Problem with builds, so long and thanks for all the fish...

[Dan_K_]

I had a terrible time in the last couple of weeks with XDK builds. The builds (iOS and Android) complete OK, but when I put them on the devices, they behave differently. In particular, the camera and recording work differently, actually, they don't work at all. On iOS I can take a picture and display it's thumbnail, but when I display the photo from the thumbnail, the main picture displays, but I don't get an "exit" or "done" button to return to the app. On Android, the thumbnails won't display at all. Same type of issues with recording, it would work in one instance and not on another. Frustrating.

I started to wonder if it was time to give up on PhoneGap/Cordova and move to native development. Then I thought, "hey, I'm not using PhoneGap/Cordova, I'm using Intel's XDK". So I downloaded PhoneGap Developer to my Mac, created an app, copied by WWW file from the XDK version and it worked in PhoneGap's test app (same thing as App Preview from Intel) on my iPhone. 

Next, I thought I'd try PhoneGap's Build service (free). I zipped up my WWW, uploaded to PhoneGap Build. The builds completed fine. I downloaded the IPA and APK. Upload the IPA to Apple's TestFlight -- it WORKED perfectly; then I loaded the APK on my Android phone, same thing - it WORKED!

I've learned a lot working with the XDK over the last year, but can't spend any more time chasing XDK issues instead of working on my app. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Regards,

-dk

[Rob_H_1]

Being a very new user here, you just broke my heart. I've been there many times during the last few decades and seem to be caught in the same circle with several platforms currently. It's recently been termed Javascript Fatigue and I'm fearing it's terminal.

[Dan_K_]

Rob,

I didn't mean to discourage anyone. I'm sure the XDK fits some people's needs, just not mine. I tried, believe me, to like this product and inconsistent build results is just the last straw. In the beginning, the App Designer nearly drove me crazy; after months of issues, I finally gave up and went to a straight develop mode.

When you're in a straight develop mode, I don't see any benefits from the XDK. Here's what I use:

I use Atom as my editor (Brackets or Sublime work too), PhoneGap Desktop as my project manager, and PhoneGap mobile as my testing environment (available on both iOS and Android). When I select a project with PhoneGap Desktop, it starts a service which runs my app, then, on my phone, I fire up PhoneGap and enter the IP address that PhoneGap Desktop gave me, and I have my app running on my phone. Very nice, but it gets better. If I make a change to my project with the editor, the app is updated on my phone automatically. 

Don't give up on PhoneGap/Javascript. Give it a try outside of XDK.

Good luck.

Regards,

-dk

[SithLord · Accepted solution]

Rob H. wrote:

Being a very new user here, you just broke my heart. I've been there many times during the last few decades and seem to be caught in the same circle with several platforms currently. It's recently been termed Javascript Fatigue and I'm fearing it's terminal.

If you are the kind of developer that just jumps into File->New Project without reading the docs then you will have a terrible time for a long time.
Everything is easy if you know how.

[PaulF_IntelCorp]

Dan, thanks for the feedback. We're working hard to smooth out many of the bumps associated with Cordova apps. Glad you found a way to keep developing your app.