Key Concepts in LiveCode Create
Welcome to LiveCode Create! This guide introduces the essential concepts you need to build powerful, responsive, and data-driven applications. Think of this as your starting point for understanding the platform. Each concept links to detailed guides for further learning.
1. The LiveCode Create Platform
LiveCode Create is an all-in-one development environment for building apps with no-code or low-code. The key areas of the platform include:
- Dashboard: The central hub for managing your projects.
- App Building Environment: Where you design, configure, and test your app. It includes:
- Tools Palette: A library of widgets for drag-and-drop interface building.
- Canvas Area: The visual workspace for designing your layouts.
- Property Inspector: Customize widget properties, data bindings, and responsive settings.
- Project Browser: View your app's layouts and objects in a tree structure.
Learn more: LiveCode Create Platform Overview
2. Creating a Project
Every app begins with a project. A project is where all your app's layouts, data, logic, and assets are stored.
- What is a Project?: Understand the structure and purpose of projects.
- Starting a New Project: Step-by-step instructions for creating your first project.
- Saving and Organizing: Best practices for managing and organizing your work.
Learn more: Creating a Project
3. Building an Interface
Designing the user interface is at the core of app creation in LiveCode Create. The platform provides visual tools for creating layouts and customizing widgets.
- Widgets: Drag-and-drop components like buttons, text fields, and navigation rails to build your app.
- Responsive Layout: Ensure your app looks great on all devices with layout breakpoints and responsive properties.
- Property Inspector: Adjust appearance, behavior, and data binding for widgets directly in the Property Inspector.
Learn more:
4. Working with Data
LiveCode Create makes it easy to manage and use data within your app. Whether you’re displaying data or storing user input, the platform provides the tools you need.
- Collections: Store structured data, similar to database tables.
- Data Views: Create filtered or sorted subsets of data for efficient use in widgets.
- Data Binding: Link your widgets to collections or data views to display and update data dynamically.
Learn more:
5. Adding Logic to Your App
LiveCode Create allows you to add logic to your app using a combination of visual workflows and scripting.
- Actions Workflow: Use drag-and-drop Action Blocks to define app behavior without writing code.
- Raw Script Mode: For advanced customization, convert Action Blocks into editable scripts.
- Script Editor: Directly write custom LiveCode Script for complete control over app logic.
Learn more:
6. Testing and Publishing
LiveCode Create provides tools to test your app during development and deploy it when you're ready.
- Edit and Run Modes: Switch between designing and testing your app directly in the IDE.
- Preview: Test your app as a temporary deployment to see how it behaves in a browser.
- Publish: Deploy your app for end users with a single click.
Learn more:
7. Advanced Tools and Features
Explore the advanced capabilities of LiveCode Create to enhance your app development process:
- Media Assets: Upload and manage images, videos, and other media for use in your app.
- Theme Editor: Customize your app’s colors and fonts to match your branding.
- Script Editor: For advanced users, directly write or edit scripts to extend app functionality.
- Message Box: Test and debug individual lines of LiveCode Script in real time.
Learn more:
Conclusion
This guide provides a roadmap to the key concepts in LiveCode Create. Use the links above to dive deeper into specific topics and start building your own apps today. With LiveCode Create, app development is intuitive, flexible, and powerful.