Using Google Calendar with App Inventor 2

[Susan Mitchell]

My students are trying to create an Android phone app to allow the posting and viewing of school-wide events. They need a way to integrate a pre-written calendaring system, such as Google Calendar, into their app. I did the MapIT tutorial and learned how to integrate Google Maps into an app (not that I thoroughly understand what's happening under the hood). Is integrating Google Calendar into an app similar?

[phantomfoot]

You can use Google Calendar API to access the google calendar, insert and view events etc. from an appinventor app.

I prepared a 4 part tutorial on it for App Inventor Classic, but it could easily be redone in AI2:

Part 1 OAuth
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/programming-with-app-inventor/KtHIqxblS-c/jnn5vVMTdTMJ

Part 2: Get Calendar IDs

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/programming-with-app-inventor/XYlpWobagGc/DYZxYzRL5sEJ

Part 3: View/Display Calendar events

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/programming-with-app-inventor/W8BZpF-uMcQ/CF1J3uByEbYJ

Part 4: Insert Calendar events

https://groups.google.com/d/msg/programming-with-app-inventor/sSfKBxy2npc/LUcAbqKmg4cJ

You could also use a Webviewer to display the google calendar website in the app.

[Susan Mitchell]

Thanks for your quick reply and hard work. Please bear with me -- I'm a novice.

AI2 allows one to connect to any website with a simple call (call WebViewer1.GoToUrl). Passing in the google calendar URL (http://calendar.google.com), one can view their calendar, create and edit events, etc. Anything that one could normally do with their Google calendar using the web. Is the difference in what you are demonstrating that you are showing how to actually place a Google calendar onto Android your device and use it from the device, rather than viewing/using it on the web?

[phantomfoot]

Hi Susan,

You should use the Google Calendar API if you wish to have a deeper integration with Google Calendar in your app rather than just viewing it on the web, which anyone can do in their browser.

It is not placing a google calendar onto your Android device (they live on google's servers), it is a way of accessing the calendar programmatically in your app, therefore you can create a much more bespoke interface.

See here for more explanation: https://developers.google.com/google-apps/calendar/concepts

However a simple Webviewer pointing at http://calendar.google.com is also an option which might also meet yor needs.

[phantomfoot]

Hi Susan, 

If you are interested, I have updated my google calendar tutorial for use with App Inventor 2. 

https://groups.google.com/d/topic/app-inventor-developers-library/x4GBw8wVI0I/discussion

There is an aia and apk attached

[piano guy]

Why am I not seeing any images in the tutorial? I am only seeing white squares with a black line border.

[Abraham Getzler]

If you don't see the images in the post,

scroll up to the beginning of the post and click

on the link to allow images to be displayed.

ABG