Free Community Support (a little bit angry)

Solar2D Native builds
#1

Today I feel angry  :angry: 

-1- I lost almost one week to have my native plugin working on the iOS and Android Simulator. At this time I did not have a real support from Coronalabs and I had hard time to understand if it was a Corona failure or mine.

I fight with this stupid problem until I understood that Coronalabs does not provide the x86 libraries in their official “Download Server”. I sent a post :

https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/75685-native-plugin-macos-support/#entry399169

so that no-one else will loose their time with this stupid problem.

One week later, the Corona software provided is still missing those libraries. Adding those libs is something like one hour work for Coronalabs. What is the benefit of a small company like Coronalabs if their responsiveness  is worst than a very large company like Google ? If Corona were maintained by a free community I would have just uploaded those libraries myself. I am OK to spend much time on stupid things if it can globally improve a free software. But I am doubtful that my work is really useful for Corona and that I do not bother Coronalabs with my too many posts.

-2- More important, I asked a question about the Hot-Reload (Live Updates). This feature is so great, that I cannot live further without it. But this feature does not work with my Native plugin. And more, I prefer not to use the Corona Simulator because of freedom issue (the Corona Simulator does obscure things on Coronalabs Server to build the apps).

https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/75714-hot-reload-lua/

This is juste 2 minutes to answer my post and tell us where are the client-side sources of the Corona Server App so that I can include this feature in my own builds.

-3- When I started working on Corona, several weeks ago, I had many problems when trying to generate an App who uses a Native plugin. At this time I was too new on Corona to be able to understand what was MY issues and what was CORONA issues. I had almost no help from Corona to help me understand what I could do, and what was Corona intrinsic flaws.

I reported this, in a previous post without any response from Coronalabs :

  • My APP runs correctly with its Native Plugin, under the Corona Simulator. :-)  :slight_smile:
  • My App  cannot be built by the Corona Simulator for iOS (both real device and iOS Simulator) because my plugin is not found : ‘Run time error : module MiCorazon.lu does not exist in archive …etc…’ 
  • My App cannot be built by the Corona Simulator for the Android Simulator, because of x86 libraries are missing : ‘INSTALL_FAILED_NO_MATCHING_ABIS’ 
  • My App cannot be built for an Android real device because my plugin is not found (same as for iOS). 

I really need an answer for those problems. Actually the Live-Reload feature does not work without this infamous building on Coronalabs server, and the Builds done by this server does not work at all :-( 

To go further with Corona I need to have solid/hard foundations. Building a correct development platform is something long and painful with such a complex software as Corona is, but necessary. This is almost done. Now I can develop my plugin for Android, for iOS and for MacOS. [I will look to Windows and Linux later]. But I cannot continue if the Live Updates are not possible. I do not have time, energy and enough knowledge to redo something that Coronalabs already did.

@Rob Miracle : do you think that Coronalabs can improve its relationship with the free community ? I am sure you can.

Note : I sent a new post about Corona Shell today :

https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/75719-corona-shell/

There is no urgency, but I will appreciate to have an answer from Coronalabs on this point

Note2 : I started another thread (I know, too many threads :frowning: ) for Apple refusing my App on their App Store. Actually the SDK used by Corona Simulator to build the App has not a correct version.

https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/75713-apple-app-store-infoplist-require-camera-and-microphone-features/#entry399236

I will be glad to have an answer for this point.

Sorry for this post. I am just a little angry. But Corona is a really great product. Really :slight_smile:

#2

A remark I can make : it is possible that the builts done by the Corona Simulator works perfectly when using the simulator itself because I put the MyPlugin.dylib in a good location, (where the Corona Simulator cand find it), but I do not put the MyPlugin.so and MyPlugin.a into a good place for the Simulator.

I am going to investigate this, now …

#3

Hey @larpoux,

For the last six months at least, Corona’s team has been hard at work on reworking the entire Android build system to meet with Google Play’s 64-bit requirement. As the deadline looms ever closer, Corona’s team is pretty much just focusing on getting that done in time. If you’ve followed other forum posts, Rob has been quite adamant on pointing out that this is the priority and everything else will have to wait until it’s done.

So, I wouldn’t expect any extra features or fixes to be done until the build system issue is dealt with.

#4

Sorry you’re frustrated, but I hope you understand that invested (and sometimes less that optimally spent) time and effort are part of the gig. 

If you’re doing plugin coding I would expect this means you know some other languages (C, C++, other?).  I’m sure you didn’t learn those in a few weeks.  If you learned them in school, then there was an entire system paid for and set up to help you.  If you learned them on your own, you still had the benefit of many free resources on the web.  Corona doesn’t have that.  There are many resources aside from the CoronaLabs based ones, but no where near as many as you’d find for say… C++.  Many more people use C++ than Corona so there is a demand for docs, help support sites, etc.

Please also understand.  Corona is a pretty small company now and they are dealing with rather hefty work, like the ongoing Android 64-bit stuff.

Finally, I read your posts and chose not to respond because I wasn’t 100$% clear about what you were asking and I hoped someone else would better grok the questions.  Sorry for that.  I’ll go peruse them again and see if there is something I can add.

