Development Environment

Eden Mobile is built on the ​Apache Cordova platform (sometimes known as Adobe PhoneGap).

1. Cordova runs on NodeJS. If your OS distribution does not provide a NodeJS bundle, you can get one from here:

• ​https://nodejs.org/en/download

2. Use the NodeJS package manager npm to install Cordova:

npm install -g cordova 

See also: ​https://cordova.apache.org/#getstarted

3. If you want to build and test EdenMobile, you also need
   • Java JDK
   • an SDK for the target platform, e.g.: ​Android SDK
     • NB Android Tools 25.3.1+ are NOT compatible with Cordova-Android 5.1.1 (see ​https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CB-12554) so need to downgrade to ​25.2.5
     • Configure as per ​https://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/latest/guide/platforms/android
     • Ensure the SDK tools are in your PATH, e.g. for Windows 10:
       • %USERPROFILE%\AppData\local\android\sdk\platform-tools
       • %USERPROFILE%\AppData\local\android\sdk\tools
     • Ensure that ANDROID_HOME environment variable is set, e.g. for Windows 10:
       • %USERPROFILE%\AppData\local\android\sdk

4. You can fork/clone EdenMobile from here:

• ​https://github.com/sahana/eden_mobile

5. Run the application

• You canot run in the 'browser' platform as it doesn't support the local database
• It is easier to run on a real device than the emulator
• to run on a real device, you need to enable 'Developer Options' by tapping 7 times on the 'Build Number' in the About section (​http://www.greenbot.com/article/2457986/how-to-enable-developer-options-on-your-android-phone-or-tablet.html) and then open the new Developer Options panel & enable USB Debugging
  • see also: Remote-Debugging on Android Device
• to run on emulator you need to create an avd: android avd

  cd eden_mobile
  npm install q-io
  cordova platform add android
  adb uninstall org.sahanafoundation.eden_mobile # Shouldn't be required but can be for some systems
  cordova run android # Builds apk & adb install platforms\android\build\outputs\apk\android-debug.apk
  

6. Accessing your developer PC's version of Sahana Eden.

Uisng Chrome Tools' Port Forwarding, you can redirect e.g. localhost:8000 on the Android device to localhost:8000 on your Developer PC when connected via USB. This allows you to use that in your Sync Settings.

​https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools/remote-debugging/local-server

7. ​jshint is a tool recommended to ensure Code Quality:

npm install -g jshint

8. Build for Release
   • Modify the Manifest to be able to use the app on older devices (v4.4): platforms/android/AndroidManifest.xml

     <uses-sdk android:minSdkVersion="19" android:targetSdkVersion="19" />
     

   • Configure the default server, if-required: www/config/settings.js

     'url': {
             type: 'url',
             defaultValue: 'http://my.server.org/eden',
             writable: false,
     

   • @ToDo: Branding
   • create the non-debug APK

     cd eden_mobile
     cordova build --release android
     

   • File available as: platforms/android/build/outputs/apk/android-release-unsigned.apk
   • Sign the app:
     • ​https://developer.android.com/studio/publish/app-signing.html
     • ​https://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/latest/guide/platforms/android/

       # Generate Private Key (just once, outside the eden_mobile folder)
       # keytool comes with your JRE, so may need to ensure it's bin directory is in your PATH
       keytool -genkey -v -keystore my-release-key.jks -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000 -alias my-alias
       # Optimise (zipalign comes with Android SDK build-tools, so may need to ensure it's in your PATH, e.g. %USERPROFILE%\AppData\local\android\sdk\build-tools\25.0.2)
       zipalign -v -p 4 android-release-unsigned.apk android-release-unsigned-aligned.apk
       # Sign (apksigner comes with Android SDK build-tools too)
       apksigner sign --ks my-release-key.jks --out android-release.apk android-release-unsigned-aligned.apk