Ok, just submitted app number three to the app stores yesterday. This time, a gaming app called Spotto. This app is basically a rehash of the old kids game we used to play when we spotted something that was pre-designated during an outing or a road trip, and the first person to call 'Spotto!' won a point.

Well, with this app, any player can create a game, which can be for spotting ANYTHING at all - whether it is a brand of car, colour of show, breed of cat, style of architecture - whatever. Other players can join the game, and then post pictures of the said items. All players in the team can approve or dispute entries, and points are awarded for approved entries.

The game is open ended, and self regulated. It was an especially challenging one for me to write, as this was the first time I was using a NOSQL database (Firebase, from Google). After years of SQL programming, getting my head around NOSQL structures and capabilities was a real challenge, but I think I got there in the end.

The other thing was that this app was designed to be fully real time - i.e. as soon as an entry was entered on one player's mobile device, the other devices all updated at the same time. This was also quite challenging, however the Firebase API helped a lot with this.

In the same vein, I had to get my head around push notifications, and also use Facebook login authentication for the first time. All fun, but it all came together fine in the end.

Spotto should be available in both stores by the end of the month. In the meantime, feel free to visit the Spotto website for more information.