Here you can download the files which are referred to in our Basic4Android book.
These were written either by Erel Uziel or Klaus Christl.
Backgrounds Project: a graphics demonstration
ButtonStateDrawables: a demonstration of coding the StateListDrawable property of buttons
Classes: examples of class modules
NinePatchExample: a demonstration of coding nine-patch images.
Oscilloscope Project: a graphics demonstration
Basic4Android is widely recognised as the best RAD tool available for Android, yet so far no book has been published describing its facilities. This will be remedied on 21 October 2013 when “Basic4Android” will be published by Penny Press.
Basic4Android knocks spots off every other Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for Android. Most of them require developers to learn Java with all its complexities as well as wrestling with the use of an unfamiliar hardware platform. Basic4Android makes everything easy.
Only B4A allows developers to easily create native and market-compatible applications without having to write any XML, achieving a performance that is similar to Java written applications. Using it, those developers who know Visual Basic better than Java can go from downloading Basic4Android to creating their first native app on their device within seven minutes.
The following remarks are typical of what professional developers say:
“I’ve [made] more progress with B4A in 3 hours than I have in 3 months with other Android IDEs.” Morgan Matthews.
“I must say as a Visual Basic expert Basic4android is the best software purchase I’ve made in a long time. Within an hour of installing I had a fully functional application running on both my phone and tablet.” Dylan Palmer.
“This is the greatest product ever! After spending two months trying to learn Java, I stumbled upon you. I have been a VB programmer for 25 years, and I am in heaven now! Thank you!” Marc Mieher.
This delightful system has produced a dedicated band of over 25 thousand developers who have expanded the system by contributing their own libraries to the community as well as helping each other solve problems.
However it’s not always easy to find the information you want from the on-line help provided. Amazingly there are no books on the subject. “I have wanted to see a book about Basic4android for a long time now,” says Erel Uziel, CEO of Anywhere Software, creator of Basic4Android. And so UK publisher Penny Press has asked resident author Wyken Seagrave to write the first ever book on the subject: “Basic4Android: Rapid App Development for Android”
His complete guide will be suitable for intermediate and expert developers but will also be useful for beginners. It will cover every aspect of B4A from installation and using the WYSIWYG visual editor through a comprehensive reference section to using Additional Libraries supplied by other users. It will quickly repay its cost by the time saved in finding the information developers need when they need it.
Reviewer Request
If you want a free reviewer copy of the ebook in advance of publication, please write to basic4android@pennypress.co.uk stating what publication it is intended for and the date by which you need it.
Today we switched this website from a bespoke system to WordPress to make it easier for us to maintain and present a more attractive user experience.
A new ebook “Halloween Magic & Silly Science” to be published on 1 Oct 2012 by British author Wyken Seagrave shows children ten magic tricks they can play on Halloween and then explains the science which makes them work.
Halloween is a great time for having fun and experimenting with all things supernatural. This new ebook takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to help children under 10 years of age realise that even magic has a scientific basis. It explains how to conduct ten magic tricks which can easily be performed with materials found in most homes and will amaze friends and parents.
It then gives a mocking but scientifically accurate account of what a scientist might say about the physical basis for the trick.
Great fun for all ages, but especially for the 5 to 10 age range, the book is available for purchase from the website devoted to the science of Halloween: halloweenscience.co.uk
1. Vampire Bomb. The vampires are coming! You need to frighten them away with a loud explosion, but all you have are the things in your house. Here is what you do.
2. Ghoul Drowner. A ghoul has come into your house. You already know that ghouls die when they touch water. Frighten the ghoul away by threatening to drown him.
3. Little Devil’s Flute. The little devil who lives in the woods wants to summon the witches to his party but he has forgotten his flute. He comes into your house and threatens to take you to hell unless you can make him a new one. No worries. Here is what you do.
