Hi, all.
I tried using the simple timer.performWithDelay, but it pauses when the device is suspended with the “blocked screen” mode. Can someone help with that? I want the app user to activate the os.date() timer through a button and I want him to have a button to turn it off as well.
I tried using the following
[lua]
local timer;
function start(e)
timer = os.date("!*t", os.time() + 60);
print(timer);
end
someObject:addEventListener(“tap”, start);
function verifyTimer()
if(timer == 60)then
os.exit();
end
end
Runtime:addEventListener(“enterFrame”, verifyTimer);
[/lua]
It seems “timer” has not a printable value…
Please, help.
Thanks.
I tried the system notifications API, but I got no success…
Hi @WilerJr,
I’m not sure I understand the intention here. You want to “force close” the app using a timer or a local notification? As described in the “os.exit()” API documentation:
“It is highly recommended that you do not call this function in a release version of your application. Calling os.exit() terminates the application process immediately, which can be interpretted by an app reviewer as a crash, causing your application to be rejected.”
So, I don’t recommend you use “os.exit” at all. This seems like it would be strange behavior from a user standpoint… like a ticking time bomb before the app terminates? Maybe I’m not understanding the overall goal here.
In regards to Local Notifications, did you reference this tutorial?
http://www.coronalabs.com/blog/2012/06/05/local-notifications-guide-ios/
Sincerely,
Brent Sorrentino
Hi, Brent, and thanks for the answer.
My overall goal is the following: I want the player to choose a certain number of minutes to define in how much time he wants the game to exit, get it?
The player is going to decide that, so I think he won’t think that’s a crash.
Hi WilerJr,
I see what you mean, but it’s not so much the user that I’m worried about (thinking it’s a crash)… it’s the marketplace “gatekeepers”. This will likely be considered an undesirable feature, and your app will be rejected.
Why not just kick the user back to a title screen or something? You can do that by simply running a timer and controlling it (pausing it, restarting it, etc.) during various system events if necessary.
Brent
That’s sad to know…
I need the game to turn off automatically to save user’s battery. What I mean is that the user may not be paying attention to the device (I hope you understand) to close the app and his device’s battery will be affected. I want the app to play its songs and count the minutes the user chooses even if the device is suspended; it’s a feature I really need inside my app. Do you understand that?
Thanks.
Ah, I see… well then, if the reviewer understands this, hopefully it will pass approval. In regards to testing the local notifications, did you follow the entire process in the URL I mentioned above? And more info here: http://docs.coronalabs.com/api/library/system/scheduleNotification.html
This should set up a local notification after a specific time (as you want) and then you can trigger the app exit using “os.exit()”. I mainly wanted to bring to you attention that a forced app exit is generally not considered “usual practice”, so it might raise flags on the approval side… but maybe not. 
I hope they understand! 
haha
Yes, Brent. I have understood the scheduleNotification API, but I need a method where my users will have choice to enable the shutdown schedule timer and, if they want, to disable the timer, do you get it?
I don’t know there’s a way to do that, but I’m trying. I’m asking for help because I don’t want to keep trying to discover a thing which has no way to be implemented, then I can focus on other features of my app.
Thanks.
Is the “system.cancelNotification( notification )” API sufficient for this need? It cancels any active notification timer. Usage of this is described in the tutorial.
I’ll try. But it seems there’s not a printable value for timer = os.date("!*t", os.time() + 60); ,right?
Hi @WilerJr,
Since you’re dealing with time, have you read the following tutorial? It should be useful to your scenario:
http://www.coronalabs.com/blog/2013/01/15/working-with-time-and-dates-in-corona/
Wow! I haven’t read that yet! I’ll take a deep look inside that. I’m almost sure that will help a lot.
Thank you, Brent.
Does system.scheduleNotification work on simulator, Brent? If yes, it’s not working here.
I tried the system notifications API, but I got no success…
Hi @WilerJr,
I’m not sure I understand the intention here. You want to “force close” the app using a timer or a local notification? As described in the “os.exit()” API documentation:
“It is highly recommended that you do not call this function in a release version of your application. Calling os.exit() terminates the application process immediately, which can be interpretted by an app reviewer as a crash, causing your application to be rejected.”
So, I don’t recommend you use “os.exit” at all. This seems like it would be strange behavior from a user standpoint… like a ticking time bomb before the app terminates? Maybe I’m not understanding the overall goal here.
In regards to Local Notifications, did you reference this tutorial?
http://www.coronalabs.com/blog/2012/06/05/local-notifications-guide-ios/
Sincerely,
Brent Sorrentino
Hi @WilerJr,
Oops, I almost forgot to respond to this. You’ll need to test “system.scheduleNotification” on a device, not the Simulator.
Take care,
Brent
Hi, Brent, and thanks for the answer.
My overall goal is the following: I want the player to choose a certain number of minutes to define in how much time he wants the game to exit, get it?
The player is going to decide that, so I think he won’t think that’s a crash.