it looks like you are assuming, that App Inventor can only create 15 colors using the colors block?
no: you can create all colors, see the screenshot below
and you also can use just an integer value, in the example the value -8388652 or 4286578644 to get color aquamarine, see again the link I provided earlier App Inventor Color Chart
you will have to do this in the blocks editor
someone else also might want so say something about using colors in App Inventor… @Italo? @Mark? @Boban_Stojmenovic?
do others think, it’s a great idea to use hex values instead of the existing philosophy?
@Andres_Cotes Your extensions are most of the times very useful, although you are a little short in documentation. But this time, I will have to agree with @Taifun, and also repeat my point: When you make extensions to do things that can be made with blocks, you are not really helping the purpose of App Inventor/ Thunkable, which is teaching non programmers to code. You are preventing people from learning how to code their own solution, like I did here AI/Thunkable Color to Hex
What your extension does, it’s easily doable with blocks.
Looks like the initial color palette in the designer was made so students can easily select one of the basic colors, not for programmers to have a wide range of professional looking colors available at one click. People tend to forget what App Inventor really is.
If you want to use colors in HEX, What prevents the user to create a procedure with blocks to read the hex number provided and converts it to RGBA or the App Inventor color notation?
I think having the option doesn’t hurt. But I rather have a clean procedure which I have full control over its blocks to do the job, than load an external extension to do it.
I disagree completely, I’m actually an aspx and vb.net programmer and I just doesn’t have the time to learn another language needed in this case, so I use app inventor because it’s simple and more or less powerful for my needs.
What Andres created is not simply doable with blocks. I mean, I already made it in different apps, but it quickly became a mess of arrangements, so if I can have an extension that do it for me, it’s totally appreciated.
We actually need more extensions to allow less messing around with nested arrangements and graphics crazyness.
@gabryk If you disagree with me or not, or if you have time or not to learn a programming language doesn’t change the fact that the App Inventor project is an educational tool to teach people how to code. Period. I never said you can’t use/make some extension that can be done with blocks. By all means, do it. What I said is that the true value of App Inventor is to actually learn how to program your own solutions. Visualising the solution, laying the blocks in the right order, debug you code, and eventually achieve success is a more rewarding experience than just slapping a block to do some easy calculations. That doesn’t teach you anything. Now, if you are not using this learning tool to learn how to program, then that’s a different thing.
Doesn’t mean it cannot change purpose. Maybe that’s 100% right for the MIT version.
So, what is the meaning of this:
In its current MIT version it is a good starting point to experiment, but its limits become more evident the more you use it. Extensions try to expand AI potentiality, and that’s good.
I think AI can became really more of what it is now, providing 100% of flexibility and same potentiality of a classic programming language.
One of the current weaknesses of AI, IMHO, is precisely how messy the designer could become. So I welcome any extensions that allow me to use 1 arrangement instead of 2 (or 3 or 4)…
MIT purpose is to help people teach to make apps & code. It cannot & will never change it’s purpose. Distributions like Thunkable & AppyBuilder are mostly for professional app making. I agree with @Italo
Please, just read, what actually Evan Patton said together with extensions update in App Inventor Open Source Dev forums…
If you make a mess when programming in AI doesn’t mean we all do too. Some people are better organized.
Again, everybody is free to do what they want. Use an extension to do 1+1, it’s your choice.
If you are a teacher, you tell your kids to do an app to calculate 1+1, and then they find somebody did an extension to do 1+1, they will not move a finger to find the solution by themselves. They will just get the extension. They didn’t learn how to code, which STILL IS the purpose of this platform. If it will change some day, we don’t know yet.
App Inventor wasn’t meant for that. I & @Italo said to you a lot of times. MIT is used for teaching people how to code & helps them to solve a problem by thinking. If you want use things like Camera views, admob rewarded videos & etc. then learn to code. Use Android studio.
The ads doesn’t make it any more professional oriented. It just means you can place ads in the same apps you can make in App Inventor. I’m talking of real features that makes Thunkable more suitable to develop professional apps. Name some please.
I’m not attacking you. You may be disorganized when programming with blocks, when other people is not. That’s it. You shouldn’t take everything I say as an “attack”, LOL!
This is an example of how you can make a complex app while being organized. Not attacking you or anything, relax! LOL!
