Basic4Android Book

Please note: This book has been superceded by B4A.

Basic4Android is widely recognised as the best RAD tool available for Android. “Basic4Android” by Wyken Seagrave is the first book describing this exceptionally easy system. It covers version 3.00 of the IDE (Integrated Development Environment).

The Table of Contents and Sample Pages are available here.

Basic4Android knocks spots off every other 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.

Book Resources

Click here for the book’s online resource page

How to Purchase

Electronic versions in pdf, epub and mobi (Kindle) formats are available from: http://buy.basic4android.info/

You can buy the paperback version from: https://www.createspace.com/4296350

It is also available from any Amazon site, both electronically for Kindle and as paperback.

USA Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1a50iKO

UK Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/1a4ZNjC

France Amazon.fr : http://amzn.to/1a50tWc

For other Amazon sites, search “basic4android seagrave”

Publication Data

Publication date        21 October 2013
Extent eBook            531 pages
Price eBook             £15.99, $23.99, €18.75
ISBN ebook              9781871281200
Extent paperback        564 pages
Price paperback         £31.99, $48.99, €38.28
ISBN paperback          9781491226735
Size paperback          19.1 x 23.5 x 3.2 cm
BIC Code                UMS
Level                   Beginner to Advanced
Rights Held             World, all languages

Media Kit

Click here to download our Media Kit.

Short URL

Reach this page with the URL basic4android.info

Comments

Basic4Android Book — 66 Comments

Pingback:Basic4Android Book Resources | Penny Press
Igor on September 14, 2013 at 1:51 pm said:

Tell as it will be possible to buy this book?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on September 14, 2013 at 3:25 pm said:
  
  Hi Igor,
  
  You can buy the electronic version of the book now at a pre-publication price of half the retail price. Visit https://pennypress.co.uk/?page_id=11#!/~/product/category=2304260&id=24733409
  
  Reply ↓
  - florin on November 22, 2013 at 4:05 pm said:
    
    Unfortunately, only PayPal payment is accepted, even though at the start of payment dialog there is a separate choice for CreditCard payment. PayPal forces account creation, and I am not a PayPal fan, got my reasons …
    
    Reply ↓
    - wykenseagrave on November 22, 2013 at 6:01 pm said:
      
      Hi Florin,
      
      You can purchase from the Penny Press store without a Paypal account. For detailed instructions, please see this page:
      
      https://pennypress.co.uk/?p=195
      
      Reply ↓
      - florin on November 28, 2013 at 6:36 pm said:
        
        Appreciate your effort, but there is no “Pay with a debit or credit card” option, just “Pay with PayPal ..” or “Create a PayPal account”.
Michael on September 22, 2013 at 11:43 pm said:

Thanks for the tip! I pre-ordered the book. Would have greatly preferred epub over PDF, but still looking forward to it — and the 50% discount is awesome!

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on October 15, 2013 at 3:08 pm said:
  
  There will be an epub, mobi and pdf version of the book, available from 21 October
  
  Reply ↓
Tim on September 26, 2013 at 1:45 pm said:

Looking forward to getting this book, but I hope it does not assume knowledge of MS Visual Basic, as some of us “hobby coders” have never used MS-VB?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on October 15, 2013 at 3:09 pm said:
  
  No, no knowledge of any sort is assumed. Complete beginners should be able to use the book and create some apps.
  
  Reply ↓
Marshall on October 1, 2013 at 11:00 pm said:

I’m a very struggling, wanna-be Android programmer. Does your book address problems like creating a calculator with a keyboard?? Saving data created by calculators in a filename, and then displaying the file-name? Or, doing calculations and updating the saved (calculator) file?

How about input filtering for numerics? Preventing numeric input errors/throw/try/updating?

This is primarily what i’m interested. i have a seriously excellent Android app and have gone through Erel’s tutes and quite frankly, it’s sparse, spread-out and doesn’t reall go through the language usage like a normal programming tutorial does.

I really want to learn, and I think I can. Right now, I’m learning Java as the “ultimate” fall-back in case none of my RAD studies have accomplished learning writing a fairly sophisticated app.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,
Marshall

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on October 15, 2013 at 3:07 pm said:
  
  Hi Marshall,
  
  The Basic4Android book does not specifically address the creation of a calculator but it does address the use of keyboards, saving data to files, displaying text (such as filenames and directory names) to users. Doing calculations is simply part of the Basic mathematical functionality.
  
