Phonebot

Phonebot for Android allows you to create applications directly from your phone. It offers a high-level script language, script generators, and a visual layout editor in order to eliminate typing and speed up development. There are several samples bundled which can be used to learn the basics of Phonebot development. The developer's reference is also available for detailed information on how to create apps. The Phonebot release schedule lists releases and what was changed for each.

Download Phonebot from the Android Market.

Phonebot Plus is an enhanced version that includes several advanced tools including:

• Script debugger - Pause and step over each line of script as it executes
• Script browser - Quickly access and update any script in an application
• Database browser - Create and manage database schemas and data
• Log browser - Access application-specific logs
• User-defined methods - Create reuseable scripts that can be called from any event
• Display properties - Configure background color, padding, and font properties

Download Phonebot Plus from the Android Market.

The graph view of modules in the Services sample app. This displays how users can navigate.

The News Reader sample app paused while querying an RSS feed. The feed is being parsed using the xml object.

The Display property dialog configures how modules and controls appear on the screen.

Capabilities

Phonebot can be used for many situations:

• Write custom apps quickly and easily with only basic programming knowledge. What would otherwise require knowledge of Java, the Android API, and configuration of a development environment (such as Eclipse) can be done in less than an hour. Phonebot opens up the capabilities of app development to anyone.
• Write niche apps that you won't find in the app store. These are "toy" apps that may be useful only to you and might otherwise never get written.
• Write apps because you enjoy coding. Hobbyists and students may want to noodle around away from a computer. Developers may want to sketch out an idea. Do this on the subway or while waiting in line or while eating a burger during lunch. Everything is contained on your phone.
• Have the same power over your phone that you have over your computer. The Android OS makes your phone a general purpose computing device just like a laptop or desktop, and so you should have the tools to take advantage of that. Phonebot is intended to provide that capability.

Some applications that can be created:

• A health app that reads GPS and calculates your walking speed,
• A neighborhood app that reads the tweets nearest you,
• A vocabulary database that uses Wiktionary's open API,
• An attendance and minutes app for meetups

Future directions

Eventually, there will be added control over the use and distribution of your apps:

• Package one or more apps for distribution in run-only mode.
• Create plugin components to extend the functionality of Phonebot script.
• Serve applications from your phone to a small group over the web or to other Phonebot users.

References

• Contact information
• Phonebot in the Android Market
• Phonebot Plus in the Android Market

If Phonebot doesn't fit your needs, you may want to try one of these similar (but completely unafilliated) apps:

• AIDE - Android Java IDE
• Basic4android - develop on a PC, VisualBasic-type IDE
• droidde - Android Java IDE, open source
• Illumination Software Creator - cross-platform visual development with code generation
• Locale (two forty four a.m. LLC)
• Tasker (Crafty Apps)
• Terminal IDE