Java/ J2ME mobile orbiter

[colinjones]

Wouldn't have a clue how to compile it! But happy to follow instructions if you need me to.

[hari]

i provided a Makefile for that. It is in the trunk. Just make sure you provide JWTK.
It spits out the .jad and the .jar.

best regards,
Hari

[hari]

The mobile orbiter is a big project. I committed to pay an Indian developer with Symbian experience to port the mobile orbiter to Symbian series 3 and after 6 months he petered out. It was too much for him.

Get another dev. Somebody with v3 SDK experience can port the symbian code in weeks not months.

The Pluto guys can give a lot of help in what is required and how it works.

As the source is available that was not needed for now.

The biggest problem is that the Orbiter is based on moving graphics across to the device. OK across a network. Lousy with bluetooth and not good over gprs.

bluetooth is pretty fast for me.

However I'm ready to support such an effort. I bought on Nokia e50 I'll never see again for this so I'm serious about my support.

What was your offer?

best regards,
Hari

[colinjones]

i provided a Makefile for that. It is in the trunk. Just make sure you provide JWTK.
It spits out the .jad and the .jar.

best regards,
Hari

Hari - OK, I suspect this is now much more hand holding than you are prepared to provide but I'll ask the questions anyway...

I haven't any idea what all this means. By "its in the trunk" I guessed that you are talking about svn.charonmedia.com, in there I found some stuff that is obviously related to what you are doing under home/hari/javamo, and has been modified in the last hour.

I can see stuff that is obviously java code, and vaguely I am aware that Makefile is the standard name for the file that kicks off a compilation of source code. So I am assuming that I am to download all these files somehow (can't work out how to do that at the moment!).

Then compile them - do I do this on my core? I'm assuming that I don't need to compile them on the Blackberry itself!?

By jad/jar - are these output files the sort of intermediate, platform independent code that the Java virtual machine(?) executes/interprets?

If I am even vaguely talking about the same thing as you, then I have to 1) work out how to download that entire folder structure, 2) put it on my core, 3) hopefully all the bits needed to compile Java are already on my system, and so just type sudo ./Makefile, 4) out the other end pops a jar and a jad? 5) one of which is the actual application (what is the other?) - jar sounds familiar, I copy that over to my Blackberry and try to run it?

If this is all too much work, then I am happy just to wait

[ddamron]

colin,

yes, yes, yes, and NO. lol

you have an understanding of what needs to be done..

to get the trunk, you need subversion, apt-get install subversion will do that for you...
BUT,
at the rate Hari's going, it'll be MUCH easier for you to simply wait...

Daniel mentioned that he has the server farms up and running pretty much.. so soon, you'll be able to simply download the file from your phone.

Actually, the file needed to download to your phone is called a MIDlet.. which is a .jad file with a wrapper.

you need to 'package' the .jad (or is it .jar, can't remember) into a .mid.

for more info, check out http://www.developer.com/java/other/article.php/3724381

HTH,

Dan

[colinjones]

colin,

yes, yes, yes, and NO. lol

you have an understanding of what needs to be done..

to get the trunk, you need subversion, apt-get install subversion will do that for you...
BUT,
at the rate Hari's going, it'll be MUCH easier for you to simply wait...

Daniel mentioned that he has the server farms up and running pretty much.. so soon, you'll be able to simply download the file from your phone.

Actually, the file needed to download to your phone is called a MIDlet.. which is a .jad file with a wrapper.

you need to 'package' the .jad (or is it .jar, can't remember) into a .mid.

for more info, check out http://www.developer.com/java/other/article.php/3724381

HTH,

Dan

Thanks Dan - I think you are right, I should just wait! I wish you hadn't mentioned how to install svn and get the trunk... I can feel the urge to "fiddle" coming on (and the foreknowledge of several complete rebuilds as a result!)