  To input numerics you could use the NumberDialog object in the user-generated Dialogs Library, which is documented, or you could create your own keyboard. I think that you could probably create what you need more easily with Basic4Android than with Java. Whether the book will help you with your specific problems is hard to judge.
  
  Hope that helps.
  
  Reply ↓
Albert on November 6, 2013 at 3:41 pm said:

Hi, will this book avalable in the google play store?

And is this for beginners with B4A?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 8, 2013 at 7:50 am said:
  
  Hi Albert,
  
  So far we have tried and failed to publish the book on Google Play. It is on the list of things to do.
  And yes, the book is designed both for beginners and as a complete reference source for the more advanced user.
  
  Reply ↓
Donald James Simmonds on November 8, 2013 at 4:05 pm said:

What version of B4A was current at the final authoring stage please?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 8, 2013 at 4:08 pm said:
  
  Very good question, Donald! Thank you.
  
  The book is written for version 3.00.
  
  I will add this to the above information.
  
  Reply ↓
Joze on November 8, 2013 at 9:41 pm said:

Hi
I buy e-book and try 1st application…..
I get error in 9th line:
“end region is not a valid identifier”
Why?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 10, 2013 at 8:05 am said:
  
  Hi Joze,
  
  Thanks very much for pointing this out. The first version of the book missed the # off the lines #Region and #End Region in the samples of code, although the code you can download from this site is correct. We have now updated the ebooks and are in the process of updating the printed book.
  
  Reply ↓
Dibb3386 on November 9, 2013 at 9:12 pm said:

Your book is expensive, any discount for enterprise members of b4a? (If not maybe talk with Erel, to make a deal for enterprise members who buy your paperback)Ebooks are not the same, i like to read paperback 🙂

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 10, 2013 at 8:04 am said:
  
  Hi Dibb3386,
  The book’s price is comparable with other books of a similar genre. You can already obtain 25% discount off the paperback price if you buy the ebook, and then you have the best of both worlds.
  
  Reply ↓
James on November 11, 2013 at 12:00 pm said:

Is the PDF version of the book hyperlinked similar to the Kindle version, or are page numbers used to navigate.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 11, 2013 at 1:19 pm said:
  
  Hello James,
  
  No, sadly we cannot create a PDF with the index linked back into the document. Sorry. However you should be able to quickly find the page number using your PDF reader.
  
  Reply ↓
Roberto on November 12, 2013 at 10:55 am said:

Con BASIC4ANDROID, el programar para ANDROID es tan fácil, que no tiene ni mérito.

Lo dice un programador de VB60 que al conocer esto, le pareció como ‘magia de hombre blanco’, parece increible, pero cierto.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 12, 2013 at 2:01 pm said:
  
  Estoy de acuerdo
  
  Reply ↓
Joze on November 17, 2013 at 7:16 pm said:

I try with
Sliding Pages … from p.73 and after installig libraryis and open example I have still problem:
________________________
Parsing code. Error
Error parsing program.
Error description: Unknown type: ahpagecontainer
Are you missing a library reference?
Occurred on line: 68
Dim container As AHPageContainer
________________________

How to avoid “AHPageContainer” error?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 22, 2013 at 5:59 pm said:
  
  Hi Joze, I am still waiting for clarification from you on exactly where this problem occurred.
  
  1) Please confirm that you are referring to the following page?
  
  http://www.basic4ppc.com/android/forum/threads/ahviewpager-library-sliding-panels-now-perfect.14165/#post80200
  
  2) Can you also please let me know which of the two zip files you extracted, either AHViewPager2_01.zip or AHViewPager2_02.zip?
  3) Can you confirm that you have followed these steps:
  
  Installation:
  You need at least B4A 1.8.
  Copy the jar file and the xml file to your custom libs folder.
  Copy the android-support-v4.jar from the Android SDK to your custom libs folder (see below)
  
  Attention: This library uses the android-support-v4.jar library. You have to install it with the Android SDK Manager. Please add the Extras/Android Support package. Then you will find the jar under \extras\android\support\v4. Please copy the android-support-v4.jar file to your custom libs folder!
  