4. Ghost in a Bottle. A ghost has come into your home? Here is how you capture him in a bottle!
5. Foaming Potions. The evil spirits of Halloween have come a long way to see you and they are very thirsty. If you don’t give them a drink they will be very angry. You must make a potion which evil spirits love.
6. Weighing a Ghost. Some people think ghosts float because they are weightless, but this trick proves they are wrong. Of course, some boring people think they can explain it with science. Fools!
7. Dracula’s Dagger. How to turn a straw into a Count Dracula’s dagger by magic.
8. Magic Diving Wand. Make a magic want which will obey your instructions but nobody else’s!
9. Magic Balloons. Only you, the wizard, is able to stop the balloon exploding.
10. Dragon’s Eggs. Dragon’s eggs are extremely strong. This trick lets you make and test one!
The ISBN of the ebook is 978-1-871281-21-7
It is available on Amazon Kindle or as a PDF from the website http://halloweenscience.co.uk
Download the Media Kit from http://halloweenscience.co.uk/images/MediaKit.pdf
The history of the universe will be explained in terms of simple science over a one year period by a series of 365 tweets or emails
British author Wyken Seagrave is producing 365 daily tweets and emails to explain the main steps in the history of the universe.
We are all curious about where we came from. By reviewing knowledge gained from a wide range of sciences during the past fifty years, Wyken Seagrave has pieced together the story of how we arrived here. Starting from the Big Bang he traces the way matter organised itself on both the largest and the smallest of scales.
“I think this story gives us all a new and inspiring vision of our place in the wider scheme of things,” Seagrave explained. “It puts our human problems into perspective.”
Tweets will appear on the Twitter account http://twitter.com/@Hotu365 with the hash tag #hotu. They will cover the major steps in history from the Big Bang to the present day, then use the lessons of history to make some predictions about the future. In addition the tweets will explain all the basic science required to understand the story.
Alternatively, readers might chose to receive more detailed information in their email inbox by subscribing to the History of the Universe email list at http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=hotu365
Hotu365 integrates a wide range of scientific, historical and social knowledge into a single unified story which not only shows us how we fit into the world around us but also uses the lessons of the past to make predictions about the future.
“Wyken Seagrave has carefully selected the information which he covers to provide a succinct yet encyclopaedic view of history,” said commissioning editor Philip Brown. “As well as telling the story in chronological order, he explains each of the key terms in simple language, with links to external sources of information.”
Each tweet is linked to the history of the universe website (http://www.historyoftheuniverse.com) written by the same author, where the summary given in the tweet is explained in more detail.
These tweets are ideal both for the reader wishing to gain an insight into science and history, as well as for students of integrated science or “Big History” courses in schools or colleges.
To satisfy the increasing
interest in “Big History”, Penny Press is today publishing its new eBook “History of the Universe” by Wyken Seagrave at the bargain price of only $1.99.
We are all curious about where we came from. By reviewing knowledge gained from a wide range of sciences during the past fifty years, Wyken Seagrave has pieced together the story of how we arrived here. Starting from the Big Bang he traces the way matter organised itself on both the largest and the smallest of scales.
The History of the Universe integrates a wide range of scientific, historical and social knowledge into a single unified story which not only shows us how we fit into the world around us but also uses the lessons of the past to make predictions about the future.
Seagrave has carefully selected the information which he covers to provide a succinct yet encyclopaedic view of history. The first half of the book tells the story in chronological order. The second half is a reference section which provides a glossary of key terms, with links to external sources of information.
The ebook is 5.2 megabytes in size and its text is extensively illustrated with over 300 diagrams and there are comprehensive links which allow for easy cross-referencing electronic readers. Seagrave introduces two innovative models, SoccEarth and PennySystem, to help the reader get a physical feeling for very small and very large objects.
This readable and accessible book is ideal both for the general reader wishing to gain an insight into science and history, as well as a reader for integrated science or Big History courses in schools or colleges It sells at a fraction of the price of other comparable books.
The book can be purchased from the History of the Universe Store or from Amazon’s Kindle website.