[Matthew]

hehe, it sends me a picture:

Code: [Select]

ReceiveLong: got byte: 102
ReceiveLong: got byte: 0
ReceiveLong: got byte: 0
ReceiveLong: got byte: 0
ReceiveLong: long result: 102
Get BD_CP_SHOW_IMAGE


Well if it's working, then it's good code . But since others getting it from SVN will have to maintain it, and your style is not very recognizable, then all you have to do is comment the code clearly and everything's OK. The best way is to make sure that every public method has a description of what the API arguments (passed and returned) mean, and what the result of running the funciton is, in complete sentences, preferably in javadoc format. Then others can clean it up later, or just fix bugs without worrying too much about style.

Thanks for doing this. Getting a BT Orbiter at the rate you're going is very exciting.

[hari]

... and your style is not very recognizable ...

Again, give hard facts like "it would be better if you do that this way..". Just telling me it's wrong but not what's wrong does not help.
What do you think is wrong with the style? The bracing or indenting?

then all you have to do is comment the code clearly and everything's OK.

you are telling me the obvious. So I wanted to know if there is some big java midp nono I'm doing. Therefore I asked for somebody with j2me experience to fly over the code.
It's not like that mocking about my coding style, without hints to improve, does help this go any further.

And yes, of course this code will get documentation.

Hari

[ddamron]

THIS MESSAGE IS NOT FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE STANDPOINT.

Instead of stating the obvious, I dug in and helped hari with the api..

I'm no java programmer, but I can read it.. and I have had some experience with J2ME. 

Hari, don't worry about 'commenting' your code for now, YOU know what it does, hell, I looked at it for 1/2 hour, and I know what it does..

it's NOT rocket science here, it's simple class structures,

I wish people would stop b*tching about 'how' it's SUPPOSED to be done, 'preferably in this or that format', 'not very recognizeable' and get their HANDS DIRTY.

Code doesn't just MAGICALLY apear, SOMEONE has to make an attempt at it.

IF the code needs to be changed, THEN it will be changed.  You can't CHANGE something that does not exist!

If this sounds like I'm going off a bit, well, yes, I am.

I 'm pissed about the lack of RESPECT from certain users here.  Intended, or otherwise.

If your not going to submit you OWN code for scrutiny, I think you have NO BASIS to say 'how' things should be done.

You want it 'more readable'?  DO IT.  Till then, PRAISE those of us who ARE contributing.  If you want praise, CONTRIBUTE.

I'm not talking about spending $30.00 on a license, ANYONE can do that. 

I haven't seen you (yes you) in the IRC channel AT ALL.

There.  It's said.

Hari, keep a stiff upper lip, I know it's hard sometimes.

Dan

[ddamron]

...and here it comes...

[ddamron]

whoa, he fell off the end of the list, that must mean he's got lots to type.
...heads up...

[Matthew]

THIS MESSAGE IS NOT FROM AN ADMINISTRATIVE STANDPOINT.

Instead of stating the obvious, I dug in and helped hari with the api..

I'm no java programmer, but I can read it.. and I have had some experience with J2ME. 

Hari, don't worry about 'commenting' your code for now, YOU know what it does, hell, I looked at it for 1/2 hour, and I know what it does..

it's NOT rocket science here, it's simple class structures,

I wish people would stop b*tching about 'how' it's SUPPOSED to be done, 'preferably in this or that format', 'not very recognizeable' and get their HANDS DIRTY.

Code doesn't just MAGICALLY apear, SOMEONE has to make an attempt at it.

IF the code needs to be changed, THEN it will be changed.  You can't CHANGE something that does not exist!

If this sounds like I'm going off a bit, well, yes, I am.

I 'm pissed about the lack of RESPECT from certain users here.  Intended, or otherwise.

If your not going to submit you OWN code for scrutiny, I think you have NO BASIS to say 'how' things should be done.

You want it 'more readable'?  DO IT.  Till then, PRAISE those of us who ARE contributing.  If you want praise, CONTRIBUTE.

I'm not talking about spending $30.00 on a license, ANYONE can do that. 

I haven't seen you (yes you) in the IRC channel AT ALL.

There.  It's said.

Hari, keep a stiff upper lip, I know it's hard sometimes.

I'm going to ignore your endless hypocritical tirades that you sometimes seem to think have gone too far, but then you do again.

But I do like your contributions to the code. Keep it up.

[Matthew]

... and your style is not very recognizable ...

