FruitBat 1.4 Beta Release
Considering it has been so long, I’ve decided to release a public beta of the in-progress version of FruitBat… and this time something for the Mac folks too! As there is so much new stuff, be sure to check the main page for instructions, though you probably won’t need them because most actions have only one step. How’s that for easy?
This beta installation will expire and no longer run at midnight on December 31, 2011.
Updates have been enabled for all current installations. To install the current version, use “Check for updates” from the Help menu. Settings are not compatible between the two versions, so they will have to be redone via the new Settings window. Update is not required if you would like to stay with version 1.3, despite its display bug.
Download links, release notes, known issues, etc. after the jump.
New Features
- Compatibility with Mac OS X (Snow Leopard & Lion)
- Platform specific interface features & language
- Easily switchable, dedicated simulator and tablet launch targets
- No longer relies on batch files or standard Windows Command Prompt commands (except ping)
- Floating, transparent Settings/Preferences window for quick changes
- Compatibility with the BlackBerry® WebWorks™ SDK [the works!]
- Everything FruitBat will do for the AIR SDK, it will do for WebWorks
- Access to the FruitBat console in case you want to see the command line fly past as FruitBat works
- Link to order signing keys from RIM
- Automated registration for both your code signing key and debug token
- Create debug tokens
- Install debug tokens
- Package and sign final releases of your app with one click (Okay, it’s two, but at least you don’t have to touch the command line tools!)
Bug Fixes
- “undefined” app title, version and BAR file name issues have been resolved
Known Issues & Incomplete Features
There are a few lingering issues in this release, but it’s been far too long since the last release (especially with the display bug) to hold onto the release any longer. If you run into issues, feel free to leave a comment here or get in touch via the contact form (forums are coming).
These issues will all be addressed and do not need to be reported:
- “Copy FruitBat Settings/Preferences” menu item not enabled or implemented yet.
- Activate/Deactivate menu items do not perform any action yet.
- No alerts, notifications or messages are available outside of the Console window, so to see what’s going on, open it.
- Installing a debug token does not ping the tablet first, like the other actions, so it is slow to fail when the tablet cannot be reached via its IP address (debug tokens not required in the simulator).
“Register Signing Keys” from the Publish menu does not perform any action. It was meant to be in this release, but it will be in the first update to the beta.Fixed in 1.4.0132.- When choosing files and folders for the various settings, checks are performed on the selected files to make sure they are valid and what they’re supposed to be. If the check fails, no error is currently shown, but the file/folder browse dialog will open again immediately. Error dialogs are forthcoming and will ask for confirmation before opening the dialog again.
- I’ve tried to add messages to the console so you can see that something is happening (outside of the standard SDK output), but some actions may be missing their additional messages.
- Mac version has not been tested for registering signing keys, debug tokens or packaging a final release (which includes signing). If these do not work, please let me know. These commands are identical to the Windows version, which all work properly from my testing.
- WebWorks basic functions work, but you must have the WebWorks SDK set up properly, according to RIM’s instructions (especially regarding debug token and certificate [
sigtool.p12]) before using any of the WebWorks features. - For WebWorks, be sure to assign a build ID in your config.xml file by adding a fourth set of digits (between 0 and 999) in the version number [1.0.0.XXX]. FruitBat will use “0” if no build ID is found. Opinions and comments welcome on whether FruitBat should add its own configuration file to your project folder to store an auto-incrementing build ID and any other project-specific settings that may be required in the future. This, of course, would be excluded automatically from any BAR files created via the app.
Not really an issue, but do not attempt to sign a BAR file created by clicking the “Package & Install” button on the main screen. For AIR applications, the debug flag is set, and for WebWorks, the browser inspector is enabled. Use the Publish menu to create final packages.
Please, let me know your thoughts and interest in the continued development of FruitBat in the comments section. Reporting bugs is also greatly appreciated.
Update
12:09: Just found a bug with ZIP file name generation that may stop WebWorks apps from packaging properly. Will issue an update later today to address it. Fixed in 1.0.0132.