  4) Can you let me know which of the examples you are having problems with, AHFixedTabExample1_0.zip or AHViewPagerExample1_0.zip
  
  Once I have this information I can investigate the problem.
  
  Reply ↓
Daniel on November 18, 2013 at 10:27 pm said:

Hola, Puedo ver este libro mi PC Windows e imprimirlo.

Hi, Can I see this book in my Windows PC and print it?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 19, 2013 at 5:45 am said:
  
  Hi Daniel,
  
  Yes, you can read any version on a PC if you have the correct reader, and you can also print it.
  
  Reply ↓
L T on November 25, 2013 at 3:11 am said:

If I buy the electronic version, will I be able to get free updates whenever they become available? For example, you made a correction to the electronic version as you stated in the Basic4Android forum, where you forgot the # in a line of code. Will the people who already downloaded the pdf, etc., get the update?

Also, if I guy it at Amazon, for my Kindle, will any updated be pushed free of charge?

Thanks.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 26, 2013 at 5:23 am said:
  
  Hi LT, Yes, if you buy the electronic version you will have access to all updates from the same place you downloaded the original version. If you buy from Amazon then it will also be updated, so if you delete the original book on your Kindle and then download it again you should get the new version, but please note that there will be a delay in updating the Amazon version.
  
  Reply ↓
L T on November 25, 2013 at 3:15 am said:

Also, if I buy the electronic version, do I get all electronic formats or I have to pick one format and that is that?

Thanks.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 26, 2013 at 5:23 am said:
  
  You get access to all 3 formats (PDF, EBOOK and MOBI for Kindle) for just the one price.
  
  Reply ↓
L T on November 25, 2013 at 4:52 am said:

Next time you write a book, try using Scrivener. You can create a pdf or mobi, etc right from withing this app… and it will create a TOC or Index on the chosen output format.

No, I don’t work for Scrivener. I thought to mention it just so that next time you update this excellent book on Basic4Android you wrote I could enjoy a TOC and Index.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 26, 2013 at 5:29 am said:
  
  Amazon do not want indexes in their Kindle books. They expect the reader to use the search facility.
  
  Regarding Scrivener, for the moment we will stick to using Microsoft Word. This book includes hundreds of images and also relies upon VBA scripts to create the cross-links within the printed book (references to page numbers instead of hyperlinks) and also creating the index for the printed version from headings. Not sure that Scrivener could to that. Creating a TOC or index is no problem in Word once the key words are marked as index words. But thank you for drawing our attention to Scrivener.
  
  Reply ↓
L T on November 26, 2013 at 10:10 pm said:

Thank you for all your replies.

I am happy to report that I already bought your book from this site. I thought to let you have all the money instead of sharing it with Amazon (I know for a fact that they take a percentage).

Also, I like your website about he History of The Universe. Thanks for that too.

About Scrivener, the only partial limitation is graphics. Yes, you can insert them but it will not let you place them where ever you want or add shadows or effects (you can do that though before you insert the graphic with another program like Gimp). It will only let you place them in the center of the line or page. It will do everything else: hyperlink, index, TOC, cross-links within the book and it doesn’t require VBA… if you are writing a book, scrivener is the only sane and logical way to go. Try it. They have a fully functional demo for Mac and Windows. Another software similar to Scrivener is “Storyist.com” but it doesn’t come close to scriverer. I know, I have them both. I also teach a class on Word… (and other subjects on computers)I work for the city. Anyways, I write books too and I only do it in Scrivener. Once done, I user Serif PagePlus for the final touches if I require awesome looking graphics and layouts (Adobe products are too expensive and over rated, if you ask me, specially now that then went cloud). Serif will also do links, TOC, etc. But after you use Scrivener, it only makes sense to write the hole book with it… it’s an amazing tool just like Basic4Android is…

I just love sharing information on the little few amazing and awesome things that I find along the path of life… then much more greater things will come out from using them… there is always gifted people out there… they just need the right tool to bring out all that talent.

