Home Brew Apps -- How To In 10 Easy Steps

tco-jt · 06/13/2009, 12:27 PM

Well I was playing with the file system and found out how simple it is to create a homebrewed application.

Step 1: Root Pre -- see rooting entry in the wiki
Step 2: Open Terminal
Step 3: Create directory for application /usr/palm/applications/com--DOT--palm--DOT--app--DOT--APPLICATION_SHORT_NAME
Step 4: Enter directory and create `.project` and having the contents

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<projectDescription>
	<name>com--DOT--palm--DOT--app--DOT--APPLICATION_SHORT_NAME</name>
	<comment></comment>
	<projects>
	</projects>
	<buildSpec>
	</buildSpec>
	<natures>
		<nature>com--DOT--palm--DOT--luna--DOT--sdk--DOT--lunaNature</nature>
	</natures>
</projectDescription>

Step 5: Create a file called `appinfo.json` containing

Code:

{
	"title": "APPLICATION_LONG_NAME",
	"type": "web",
	"main": "index--DOT--html",
	"id": "com--DOT--palm--DOT--app--DOT--APPLICATION_SHORT_NAME"
}

Step 6: Create index.html containing

Code:

<?xml version="1--DOT--0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1--DOT--1//EN"
  "http--COLON--//www--DOT--w3--DOT--org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11--DOT--dtd">

<html xmlns="http--COLON--//www--DOT--w3--DOT--org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en">
<head>
	<title>APPLICATION_LONG_NAME</title> 
</head>
<body>
Hello Magical World 
</body>
</html>

Step 7: Then finally create icon.png as a 64 x 64 icon
Step 8: Reboot pre
Step 9: Run your application
Step 10: Profit

General Disclaimer: Use at your own risk. This may cause issues, void your warranty, cause aliens to abduct your sole. Whatever happens... I warned you. But it worked for me.

P.S. Sorry for the uglyness. Can't post links so replace --DOT-- with a period and --COLON-- with a colon.

apolzon · 06/13/2009, 02:12 PM

Hmm. This doesn't seem to be working for me. I edited all the spots where you had dashes and updated the long and short names, but after I reboot it still doesn't show up in my launcher.

apolzon · 06/13/2009, 04:38 PM

Yeah that was the missing element. I saw that path on the wiki somewhere, and as soon as I dropped my folder into there it worked fine; didn't even require a reboot.
Great first step tutorial.

taalibeen · 06/13/2009, 07:23 PM

Post a screenshot!!

Let us see this!

fixlr · 06/13/2009, 08:17 PM

Hmm, when I first saw the .project file, I assumed it was created by the developer's editor software. I know some IDE's keep info in that file (Eclipse, etc). Can anyone confirm that this file is actually used by webOS?

SirataXero · 08:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vanadium

I'd advise placing your homebrew application(s) under /var/usr/palm/applications/, where downloaded applications are located, due to the possibility of /usr/palm/applications/ being completely refreshed with an OTA update.

Also, using 'palm' in the name of your application isn't necessary; you can call it com.yourcompanynamehere.app.shortappname and it'll work just fine as long as it matches what you put in appinfo.json. Look at the convention third-parties are already using and you'll see that adding 'palm' is hardly the status quo.

I'm working on a player to play streams from a large (free) streaming music provider right now (for the hell of it, really), and it's coming along fine.

Hey Vanadium!

I know this isn't really the right place to post, but I couldn't help but reply specifically to your post. I was wondering if there was a way to set up a streaming program through a VPN. My idea, to bypass the limited 8 GB internal memory, is to have all my media (possibly TBs worth) all stored on a desktop at home (preferrably just normal Windows on it, not server software). I was thinking we could use VPN software (or whatever linux uses, pardon my ignorance) to get access to our home computers and stream media such as music or videos without having to save them to our Pre.

Something, kind of like what Windows has with WMP (if you're familiar with it) where you can allow, and look up computers on your network and go through their media files and stream them.

What do you think?

scuba_steve · 06/13/2009, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fixlr

Hmm, when I first saw the .project file, I assumed it was created by the developer's editor software. I know some IDE's keep info in that file (Eclipse, etc). Can anyone confirm that this file is actually used by webOS?

Yeah, I am pretty sure that you are correct. You can almost certainly skip this step...and not even include a .project file.

apolzon · 06/13/2009, 10:18 PM

I can confirm that you don't need the .project file.

scuba_steve · 06/13/2009, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taalibeen

Post a screenshot!!

Let us see this!

Here is my "Steve Test" application in the launcher:

(yeah, I borrowed that icon from another application

)

...and here is my awesome application:

Expect to see it in the app store soon.

cheers,
Steve

taalibeen · 06/13/2009, 11:45 PM

I've started playing with something and I'm gonna see if I can put it on my Pre tomorrow. If it's successful_ I'll posr screen shots.

This post has gotten me excited!

taalibeen · 06/14/2009, 01:20 PM

I rooted my pre and can initiate a command line session but when i try to run the mkdir command it tells me that the directory is read-only although doing a whoami says that I'm root.

