Author Topic: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta  (Read 5515 times)

The Grand Poohbah

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WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« on: February 16, 2018, 06:41:14 PM »
What's New in WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216)

- Provide better status information when getting data from the WeatherCat 3 server.
- Improve the likelihood of success when doing a connection re-try.
- Restore the last-seen screen even when app is killed in the background (It had always defaulted to the Settings screen. Thanks to staze for catching this one.)
- Did some behind the scenes preparation for localization.

Do an update install. A clean install is not required.

What To Test

Are all the RCP commands, tags, and codes supported? Report any that are in the WeatherCat 3 release notes and not in WeatherCatRCP for iOS. (Hint: There is at least one known unsupported command.)

Try This Release

To try this release, do the following steps:
1. Install WeatherCat 3 on your computer.
2. Send the following information to grand@poohbah.com
- Your first and last name
- Your username on this Forum
- The email address associated with your iPhone
- The model of your iPhone (SE, 5, 6, 6s, 6+, etc.)
3. Download TestFlight from the Apple App Store and install it on your iPhone.
You will receive a notification from TestFlight when the WeatherCatRCP Beta build is available.
The first notification may several days to arrive. Later notifications will occur immediately after each Beta release.
Each release notification will give the Forum Topic to be used for comments on the release. Please use that Topic for your comments of that release.

More information about the WeatherCatRCP Beta can be found at http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=2690.0

Please use this thread for your feedback and comments.

Blicj11

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2018, 08:23:49 PM »
Grand:

I have installed this iOS RCP beta through Test Flight on my 8+ and on my Series 2 Watch. Working great so far. I can confirm the last screen seen function works as advertised, and it is a nice improvement over defaulting to Settings.

 Thanks for the update.
Blick


PaSun

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #2 on: February 17, 2018, 02:58:49 AM »
Hello Grand,

I have the same results a Blick... no issues at all  ThU32:-)
Using iPhone X running 11.2.5 and Watch (0) running 4.2.2.

Nice!
Paul

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Fine on an iPhone 6 (Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta)
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2018, 10:36:39 PM »
Dear Grand, Blick, Paul, and WeatherCat iOS users,

Sorry, really slammed for time these days.  This was my first chance to install the upgrade.  The only issue is that it took forever to download from Apple.  I made a quick tour of the application and everything looks in good order on my iPhone 6.

Thanks Grand for a really neat app!!  [tup]

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

Blicj11

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #4 on: February 19, 2018, 07:54:30 AM »
Grand:

I have 2 questions.

1. In the System Data screen, it is displaying Comms Status as 1, but I have a Tag in one of my reports, COMMSFAILFLAG$, that is displaying 0. I thought these two things were the same, but apparently they are not. Can you please explain the difference?

2. When I tried to load my Classic screen, it showed no information, but just under the Screen Title where it normally says "Checking" it displayed the word "Status." The rest of the screen was blank. I waited for 60 seconds and the screen appeared to be locked up. I couldn't tap out of it so I killed the app and reopened it. This time the Classic screen displayed the word, "Locked" and the rest of the screen was blank. However, I could tap out out of the screen, so I went to channels to make sure I was still connected. When I returned to Classic, it froze again whilst displaying "Checking." I had to kill the app again. I can connect to Classic just fine on Local, but it freezes if I am connected to my IP address on the Internet setting. I reproduced this whole scenario twice. Any advice?

Thanks.
Blick


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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #5 on: February 19, 2018, 06:09:29 PM »
All good here! =)
"You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?"

The Grand Poohbah

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2018, 06:29:25 PM »
Grand:

I have 2 questions.

1. In the System Data screen, it is displaying Comms Status as 1, but I have a Tag in one of my reports, COMMSFAILFLAG$, that is displaying 0. I thought these two things were the same, but apparently they are not. Can you please explain the difference?

2. When I tried to load my Classic screen, it showed no information, but just under the Screen Title where it normally says "Checking" it displayed the word "Status." The rest of the screen was blank. I waited for 60 seconds and the screen appeared to be locked up. I couldn't tap out of it so I killed the app and reopened it. This time the Classic screen displayed the word, "Locked" and the rest of the screen was blank. However, I could tap out out of the screen, so I went to channels to make sure I was still connected. When I returned to Classic, it froze again whilst displaying "Checking." I had to kill the app again. I can connect to Classic just fine on Local, but it freezes if I am connected to my IP address on the Internet setting. I reproduced this whole scenario twice. Any advice?

Thanks.

