Google App Inventor, the simplified Android app creation tool that went dark last year, is getting a new lease on life as an open-source project at MIT. The App Inventor source code was released by Google and MIT yesterday as part of a three-month project to create a full-fledged App Inventor server for public use. Eventually, MIT will be adding documentation and accepting contributions to the code, but for now a basic repository is available here. Users who download the tool are free to modify and redistribute it, as with any open-source software.
MIT brings Google App Inventor back from the dead as open-source project
Google App Inventor, a simplified tool for creating Android apps, has been taken over by MIT after Google shut down the service last year. MIT is still working on rolling out its version of the service, but has just released an open-source version of the code.
Google App Inventor, a simplified tool for creating Android apps, has been taken over by MIT after Google shut down the service last year. MIT is still working on rolling out its version of the service, but has just released an open-source version of the code.
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
MIT’s project is part of the Center for Mobile Learning, which announced several months ago that it would be taking over App Inventor when Google shut down the service on December 31, 2011. As a simple graphical interface for programming, App Inventor can be used to teach basic computer science concepts in a non-technical way, and has been incorporated into classes at Wellesley College and the University of San Francisco, among other places. MIT’s App Inventor Developers’ Blog has some more information, and will be posting updates and news about how to join an App Inventor pilot program.
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