Anyone else come across this problem?

poldim · 06/14/2009, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by taalibeen

I rooted my pre and can initiate a command line session but when i try to run the mkdir command it tells me that the directory is read-only although doing a whoami says that I'm root.

Anyone else come across this problem?

Did you make the root filesystem writeable?

Code:

rootfs_open -w

taalibeen · 06/14/2009, 01:53 PM

Thanks, that was it!

taalibeen · 06/14/2009, 04:15 PM

Still can't get my app to show up. I've double checked spelling and everything, and put it in the /var/usr/palm/applications/.

Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

taalibeen · 06/14/2009, 05:43 PM

Nevermind. I rebooted and it showed up. I thought from one of the posts above that if it was in /var/usr/palm/applications, a reboot was not necessary.

The other issue I'm having is that despite having changed the icon file and replaced it, and rebooting, the app still has the old icon.

Seems like the Pre may b caching the application icons somewhere.

dsevil · 06/14/2009, 05:58 PM

Advantage: This makes it a lot easier to develop applicaitons, make incremental changes, and test them on your Pre. Just mount as USB drive and hack away!

Disadvantage: Your changes in Step 2 may be clobbered by a future WebOS OTA update.

1. Log in to your Pre, priv up, and remount / as read-write.

2. Edit /etc/palm/luna.conf. In the "General" section at the top, there is a setting for ApplicationPath. This should be on or around line 7. It should look something like this:

Code:

ApplicationPath=/usr/lib/luna/applications:/var/luna/applications:/var/usr/lib/luna/applications:/usr/palm/applications:/var/usr/palm/applications

Append the following to that line:

Code:

:/media/internal/applications

3. Remount / as read-only.

You may now mount your Pre as a USB drive, create an "applications" directory, and put your applications there.

Once you create a new application there, you will need to reboot your Pre to cause the Launcher to show it. [You can also run "pkill LunaSysMgr" as root (without the quotes); LunaSysMgr will restart.]

The good news: While creating a new application requires a reboot/pkill, changing an existing application should not. (I've only tried a simple HTML change, no JavaScript changes or anything.)

Klownicle · 06/15/2009, 08:04 AM

This is very cool. Its the start of application devoplment, I just wish there was a easy way to install these applications that people make rather then rooting your pre and copying the application directory.

Does it have to be made into a installer that can be downloaded before we can start doing things like this?

kaze0 · 06/15/2009, 08:17 AM

Has anyone figured out how to edit js without having to kill LunaSysMgr. It seems to cache JS but not HTML when executing apps.

wli224 · 06/16/2009, 12:28 AM

Kaze0, I second that. Being able to rapidly clear the cache without having to restart LunaSys would be great. Anyone have any ideas?

xenophonite · 06/16/2009, 01:43 AM

What are the consequences of leaving rootfs in read/write? I've just left it that way with no probs. I notice many references to putting it back to read only.

06/13/2009, 12:27 PM	#1 (permalink)
tco-jt Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 2 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Home Brew Apps -- How To In 10 Easy Steps Well I was playing with the file system and found out how simple it is to create a homebrewed application. Step 1: Root Pre -- see rooting entry in the wiki Step 2: Open Terminal Step 3: Create directory for application /usr/palm/applications/com--DOT--palm--DOT--app--DOT--APPLICATION_SHORT_NAME Step 4: Enter directory and create `.project` and having the contents Code: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <projectDescription> <name>com--DOT--palm--DOT--app--DOT--APPLICATION_SHORT_NAME</name> <comment></comment> <projects> </projects> <buildSpec> </buildSpec> <natures> <nature>com--DOT--palm--DOT--luna--DOT--sdk--DOT--lunaNature</nature> </natures> </projectDescription> Step 5: Create a file called `appinfo.json` containing Code: { "title": "APPLICATION_LONG_NAME", "type": "web", "main": "index--DOT--html", "id": "com--DOT--palm--DOT--app--DOT--APPLICATION_SHORT_NAME" } Step 6: Create index.html containing Code: <?xml version="1--DOT--0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1--DOT--1//EN" "http--COLON--//www--DOT--w3--DOT--org/TR/xhtml11/DTD/xhtml11--DOT--dtd"> <html xmlns="http--COLON--//www--DOT--w3--DOT--org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en"> <head> <title>APPLICATION_LONG_NAME</title> </head> <body> Hello Magical World </body> </html> Step 7: Then finally create icon.png as a 64 x 64 icon Step 8: Reboot pre Step 9: Run your application Step 10: Profit General Disclaimer: Use at your own risk. This may cause issues, void your warranty, cause aliens to abduct your sole. Whatever happens... I warned you. But it worked for me. P.S. Sorry for the uglyness. Can't post links so replace --DOT-- with a period and --COLON-- with a colon.
	Liked by Thanked by clipcarl, GreenHex, greg963, StefanP

