Author: George Henne

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Using Pushwoosh to do Notifications

The Pushwoosh API lets you send notifications from your computer to your app running on the device. While your app is running, if a notification is received, a function in your app will be called with the contents of the notification. It can then take whatever action needed based on the incoming data.

Notifications are a way to send and receive messages from your device. They have the ability to be broadcast to large numbers of devices. For Android, Google Cloud Messaging is used. For iOS, it uses the Apple Push Notification Service.
Continue reading “Using Pushwoosh to do Notifications”

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AppStudio 4.1.3 released!

AppStudio 4.1.3 has been released. It includes a number of updates and bug fixes.

A new feature is support for Notifications using Pushwoosh. Check out the Tech Note here:
http://wiki.nsbasic.com/Using_the_PhoneGap_API:_Pushwoosh

  1. Code Window: False negative syntax error on Style keyword fixed.
  2. Controls: Audio and Video now have file pickers.
  3. Controls: jQM Checkbox now ignores FastClick.
  4. Deploy: Now uses FastClick 1.0.2.
  5. Deploy: Prefix on apps deployed to nsbapp.com changed.
  6. Deploy: Signing certificate updated.
  7. IDE: Updated to Python 2.7.7
  8. Runtime: Order of hiddenfiles and extraheaders reversed.
  9. Samples: New Pushwoosh sample shows how to use notifications
  10. Translator: Improvements to Mod operator.
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AppStudio Contest extended!

We had a few developers ask for more time to perfect their apps. No problem, we said: the deadline has been extended by two weeks, till Jun 23, 2014.

If you have already submitted your app, feel free to use the extra time to make it even better and resubmit.

Full details on this year’s contest are here.

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AppStudio 4.1.2 released!

AppStudio 4.1.2 has been released. The major change is that deploy can now by done by both FTP and SFTP: there is a new setting in Preferences.

SFTP is a new protocol than FTP and has improved security. You’ll notice it also uploads your project more quickly. It is now used when you deploy to nsbapp.com by default.

  1. About: Now shows license type.
  2. Controls: CheckBox and RadioButton no longer display over other controls.
  3. Deploy: iOS splash screens for all screen sizes supported.
  4. Deploy: Port number can now be specified in Preferences.
  5. Deploy: SFTP now supported
  6. Runtime: Message shows if Cookies are disabled.
  7. Runtime: Message shows if JavaScript disabled.
  8. Samples: New splash sample shows how to do different iOS spash screen sizes.
  9. Translator: ChangeForm(EvaluationForm) fixed.
  10. Translator: Fixes to Mod operator.
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Remote Debugging on Android and iOS

By now, most of you have figured out how to use the Chrome or Safari Debugger to look at your app while it is running. (If not, read this!) But did you know you can also debug your app when it is running on a device?

Debugging an Android device on Windows

You will need Chrome 32 or later on both the device and the desktop. Your device needs to be connected by its USB cable.

Follow the instructions here. You will probably need to install the USB driver for your device. Once it is installed, type about:inspect into Chrome’s url bar and you will connect. The debugger will work just like the Chrome Desktop Debugger.

PhoneGap apps work too!

Debugging an Android device on Mac OS

Just like on Windows, except there are no drivers to install.

Debugging an iOS device on Mac OS

Connect your iOS device to your Mac using a USB cable. In Safari, go into the Advanced screen in Preferences. Turn on “Show Develop menu in menu bar”.

Then, from the Develop menu, choose your device and the app you want to debug.

More information is here.

Debugging an iOS device on Windows

Use the NSBApp Debugger.

Start it using the “NSBApp Debugger” in the Run menu. It will then recognize your app in these cases:

1. It is running in a desktop browser, after having been loaded from nsbapp.com.

2. It is running on a device as a web app, after having been loaded from nsbapp.com.

3. It is running on a device as a PhoneGap App. The project property “NSBApp Debugger” must be set to True.

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AppStudio 4.1.1 released!

AppStudio 4.1.1 has been released. It has a number of fixes:

  1. Code Window: Fix problem with Style/Style End
  2. Controls: HeaderBar icons can be set to ‘none’.
  3. Controls: PictureBox’s hidden property set on start.
  4. Controls: RadialGauge style property works now.
  5. Deploy: Mime types fixed so IE can run localServer.
  6. Deploy: Put files into the correct place in OfflineApp.manifest
  7. Deploy: Sound files are now give the correct name on deploy.
  8. Design Screen: Japanese characters were crashing app.
  9. Documentation: Local and Wiki files updated.
  10. IDE: External files are read in as unicode.
  11. IDE: Problem starting first time on a Mac fixed.
  12. IDE: Unicode problem on AppStudio startup
  13. Project Explorer: Drag and drop an image fixed.
  14. Samples: Update Ajax sample to work with PhoneGap Build.
  15. Translation: All language files updated.
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AppStudio 4.1 Released!

AppStudio 4.1 has just been released. It has two important changes:

  1. PhoneGap’s new authorization scheme is now supported. If you are using the default account, you do not need do anything other than install the new release. After May 15th, releases before 4.1 may not work. If you have your own PhoneGap account, read this:
    http://wiki.nsbasic.com/PhoneGap_AuthToken

  2. “Run in Desktop Browser” now uses localhost. Certain features only work when the app is actually deployed. AppStudio now sets up a localhost so these features work even when running on your local machine. There should be no change to your work flow. Everything should work as before, except you no longer need to deploy to nsbapp or to your own server.

AppStudio 4.1 is free for all existing AppStudio 4 users. If you have an older version, you can order it from our order page.