I discovered the potential of the Bluetooth technology on a Transportation Data Analysis class back in early 2011. We were monitoring traffic flows by pinging Bluetooth devices on vehicles and measuring travel times, speeds and Origin-Destination patterns.
Around the concept of Bluetooth a lot of ideas came to my mind, but they all shared something: they all needed a website and a mobile App.
With a group of friends we decided to pursue an idea, to make it happen, and we started Kaleri.
So, how do you put together a website and a mobile App? This is what we refer to as our “starter kit“:
- The backend: Django. A python based web framework. “The web framework for perfectionists with deadlines”. We knew python, so we went ahead with it. It has great documentation and a lot of support. There are also a lot of packages or Django Apps that are great (django-tastypie, south,…).
- The front end: Bootstrap and jquery. Bootstrap is a great resource to make your website look nice in seconds. Be careful though, as I have the feeling that all startup websites look the same. jquery is a javascript (.js) library that helps you make the website “dynamic” with great animations an effects.
- The database: we use MySQL, but the good thing about Django is that it is database agnostic. In theory, we could easily switch to any other database (non-relational too) without having to change much code.
- The Mobile App: we used PhoneGap for the iOS. The reasoning is that if you have learned HTML,CSS and js from putting together a website, you can re-use those skills and wrap up a great looking mobile App using PhoneGap. There are also great frameworks out there that mimic the feel of Android and iOS (framework7, AngularJS, ionicframework).
What I have learnt is that, even though you may have no idea how to start, it is just a matter of trying and wanting to learn new things. It takes time, but the answers are out there, Google and Stackoverflow become your friends and eventually, you will figure it out.
Good luck!