaces”. Most developers using Fdroid otherwise rely on donations or patreon for active development, depending on the nature of the app

    • sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.todayOP
      22·
      6 months ago

      Visual does sound nice but I’d rather go with something well used and stable. Is Android studio and Kotlin “open source”? I know what open source is but don’t know how to make it that way or not. I’ve got a lot of learning to do clearly so I appreciate your help!

      • Flatfire
        31·
        6 months ago

        Android Studio is just the work environment for code and app development. You could continue on to publish all your code/work as an open source application through whichever means you choose during or after the fact.

          • Flatfire
            31·
            6 months ago

            When people refer to a particular piece of development aoftware as closed or open source, they are referring to the license/availability of that software’s code. You can use proprietary software to produce open source code, which is the case with Android Studio. The code that makes up Android Studio is not open source, but your own work made within it can be.

            In general, “open source” is a broad term that just means “can I see the code that made this?”. There are differing degrees of open source software as well. The MIT license, for example, opens up code to some modification/re-use but protects some libraries. Something like a BSD or GPL license is far less restrictive, usually allowing free modification and use of the code. Android Studio falls under the Apache license, one of the more restrictive licenses that still applies copyright, and may employ proprietary libraries that cannot be modified or copied for use. Again, this ultimately isn’t likely to affect your own work or projects, but it does mean there’s less transparency about the tools you are using to make it.

            I apologise if this is overwhelming, but the distinction is important, and I think that as a beginner it makes sense to start with where there is the most documentation and ease of entry. Once done, it’s definitely easier to move towards projects that more closely align with FOSS philosophies.