iPad 4 issues

[rcahoon]

Hi,

I'm testing the Lianja Tablet Web UI Demo app on an iPad 4 and I'm running into some issues. I'm not sure if these are Lianja issues or iPad issues.

I am unable to scroll the App Centre main screen. I've published 13 apps and I can see 12 in portrait and 6 in landscape orientations, and I can run the apps that I can see, but I can't scroll the screen to see all the apps.

The App Centre LogOut button doesn't appear to do anything. Tapping the icon simply highlights LogOut and nothing else.

In the example_webapp1, in the Customers Orders page, click add or edit on a record and it displays three date fields with drop down date controls. When I touch these controls a Lianja date selector is displayed but then an iPad date style selector is displayed over the top. Can this be prevented? It isn't particularly bothersome other than the iPad date selector has a clear button and allows entering an empty date.

I have tested this on my Galaxy Tab and found that it appears the App Centre allows scrolling but it's nearly impossible to actually scroll without accidentally selecting a tile and the LogOut button still does nothing. However, editing date fields only shows the Lianja selector.


Cheers,

Rob C

[barrymavin]

Hi Rob,

The App Center is primarily for desktop and web apps.

Mobile apps are normally built as discrete apps that are installed on mobile devices.

Running web apps on a touch enabled mobile device you will also encounter some permission issues if you are trying to access the camera, local storage etc. Mobile apps handle these permissions as well as the native UI controls such as the date picker.

If you encounter issues where something does not work as expected then submit a ticket and it will be investigated.

[rcahoon]

Barry,

I believe I understand now. I'm confusing web apps and native apps with regards to tablets. Sorry for the slow uptake.

Just to be sure, am I correct in now thinking that in order to create a native tablet app I would use the PhoneGap build service with the proper settings?

Thanks,

Rob C.

[barrymavin]

Hi Rob,

Yes exactly.

Building a native PhoneGap app with the correct settings will allow you to request permission to access hardware specific functionality that may be rejected in a web app for security reasons.

[HankFay]

Hi Rob,

a "native" device (phone or tablet) app is generally considered one to be written directly to the underlying framework (Android or iOS or Windows-whatever-they-are-calling-it-this-year). A PhoneGap (Cordova) app is a JavaScript app running in the Cordova framework that interfaces with native functionality on the device.

There is much debate (but less than there used to, because JavaScript compilers and native graphics have advanced so far) about whether a Native app (which will actually use webview for much of its display) is better than a Cordova app (sometimes called a "hybrid" app). For business apps there is very little noticeable difference.

The good news is that Lianja does all the heavy lifting needed to make a Lianja app (written for mobile) into a Cordova app.

Those writing "desktop" apps need to be aware of an alternative, which Lianja also supports: Electron apps. The app is delivered as an EXE (along with a lot of other files). It looks like a modern app, but runs directly on the desktop. It gets its data from the Lianja Cloud Server, just like other mobile apps. Underneath, Electron runs on node.js -- which is important because node dll's can interface to anything on the desktop machine. And, just as there are Cordova add-ins (tons of them) that provide additional functionality, there are node dlls (tons of them) that provide additional functionality.

Lianja facilitates mobile app development by allowing other-language calls to be made transparently on the backend, from the JavaScript in the UI (using exports.conf). Except for very special apps (like some stuff that Herb has developed), there is every good reason to write for mobile, and then package for what you need.

Hank

[rcahoon]

Hank,

Thank you for that information. It really helps a lot as I'm trying to gain understanding of the brand new world of app development.

Since I "have you on the line" so to speak....

My company has been asked to develop an Android app linked to our vfp product and we're proposing to use Lianja. Once the App is written, the client wants to distribute it via an internal, secure web site rather than using GooglePlay. My brief research would indicate that this can be done fairly easily by simply providing a a link to the .apk file. I've read through the process of deploying a mobile app using Lianja and the online PhoneGap build service and was not clear on the availability of the .apk file.


Thanks,

Rob C.

[HankFay]

Hi Rob,

if you use G Suite (aka Google Apps), there's an easy answer: https://support.google.com/a/answer/2494992?hl=en

Setting up your own is a bit of work, apparently. I have not done this: https://f-droid.org/wiki/page/Setup_an_FDroid_App_Repo

And then there's the private channel in the official Play Store: https://support.google.com/googlepla.../2623322?hl=en

You will get privacy without much work with the first or last options.

Hank

PS: unless you are using PhoneGap plug-ins to access device hardware, you can create an icon for the user to run the app without PhoneGap. https://developer.chrome.com/multide...lltohomescreen

You might want to file an Enhancement Request ticket for this to be added as a deploy option. <gd&r from Barry>.

[rcahoon]

Hank,

Thanks again for the valuable information.

It sounds like the private channel in the Google PLay store might be just the ticket and certainly easier than the "roll your own" approach.

Cheers,

Rob C.

[HankFay]

Hi Robb,

agreed. Note that for folks with gmail.com addresses, the GSuite approach must be used (or at least that appears to be the case). But that's easy also.

Hank