PS - In case it wasn’t clear.  I know Corona is not a language, I was drawing a corollary  between number of Corona users and number of XYX users where XYZ was C++ for the example.

PPS - Some resources you may find useful in the future:

#5

Hi everybody. Many people working on Sunday !

Yes, I really appreciate Corona, and everything is OK.

I understand that Coronalabs is a small company, having to maintain a very big and great software.

Probably the Free community can help. Me for example, in a few weeks :wink:

Everybody has different priorities. My priority, for example, is the building process done by the Corona Simulator.

If I where the boss  :smiley: i would say : “Stop everything you are doing and work on this major flaw. I want a correct building process done without any Corona Server help, in less than one month”.

Hopefully I am not a boss and will never be one .

I understand that my questions was not always understandable. This is always like this when we start a new domain. Asking the good question means that you have already solved your problem half. And my english is not very good, too. Unfortunately.

#6

As someone who follows these forums closely, I had taken one of @vlads responses to you to mean exactly that, i.e.

“Fair enough. This system was put in place at time when setting up all the pieces was very complicated on the desktop. Server builds were put in for convenience. I’m working currently on putting together system which will build Android apps on dev’s machine, not on server”
vlads (source: https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/75442-androidbuild-appsh/)

So, please correct me if I am wrong, but the current task of reworking Corona’s Android build system would in fact result in the simulator builds (for Android) being carried out locally instead of on Corona’s build servers. I have no idea as to if this is the case already (or would be the case at some point) for iOS also. I think that the desktop builds are carried out locally already. Can someone confirm this or correct me?

#7

I apologize. Yes I noticed this important post from @vlads, but I had not realized that his actual work on Gradle was tied with the Corona Simulator. I am stupid sometimes

#8

A remark I can make : it is possible that the builts done by the Corona Simulator works perfectly when using the simulator itself because I put the MyPlugin.dylib in a good location, (where the Corona Simulator cand find it), but I do not put the MyPlugin.so and MyPlugin.a into a good place for the Simulator.

I am going to investigate this, now …

#9

Hey @larpoux,

For the last six months at least, Corona’s team has been hard at work on reworking the entire Android build system to meet with Google Play’s 64-bit requirement. As the deadline looms ever closer, Corona’s team is pretty much just focusing on getting that done in time. If you’ve followed other forum posts, Rob has been quite adamant on pointing out that this is the priority and everything else will have to wait until it’s done.

So, I wouldn’t expect any extra features or fixes to be done until the build system issue is dealt with.

#10

Sorry you’re frustrated, but I hope you understand that invested (and sometimes less that optimally spent) time and effort are part of the gig. 

If you’re doing plugin coding I would expect this means you know some other languages (C, C++, other?).  I’m sure you didn’t learn those in a few weeks.  If you learned them in school, then there was an entire system paid for and set up to help you.  If you learned them on your own, you still had the benefit of many free resources on the web.  Corona doesn’t have that.  There are many resources aside from the CoronaLabs based ones, but no where near as many as you’d find for say… C++.  Many more people use C++ than Corona so there is a demand for docs, help support sites, etc.

Please also understand.  Corona is a pretty small company now and they are dealing with rather hefty work, like the ongoing Android 64-bit stuff.

Finally, I read your posts and chose not to respond because I wasn’t 100$% clear about what you were asking and I hoped someone else would better grok the questions.  Sorry for that.  I’ll go peruse them again and see if there is something I can add.

PS - In case it wasn’t clear.  I know Corona is not a language, I was drawing a corollary  between number of Corona users and number of XYX users where XYZ was C++ for the example.

PPS - Some resources you may find useful in the future:

#11

Hi everybody. Many people working on Sunday !

Yes, I really appreciate Corona, and everything is OK.

I understand that Coronalabs is a small company, having to maintain a very big and great software.

Probably the Free community can help. Me for example, in a few weeks :wink:

Everybody has different priorities. My priority, for example, is the building process done by the Corona Simulator.

If I where the boss  :smiley: i would say : “Stop everything you are doing and work on this major flaw. I want a correct building process done without any Corona Server help, in less than one month”.

Hopefully I am not a boss and will never be one .

I understand that my questions was not always understandable. This is always like this when we start a new domain. Asking the good question means that you have already solved your problem half. And my english is not very good, too. Unfortunately.

#12

As someone who follows these forums closely, I had taken one of @vlads responses to you to mean exactly that, i.e.

“Fair enough. This system was put in place at time when setting up all the pieces was very complicated on the desktop. Server builds were put in for convenience. I’m working currently on putting together system which will build Android apps on dev’s machine, not on server”
vlads (source: https://forums.coronalabs.com/topic/75442-androidbuild-appsh/)

So, please correct me if I am wrong, but the current task of reworking Corona’s Android build system would in fact result in the simulator builds (for Android) being carried out locally instead of on Corona’s build servers. I have no idea as to if this is the case already (or would be the case at some point) for iOS also. I think that the desktop builds are carried out locally already. Can someone confirm this or correct me?

#13

I apologize. Yes I noticed this important post from @vlads, but I had not realized that his actual work on Gradle was tied with the Corona Simulator. I am stupid sometimes