1. I can only guess about this one since the System Data is displayed exactly as it is received from the server. My guess is that System Data Comm Status is a positive indicator such that "1" means that the status is good. Whereas, and I'm still guessing here, the COMMSFAILFLAG$ is a different indicator that is "!" when there is a failure.

2. The "Status" is displayed as the screen is initialized and then it switches to "Checking", then "Searching...". I tried to reproduce the problem as you described it, but even when I switch between several servers, local and Internet, it works fine. Send me the IP address of the server that you were using. Try accessing the server(s) with the classic WeatherCat app and see what happens.

Blicj11

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #7 on: February 19, 2018, 09:25:22 PM »
I PM'd you the IP address.
Blick


The Grand Poohbah

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #8 on: February 20, 2018, 12:27:46 AM »
I PM'd you the IP address.

Same thing happened to me when I used your IP address, the Classic screen freezes while "Checking". I restarted WeatherCatRCP after killing it in the background. Classic was "Locked", but all the other operations were fine.

But, if I waited on the Classic screen while it was "Checking", it eventually completed the initial connection in 3 minutes. Normal initial connection time is 5-10 seconds. Once the Classic screen connects, it refreshes as it should (quickly).

The Classic screen makes an initial connection with other IP addresses in 5-10 seconds.

Why your server is so blessed with a long initial connection time for the Classic screen is a mystery. Did this happen before Beta 2 (aka Build 2200)?

Blicj11

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #9 on: February 20, 2018, 12:56:45 AM »
Thanks for the reply.

I can confirm what you reported (eventually connects after 3 minutes). It works fine after it connects, for a while. I don't know how long a while is, but overnight seems to be long enough for it to lock up again, as described.

This did not happen ever prior to this build, but I can reproduce it with this build.
Blick


The Grand Poohbah

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #10 on: February 20, 2018, 06:24:33 PM »
Quote
This did not happen ever prior to this build, but I can reproduce it with this build.

I checked the release dates and they don't overlap enough to infer that the problem is in build 2200. Unless you have access to a prior build and can test it with that, we'll just have to wait and see if it happens to anyone else.

I did verify that the same delay happens with the classic WeatherCat app. This app hasn't changed, so it's definitely something happening at the server side. The Classic access uses different ports (49250-49254). Is it possible that your router is causing the delay?

Blicj11

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #11 on: February 20, 2018, 06:46:13 PM »
Thanks for testing Classic. It is possible that the delay is caused by my router, but no settings have changed. I am still reserving the ports (49250-49254) for Classic and 49250 for RCP, but this has not changed since I started testing RCP back on the first development build. The RCP screens are so much more informative and rich in detail than Classic. The only reason I have heartburn is when Classic is locked up on the iPhone, it will also not display on my Watch. I have to have Classic functioning on the phone to get it on the Watch so it is a hassle to keep going through the steps to get it to connect on the phone just so I can see it for a few hours on my watch, then the cycle repeats.
Blick


The Grand Poohbah

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #12 on: February 21, 2018, 09:19:19 PM »
Quote
ports (49250-49254) for Classic and 49250 for RCP

Is that "49250 for RCP" a typo? It should be 49255 for RCP.

The Grand Poohbah

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #13 on: February 21, 2018, 09:31:25 PM »
Quote
I have to have Classic functioning on the phone to get it on the Watch

This should not be the case with WeatherCatRCP. You should not have to open the Classic screen in WeatherCatRCP on the iPhone to access weather data on your Apple Watch. WeatherCatRCP sets it up for you. The very first time you use WeatherCatRCP, the Settings screen is shown. It is at this point that WeatherCatRCP starts up the Classic code in the background to communicate with an Apple Watch.

The Classic app, WeatherCat for the iPhone, does require the Classic screen to show at least once for it to connect to the Apple Watch. Once this initial connection is made, you should be able to access weather data on your Apple Watch even when the Classic app is not open on your iPhone.

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Re: WeatherCatRCP 1.0 (180216) for iOS Beta
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2018, 09:28:46 PM »
Sorry for the typo, yes I meant to type 49255.

Thanks for explanation of Classic vs RCP w/ regards to the watch.

I guess the watch screen being blank in the RCP app after it tries to connect might be caused by the same issue that is responsible for the 3-minute connection delay on the iPhone. When I try to pull up RCP on the watch, I get the icon that shows me it is trying to connect, followed by a blank screen. Tapping on the blank watch screen doesn't do anything. I've waited as long as 5 minutes. If I keep trying to pull it up it will eventually connect. Never saw this in development builds. Must be something unique on my end but can't figure it out.
Blick