[124]
The rest of the paper is structured as follows. In section II,
we initiate with the idea, where we analyze the steps of design
and development of the application. In Section III, we describe
the operations connected with the database. In Section IV and
V, we are dealing with the creation of the quiz project and its
networking function, respectively. In Section VI, we present
our testing procedure and analyze the results. Finally, we give
the concluding remarks in Section VII.
II.
D
ESIGNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATION
It is well known, that most of the students who try to
become developers give up in the middle of the road, because
of high demands. It is hard for a new developer to deal the
many different things that are required in order to achieve a
functional application.
When we decided to create our application, we thought
that it would be useful for someone to be able to test their
knowledge while enjoying a coffee with their friends. It is also
very fruitful for a teacher to use a knowledge game to intrigue
his students and to help them grasp and retain knowledge
about his course. Researchers have shown that learning using
games has a much stronger impact than the steer typical
teaching of a lecture [7].
Figure 2.
Steps for designing an application
To create a successful application, a developer has to be
methodic, systematic and follow some important steps. We
present our design flow in iOS platform, which is architecture
independent and can be used from developers, in order to
create their application from the beginning. Figure 2, shows the
steps that we follow in order to create our application. First, we
have an idea for an application. Then, we create a sketch of the
application view. In the third step, we see how we can analyze
the functions of our project. On steps four and five we begin
developing the application and finally we testing it.
A.
It all starts with an idea
Before a developer initiates an application, it is suggested
to perform a survey of similar applications, to investigate their
drawbacks and to note down the best practices. We came to
the conclusion that the most of the apps need social networks
for playing multiplayer. Some multiplayer apps are
exclusively developed for iPad, because of its large screen. So,
we decided to create an application that does not require
sharing the screen with other users, but allows every user to
see the same information with the rest.
To take full advantage of the tools given to a developer, one
must first describe as solid as possible the type of application.
Our application belongs to the category of entertainment and
educational applications - games [7] designed to test the
knowledge of the users. For the development of a successful
application in iOS a developer should know some basic things.
These have to do with designing, proper memory management,
responsiveness, energy consumption and security.
B.
Wireframing the idea (Sketching)
To start with, the designer needs to create on a paper a
sketch of how he imagines the interface. This process is very
important because it helps him to arrive at the desired result
with less effort. Also by drawing on paper, it is easier for the
designer to show his ideas to others so that he receives
comments and reviews about them. Then, the final result may
be completely different from the original sketch.
Wireframing [2] is a very important step in the designing
and development of an application. It is a low-level outline
(draft, framework, and blueprint) of someone’s design, which
helps them and their customers to illustrate the structure and
the sensation that leaves their designing. In wireframes, a
designer replicates data throughout the application with their
real dimensions and sizes, but nevertheless it does not contain
graphic elements, but only the position that they will take in the
final designing on screen. Through the wireframe, the designer
can make structural changes, changes to buttons, text, titles,
and application components in a very short time, and thus they
can easily achieve a clearer picture of their application.
For our application we originally created every single view
on paper. Then we used software to digitize our design and
make a more accurate picture of our application. Figure 3, saws
the digital design (mockup) of our multiplayer game view
controller.
Figure 3.
Digital wireframing of game view controller
C.
Analyzing the modes of execution
Before a developer begins to develop his application
programmatically, it is important to clarify how it operates.
This is usually analyzed by the user's actions in relation to the
application. It would be even easier for the developer to