Again, give hard facts like "it would be better if you do that this way..". Just telling me it's wrong but not what's wrong does not help.
What do you think is wrong with the style? The bracing or indenting?

I was referring mostly to the naming and the way the functions are organized. But I didn't want to nitpick, I wanted to help with whatever your actual problem was in getting the code to do what you wanted it to do - you didn't say what was wrong with it when you asked for help. So I asked that basic question. Then you reported it was working, so I just congratulated you and offered some other advice you seemed you might not know, since you said you're not a java programmer, and your code didn't reflect that you already were following that advice. Sorry I offered to help.

then all you have to do is comment the code clearly and everything's OK.

you are telling me the obvious. So I wanted to know if there is some big java midp nono I'm doing. Therefore I asked for somebody with j2me experience to fly over the code.
It's not like that mocking about my coding style, without hints to improve, does help this go any further.

And yes, of course this code will get documentation.
[/quote]

I didn't mock you. I briefly mentioned that your code did have some problems, confirming what you'd mentioned about its limited quality, then I asked the real question needed to help, then saw you say actually had better code (because it worked, which wasn't clear from what you first said), and congratulated you. Then I offered some advice which, though you say it's "obvious", you didn't apply in that code. So it wasn't obvious to me.

FWIW, I'm far from the only one remarking that the attitude towards people in this community doing anything other than writing code has become hostile. And this will be far from the first time that I'll mention that the people with the knowledge of how to even get a development platform and techniques to use it haven't helped, even when asked, enough to get more people writing that code that could possibly avoid that kind of hostility.

It's an impossible situation that perpetuates itself by alienating people who want to help, encouraging hostility and selfishness in return. But I'm not going to take the bait and just fight or flight. I just hope that the "0710" release and its promised opening of the developer community comes soon enough that this community's enthusiasm isn't exhausted in petty infighting.

[hari]

I didn't mock you. I briefly mentioned that your code did have some problems, confirming what you'd mentioned about its limited quality, then I asked the real question needed to help, then saw you say actually had better code (because it worked, which wasn't clear from what you first said), and congratulated you. Then I offered some advice which, though you say it's "obvious", you didn't apply in that code. So it wasn't obvious to me.

Danielk gave me concrete hints on how to improve readability (there is a Java Code Convention) without challenging that this code will get documentation.

FWIW, I'm far from the only one remarking that the attitude towards people in this community doing anything other than writing code has become hostile.

This statement simply shows how you disdain the help and explanations you received (e.g. for building the source, navigation, whatever). But hey, it's easier to be in a snit than to participate (and no, I don't talk about coding now).

Hari

[colinjones]

Matthew

The one and only time I will weigh into these flame-wars, as I think in the medium of electronic communications, it is generally futile.

I have almost infinite respect for what both Hari and Dan have achieved, their vision, drive, skill and experience (among many others on these forums, but these are standouts).

Similarly, I respect your intents, desire to move LMCE forward and good will.

Nevertheless - with my comments about communications in an electronic medium in mind - on several occasions I have had cause to be concerned about the tone in your postings. I have no doubt that they were written with no "edge" intended, nor a desire to cause bristling among the community. I'm sure they were meant as direct and constructive criticism. At the same time, they sometimes come across as "high handed", and pronouncements from "up on high".

It distresses me enormously that the community is expending valuable energy and negative emotion on these unproductive exchanges, even though I can see the cause in the hurt on all sides. Everyone here wants to see LMCE soar to its rightful place, and are doing what they are capable of to help achieve this.

Can I, respectfully, ask for you to consider this? I realise that you are simply expressing yourself as clearly as you can. Generally, from my perspective, there are only a few words/phrases in these posts that "get under the skin" and spoil an otherwise valuable contribution. It is often difficult to fully interpret how the written word will be read not matter how it was intended when written.

No different from how the scourge email is to communication (and I know, historically I was a MS Exchange Server engineer!), so can forums - please re-read your posts before hitting post with a mind to how someone else may read it, not knowing your intent or emphasis. Detail here would be unhelpful - however, please PM me if I can provide examples, and how I "felt" when I read them, even though they were not directed towards me.

Hopeful that this will be taken how it is intended,
Colin