06/13/2009, 02:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
apolzon Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 16 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hmm. This doesn't seem to be working for me. I edited all the spots where you had dashes and updated the long and short names, but after I reboot it still doesn't show up in my launcher.
	Liked by

06/13/2009, 04:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
apolzon Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 16 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Yeah that was the missing element. I saw that path on the wiki somewhere, and as soon as I dropped my folder into there it worked fine; didn't even require a reboot. Great first step tutorial.
	Liked by

06/13/2009, 07:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
taalibeen Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 249 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 13 Thanked 69 Times in 26 Posts	Post a screenshot!! Let us see this!
	Liked by

06/13/2009, 08:17 PM	#5 (permalink)
fixlr Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Albany, NY Posts: 10 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 11 Thanked 2 Times in 1 Post	Hmm, when I first saw the .project file, I assumed it was created by the developer's editor software. I know some IDE's keep info in that file (Eclipse, etc). Can anyone confirm that this file is actually used by webOS?
	Liked by

06/13/2009, 10:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
apolzon Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 16 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I can confirm that you don't need the .project file.
	Liked by

06/13/2009, 11:45 PM	#10 (permalink)
taalibeen Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 249 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 13 Thanked 69 Times in 26 Posts	I've started playing with something and I'm gonna see if I can put it on my Pre tomorrow. If it's successful_ I'll posr screen shots. This post has gotten me excited!
	Liked by

06/14/2009, 01:20 PM	#11 (permalink)
taalibeen Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 249 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 13 Thanked 69 Times in 26 Posts	I rooted my pre and can initiate a command line session but when i try to run the mkdir command it tells me that the directory is read-only although doing a whoami says that I'm root. Anyone else come across this problem?
	Liked by

06/14/2009, 01:53 PM	#13 (permalink)
taalibeen Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 249 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 13 Thanked 69 Times in 26 Posts	Thanks, that was it!
	Liked by

06/14/2009, 04:15 PM	#14 (permalink)
taalibeen Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 249 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 13 Thanked 69 Times in 26 Posts	Still can't get my app to show up. I've double checked spelling and everything, and put it in the /var/usr/palm/applications/. Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.
	Liked by

06/14/2009, 05:43 PM	#15 (permalink)
taalibeen Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 249 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 13 Thanked 69 Times in 26 Posts	Nevermind. I rebooted and it showed up. I thought from one of the posts above that if it was in /var/usr/palm/applications, a reboot was not necessary. The other issue I'm having is that despite having changed the icon file and replaced it, and rebooting, the app still has the old icon. Seems like the Pre may b caching the application icons somewhere.
	Liked by

06/14/2009, 05:58 PM	#16 (permalink)
dsevil Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 211 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 28 Thanked 147 Times in 41 Posts	You can put applications on /media/internal, you know. Advantage: This makes it a lot easier to develop applicaitons, make incremental changes, and test them on your Pre. Just mount as USB drive and hack away! Disadvantage: Your changes in Step 2 may be clobbered by a future WebOS OTA update. 1. Log in to your Pre, priv up, and remount / as read-write. 2. Edit /etc/palm/luna.conf. In the "General" section at the top, there is a setting for ApplicationPath. This should be on or around line 7. It should look something like this: Code: ApplicationPath=/usr/lib/luna/applications:/var/luna/applications:/var/usr/lib/luna/applications:/usr/palm/applications:/var/usr/palm/applications Append the following to that line: Code: :/media/internal/applications 3. Remount / as read-only. You may now mount your Pre as a USB drive, create an "applications" directory, and put your applications there. Once you create a new application there, you will need to reboot your Pre to cause the Launcher to show it. [You can also run "pkill LunaSysMgr" as root (without the quotes); LunaSysMgr will restart.] The good news: While creating a new application requires a reboot/pkill, changing an existing application should not. (I've only tried a simple HTML change, no JavaScript changes or anything.)
	Liked by Thanked By: atourgates

06/15/2009, 08:04 AM	#17 (permalink)
Klownicle Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 784 Likes Received: 13 Thanks: 26 Thanked 96 Times in 76 Posts	This is very cool. Its the start of application devoplment, I just wish there was a easy way to install these applications that people make rather then rooting your pre and copying the application directory. Does it have to be made into a installer that can be downloaded before we can start doing things like this?
	Liked by

06/15/2009, 08:17 AM	#18 (permalink)
kaze0 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 71 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 1 Thanked 53 Times in 11 Posts	Has anyone figured out how to edit js without having to kill LunaSysMgr. It seems to cache JS but not HTML when executing apps.
	Liked by

06/16/2009, 12:28 AM	#19 (permalink)
wli224 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 5 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Kaze0, I second that. Being able to rapidly clear the cache without having to restart LunaSys would be great. Anyone have any ideas?
	Liked by

06/16/2009, 01:43 AM	#20 (permalink)
xenophonite Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,212 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 20 Thanked 41 Times in 24 Posts	What are the consequences of leaving rootfs in read/write? I've just left it that way with no probs. I notice many references to putting it back to read only. __________________ Sprint Pre, Mugen 2800mah battery
	Liked by

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