On 6/29/11 4:53 PM, Ralph DiMola wrote:
I went from a 80 col card programmer in 1973 though OS and CGI development
in the 1980-1990s to VB6 and Java today. I'm new to Livecode (1 month) So go
easy on me. I see this a rough crowd, but some help by pointing me in the
right direction would be appreciated.
Welcome. We're not that rough. We even like each other. :)
My apps for both Android and IOS will access SQLite databases. The app is
coming along fine in the IDE (database access and such). I am in the process
testing on Android. After Android I will start testing on IOS. So these
question are Android related but IOS comments would be appreciated.
1) I have a splash screen that displays an image using the image control.
Works fine the in IDE, but is blank when run on the Android HW. Image file
is obviously not available to the app on the HW. The image file is in the
apk file. How is this referenced to work in both the IDE and HW?
You can either branch to accomodate each environment, or easier, set up
your hard drive files to mimic what will be on the device. On Android,
files in the Copy Files inclusion pane will by default be relative to
the engine, so when you're using a stack in the IDE, make your files
there relative to the stack location. Set the defaultfolder to the one
holding your stack and then you can reference them on both platforms the
same way. The default folder on Android, if you don't change it, is the
engine folder so you don't have to set it there.
So if you have a folder of images next to the stack on disk (and you've
set the defaultfolder,) it's path will be "images/splash.png". On
Android it will be the same.
Re-reading that, it doesn't sound too clear, so ask if you need more.
2) I included both the db and splash screen image in the "Copy Files" tab of
standalone app setting. They are both in the apk file. When I browse the apk
file after installation in the elusive "data/app" folder and browse the apk
files "assets" folder the db and splash screen files are there. The real
question is how to move the db to the equally elusive
"/data/app/myapp/files" folder on install for R/W access. I put a copy there
manually for testing my app. I can access the db using the
specialFolderPath("documents") path. The
specialFolderPath("engine")&"/assets" path should point to the apk's assets
folder but I having no luck during the openstack event coping the files
myself to the "/data/app/myapp/files" folder for R/W access.
I'm not sure exactly what's going on under the hood, but I heard it's
not as straightforward as you'd think. The advice is to always use the
built-in specialFolderPaths and just let the engine do what it needs to do:
put url ("binfile:" & specialFolderPath("engine")&myDb.db) into url
("binfile:" & specialFolderPath("documents") & myDB.db)
3) What type of menu will use the native menu picker(slide with finger) on
the Android? I see that to use the native view in IOS the menu picker or
some such thing must be used. I will go there later. For now Android is the
priority.
A native scroller control isn't there yet, but you can emulate it.
There's an example in the TickedOff stack shown at the conference, and I
think at the Summer Academy, but I'm not sure if that's available for
general download. Basically you just set up a field with the right text
size and lineheight and then script it to scroll on touch. I'll see if I
can find an example tomorrow and post it, unless someone else does it first.
4) Are there some example of resizing the stack for various screen sizes? I
have read the grouping of objects is helpful. I also imagine the
portrait/landscape requires some planning so resizing is practical in both
orientations. I have seen some resizing code but it is not completely clear
to me.
There is a lesson here:
<http://lessons.runrev.com/spaces/lessons/buckets/1004/lessons/28683-Displaying-Assets-On-Differing-Screen-Resolutions>
You need to script each object's rectangle and/or position in response
to a resizeStack message, which the stack receives when the device
rotates. You'll also need to run the same resize handler on preOpenStack
or preOpenCard, based on the screenrect.
Resizing is a pain but once you get the hang of it, it becomes more
tedious than difficult.
5) Does anyone know when GPS access on the Android will be available? Is
there a workaround?
I don't know, but I'm pretty sure there's no workaround.
6) Can you get runtime errors when running on the Android HW? Now all I get
is nothing.
Yes, and with the older Android plugin there was a log window you could
open just for that purpose. It got omitted when the Android build was
integrated into the IDE (and I want it back.) But you can install the
older plugin and use it just to see the output log, and it won't
interfere with the IDE at all. I think the plugin can be downloaded from
your store account.
Once you've installed the plugin (ask if you don't know how) you can
open it and click the checkbox that opens the logging window. In your
stack, use "put" with no destination when you want to log something.
Anything you "put" will go to the log window. I.e.:
put the time
will show the current time in the logging window. Whenever you have
something you need to debug, put a "put" near it. To catch errors, place
an errorDialog handler in your stack. Then if an error occurs, that
handler can direct it to the logging window:
on errorDialog pErr
put pErr -- goes to log
end errorDialog
8) How do you install app on SD card?
You don't. :( Not yet, anyway.
9) Are there any LC APIs for GPS coordinate proximity to zip codes?
I don't know of any but someone else will speak up if one exists, I'm sure.
I know this is a lot of questions. I have been reading and hacking 24/7 for
a month now and app is almost complete except for these issues.
Thanks in advance for any insight!!!!!!!
Hang around, come back, and ask away.
--
Jacqueline Landman Gay | jac...@hyperactivesw.com
HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com
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