Thank you once more.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 28, 2013 at 5:57 am said:
  
  Hi LT,
  
  Thanks for telling me about Scrivener.
  Our VBA macros for the printed copy of the book will change hyperlinks into page references and create index entries from headings. I doubt if Scrivener will do this, but I realise I should try it out to be sure. However, if we are going to switch to a different word processor, I suspect we would probably evaluate Adobe Indesign as well.
  
  Best wishes
  
  Reply ↓
  - L T on November 29, 2013 at 10:19 am said:
    
    Perhaps it doesn’t support macros or convert hyperlinks to references, etc. So far I have not needed those features… Word it is then.
    
    Reply ↓
L T on November 26, 2013 at 10:25 pm said:

I forgot to mention that scrivener is adding more image manipulation with every update or upgrade. Hopefully very soon, it will do all the needed and essential features that you find in Word or other word processors. Even so, I still don’t use Word for image manipulation for my books though, not since I found Serif WebPage Plus. Adobe Indesign is great (I also teach a class on it), but too expensive to upgrade… Serif PagePlus has everything I need for now. I’m so happy with it as I am with Basic4Android and your new book on Basic4Android and Scrivener.

Again, thanks for such a great book.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 28, 2013 at 6:00 am said:
  
  As you say, Indesign is very expensive. We do have problems with the slow speed of loading the Basic4Android book, but we will probably stick with Word rather than investing time in developing macros for another language. Not sure if you can write macros for Scrivener.
  
  Reply ↓
L T on November 26, 2013 at 10:39 pm said:

I’m sorry… I was forgetting one more thing: how about a TOC on the PDF version of the book? Right now, it doesn’t have one. It’s such a pain to scroll up and down looking for things..

I don’t mean a TOC as a page, but a TOC with hyperlink in the left pane of Acrobat or Acrobat reader, in the same area where you find the page thumbnails. This feature is called “Bookmarks” in Acrobat. This is the reason I suggested Scrivener in the fist place. Scrivener will automatically create this bookmarks that serve as a hyperlinked TOC withing the PDF.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on November 28, 2013 at 6:02 am said:
  
  The PDF version of the book does have a detailed table of contents. You need to show bookmarks in your reader.
  
  Reply ↓
  - L T on November 28, 2013 at 9:10 pm said:
    
    Yes… my bad. The PDF does have bookmarks. I was opening it with another program that couldn’t open the bookmarks. Adobe Reader of course does it. Thanks.
    
    Reply ↓
L T on November 26, 2013 at 11:03 pm said:

Did I mention that Scrivener will also let you import Word documents? Afterwards, you can make Scrivener add a hyperlinked Bookmark TOC to the PDF or other digital formats, including for the Kindle format… That way, you don’t have to work extra!

Reply ↓
L T on December 8, 2013 at 6:53 am said:

If it isn’t much trouble (I know it is, I’m just being silly), could you please also write a book on B4J?

Thanks.

Reply ↓
Neji on April 16, 2014 at 3:25 pm said:

Hi

I am trying to purchase your book, it says you accept credit cards, but on checkout it takes me to paypal, i dont have a paypal account. How can one purchase the book with regular credit card?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on April 16, 2014 at 6:20 pm said:
  
  Hi Neji,
  
  You should be able to pay with a credit card. You do not need a Paypal
  account, even though Paypal handles the transaction for us.
  The relevant instructions can be found at
  
  https://pennypress.co.uk/?p=195
  
  Please let me know if there is still a problem. I am sure we can sort
  something out, and I apologise for any inconvenience caused.
  
  Reply ↓
Peter Jetson on September 26, 2014 at 5:39 am said:

Hi. I’ve just purchased the printed version of the book, but I’ve realised that I would like to read it on my Kindle from time to time. Is there a “reverse” discount available for the eBook?

Thanks, Peter

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on September 26, 2014 at 7:04 am said:
  
  Hello Peter,
  
  Sorry no, we don’t offer a discount on the electronic versions of Basic4Android.
  
  Reply ↓
Duminda on December 15, 2014 at 10:49 pm said:

Hi,

After publishing this version of the Book, there are few major versions of the B4A released, do you have an update to this book that cover the newer libraries or features?

Thanks,
Jay

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on December 16, 2014 at 7:11 am said:
  
  Hi Jay,
  
  Thanks for your question.
  We will be publishing a new version of the Basic4Android during 2015.
  
