Programming with App Inventor
Computing Institute for K-12 Teachers
Summer 2012 Workshop
Advanced Topics 1
Session SA-6
Data Storage
 The App Inventor provides simple database capabilities to store information needed
or created by your program.
 This information, once stored, will be available to you after your device (Android
phone or tablet) application has ended and even after the Android device has been
powered off. This is persistent memory that will be available until it is specifically
deleted.
 The data can be save either online or on your device’s local
memory (SIM card).
 The two objects provided are called the tinyDB
and tinyWebDB.
 The tinyDB is listed among the objects in the Basic Palette
Data Storage
 The tinyWebDB is listed in the Palette in the App Designer
under the Other stuff section.
 The tinyWebDB has one attribute in the Properties
that can be modified, the ServiceURL or online location
of the database server. No location is provided for the
local database of the tinyDB.
 TinyWebDb by default uses a shared testing database
that is used by all App Inventors. Your data saved in
this testing database will eventually be overwritten.
 You may create a ‘private’ shared database that will
limit which users have access.
 The instructions for creating the ‘private’ database are
located online with the help for the tinyWebDB object.
Data Storage
 Both DB objects work exactly the same way with respect to storing data.
 Data stored to these databases is stored under a unique tag generated by your
program. A ‘tag’ is used as an easy way to identify what you have stored.
Important: The tag must be unique.
 For example, if you store a List under the tag ‘answerList’ and the store another List
under that same tag ‘answerList’, you will have overwritten the first List losing you
data.
 The following two blocks (associated with both the tiny and tinyWeb DB objects
store information:
 You need to provide the unique tag for each of the values to stored.
Data Storage

Retrieving data using the DB Objects varies slightly.

The tinyDB provides a .StoreValue block and a simple .GetValue block which returns the
value associated with the tag.

The tinyWebDB needs slightly different methods since there is a web server that provides
for communication across the Internet.
Events

Basically, with the tinyWebDB, you send a command to the db web server and then wait for
the web server to signal back (via an event block) that the command has completed.

With the tinyDB, the .GetValue command actually retrieves the data from the local
database which you can assign to a local variable
Data Storage
.GotValue Event

After initiating the .GetValue for the tinyWebDB, you must use the .GotValue event block to
obtain the data from the online data base. You need to compare the tagFromWebDB value
to the tag under which the data was originally stored to determine what data was is be
read. Below is sample code that executed when the online db signals the data has been
retrieved.

This code executed in this block is a prime
example of where a procedure could be
utilized.

To view yours (and others) data save online,
browse to the ServiceURL provided in the
properties for the tinyWebDB.

If you create a ‘private’ shared online
database, the ServiceURL will be slightly
different.

View the testing database:
http://appinvtinywebdb.appspot.com

Viewing the online database can be very
helpful in making sure your data was stored.
Data Storage
.WebServiceError Event

There is one other event for the tinyWebDB called .WebServiceError that can be ‘handled’
to report when the online database is having problems. If .StoreValue has been initiated
and the Internet connection is not available or the database is not responding, this event
maybe trigger and provide helpful information.

The block below show how to set the text of a label to the error message returned when
there is a WebServiceError.
Sample 6
Lists & TinyWebDB
 Make Quiz