TouchDevelop
TouchDevelop is a free mobile app development environment and programming language created by Microsoft. It allows anyone to write mobile apps directly on their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
microsoft
free
mobile
programming-language
TouchDevelop: Free Mobile App Development Environment
A free mobile app development environment and programming language by Microsoft, allowing anyone to write mobile apps directly on their mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
What is TouchDevelop?
TouchDevelop is a free programming environment and language created by Microsoft Research. It enables anyone to develop mobile apps directly on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
Some key things to know about TouchDevelop:
- It uses a tile-based visual programming interface that lets you drag and connect blocks of code logic to build apps, making development simple and intuitive.
- Apps can access device capabilities like sensors, camera, GPS etc. It targets beginner developers and students.
- Apps run locally on the mobile device and can also connect to online data sources.
- It uses its own TouchDevelop scripting language based on JavaScript. The scripts get converted to native code.
- Apps can be published to the TouchDevelop cloud platform to share with others. The platform handles hosting and execution of the apps.
- TouchDevelop supports both creating new apps as well as editing and remixing existing shared apps to customize them.
In summary, TouchDevelop brings a unique mobile-first, touch-optimized app dev and coding experience to mobile devices for learning and creating simple apps.
TouchDevelop Features
Features
- Code editing environment optimized for mobile devices
- Supports writing scripts and full apps in TouchDevelop language
- Apps can access device sensors, camera, contacts, etc
- Apps can be published to app stores or shared as source code
- Built-in library of functions for common programming tasks
- Real-time error checking and debugging tools
- Cloud storage and services integration
- Community support through forums and example scripts
Pricing
- Free
- Open Source
Pros
Free to use with no ads or hidden fees
Runs natively on mobile devices - no simulator needed
Very easy to get started writing simple scripts
Touch-based interface good for mobile use
Can create full apps and publish to app stores
Great for learning basics of coding and logic
Cons
Limited to TouchDevelop language - cannot use other languages
Not as full-featured as traditional IDEs
Creating complex apps can be challenging
Limited options for monetizing or selling apps
Smaller community than major development platforms
Apps may have performance issues compared to native
Official Links
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