  Reply ↓
Dave on January 22, 2015 at 7:06 pm said:

Hi Wyken,
If I buy the Kindle version of the book will I get the 2015 updated version for free? When do you plan to release the new book in 2015?
Thanks,
Dave

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on January 23, 2015 at 6:58 am said:
  
  Hi Dave,
  
  Yes, anyone who has bought an electronic copy of the old version will be able to get the update free.
  We cannot, however, provide replacement copies of the print edition.
  At present we have no fixed date for the new version but guess about June 2015.
  
  Regards,
  Wyken Seagrave
  
  Reply ↓
  - Dave on January 23, 2015 at 2:14 pm said:
    
    Sounds great. Next question. If I buy from your website here instead of Amazon for the kindle version, am I able to read the book on my kindle or that requires another reader app? If I buy the electronic version from your site can I download all electronic versions or just choose one of them? I am anxious to buy asap. 🙂
    Thanks,
    Dave
    
    Reply ↓
    - wykenseagrave on January 23, 2015 at 2:19 pm said:
      
      Hi Dave,
      
      If you buy here you will be able to either copy the file to your Kindle or request that we send it there for you using the instructions given in one of the files. You can download the book in any (or all) of pdf, epub and mobi formats.
      Thanks for your interest in this book!
      WS
      
      Reply ↓
      - Dave on January 23, 2015 at 2:33 pm said:
        
        Thanks for the quick reply. I am going to the purchase page now. I appreciate you writing the book, and also making an updated edition.
        Cheers!
        Dave
Dave on January 23, 2015 at 3:05 pm said:

Where to send errata?

*TYPO*
Who this Book is For.

What You Need to Run Basic4Android

“running there usually *excute* faster.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on January 23, 2015 at 4:06 pm said:
  
  Hi Dave,
  
  Thanks for pointing out error in spelling of execute.
  Probably easiest way of reporting typos would be here.
  
  Best wishes,
  WS
  
  Reply ↓
Dave on January 23, 2015 at 4:19 pm said:

You are welcome. Here is another sentence that needs a little work as it doesn’t flow properly if you know what I mean. 🙂

*TYPO*
Configure your button.

Generate Members

The best way to make sure you do this correctly is to ask *the either* designer or the Abstract designer to generate the code for you.

Reply ↓
- Dave on January 23, 2015 at 6:16 pm said:
  
  Another one:
  
  *TYPO*
  
  Handling long lists.
  
  Last sentence before the Dialogs Library.
  
  Notice also *thqthe* list has already scrolled down to show the selected item.
  
  Reply ↓
Dave on January 24, 2015 at 3:54 pm said:

*TYPO*

Designer Scripts Reference

Pixel

If you know the device *will *160 dpi then you know…
will what?

Reply ↓
Pingback:Setting up B4A & Genymotion on a Macbook Pro | Tim's Tech Tips : Blog
Tim on April 22, 2015 at 1:39 pm said:

Do you have a web page of Errata discovered in the book?
Page 531 – Return values from Dialog. You list LEFT twice. I think -1 ought to be RIGHT.
Brilliant Book. I’d be lost without it.
Thanks.
Tim.

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on April 22, 2015 at 1:56 pm said:
  
  Hi Tim,
  
  Thanks very much for letting us know, and for your supportive comments. We will fix this in the new edition of the book, due soon after the new version of B4A is released.
  
  The return codes are:
  
  -1 if the user clicks the right button (called “Positive” in the documentation)
  -2 if the user clicks the left button (called “Negative” in the documentation)
  -3 if the user clicks the center button (called “Cancel” in the documentation)
  
  Reply ↓
Trisect Development on August 18, 2015 at 7:05 pm said:

We will fix this in the new edition of the book, due soon after the new version of B4A is released.

So when can we expect the new version of the book?

Reply ↓
- wykenseagrave on August 18, 2015 at 7:13 pm said:
  
  The new book is available now at https://pennypress.co.uk/?p=297
  
  Reply ↓
  - Trisect Development on September 4, 2015 at 10:25 am said:
    
    Thanks!
    Bought it.
    
    Reply ↓

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