BBC BASIC in the iOS App Store

[Hated Moron]

Following Apple's change of heart about programming languages (they no longer seem to impose the restriction that the output cannot fill the entire screen) I've put BBC BASIC for SDL 2.0 in the iOS App Store here. This should be a lot more convenient for users than the previous Ad Hoc distribution mechanism.

If you have an iOS device a five-star rating would of course be appreciated, but please rate it honestly (and if there are any features you don't like, don't hesitate to post here with suggestions for improvements).

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[Hated Moron]

I've put BBC BASIC for SDL 2.0 in the iOS App Store here.

There is one significant disadvantage of having put BBCSDL in the iOS App Store: it makes any future updates more time-consuming and much more hassle (because every new release, however small the changes, must go through the App Review process again). So this has only been possible because I'd already decided that the period of active development, during which I was releasing a new version of BBCSDL every six weeks or so, had come to an end.

The only outstanding update that I'm aware of is to Svein's PDFLIB library (he has included enhanced support for an equivalent to the *HARDCOPY feature in BB4W) so it would not be my intention to initiate a new release for that reason alone. If a significant bug in BBCSDL is reported, or a new release is required for some other reason, I will include it then.

[Hated Moron]

On 20/11/2022 21:42, Storer, Darren wrote (cross-posted from the Discussion Group):

If you have been running the earlier version (v1.33a), I found that you'll need to delete it before you can successfully download the App Store version (1.33b).

I wish I understood what determines this. Some people are finding that they do need to delete the old version first (which is unfortunate, because it means losing everything in your @usr$ folder) and some are finding that they don't. There is circumstantial evidence that it is the version of iOS: devices too old to run iOS 16 don't seem to need the old version deleted whereas those running iOS 16 do.

If you do find that the App Store version doesn't install correctly, I would advise backing up any programs, jigsaw pictures or settings/preferences files from @usr$ so you can restore them afterwards. You can do that via the Files app in iOS or by connecting your device to a PC or Mac with a USB cable and transferring them using iTunes or Finder.

[sbracken]

On 20/11/2022 21:42, Storer, Darren wrote (cross-posted from the Discussion Group):

If you have been running the earlier version (v1.33a), I found that you'll need to delete it before you can successfully download the App Store version (1.33b).

I wish I understood what determines this. Some people are finding that they do need to delete the old version first (which is unfortunate, because it means losing everything in your @usr$ folder) and some are finding that they don't. There is circumstantial evidence that it is the version of iOS: devices too old to run iOS 16 don't seem to need the old version deleted whereas those running iOS 16 do.

I successfully installed 1.33b from the App Store without deleting the existing version on an iPhone 11 Pro running iOS 16, although I did back up my @usr$ directory first, just in case!

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the exact version of iOS 16 my phone was running, but it was not the very latest version. I am also pretty sure I had not got round to upgrading BBC BASIC to version 1.33a. Could the exact version of iOS and the exact verison of BBC BASIC be relevant?

Simon

[Hated Moron]

Could the exact version of iOS and the exact verison of BBC BASIC be relevant?

I really have no idea. The way it behaved on one device I observed, which was that the attempt to install it from the App Store just aborted prematurely with no warning or other explanation, doesn't seem likely to have been deliberate. It could mislead you into thinking you'd installed it when you hadn't.

[Hated Moron]

On 23/11/2022 15:01, Storer, Darren wrote (cross-posted from the Discussion Group):

Yes, I can understand that a pre-1.33 build would upgrade directly to 1.33b - the 1.33a to 1.33b upgrade problem occurred on iOS 16 for me.

The internal version numbers used in the Ad Hoc releases were different from those used in the App Store release, because the App Store enforces a specific (numeric) format. So I think it's unlikely that an automated installation process would know that v1.33b is more closely related to 1.33a than any earlier version!

The failure to update from the App Store on some devices but not others sounds like a bug to me, especially as it isn't accompanied by any warning message.

[Hated Moron]

I'm sorry to have to report that it appears Apple have pulled BBC BASIC from the iOS App Store. Now, if you search for 'bbcbasic' (on any device) it returns no results.

I can't say I'm very surprised - I didn't expect it to be accepted in the first place - but it would have been nice to have been informed by Apple of the reason, and whether there is anything I can do about it. As it is, I've received no explanation at all.

Those who were lucky enough to install it whilst it was available seem still to be able to use it, but I don't know for how long. Those who didn't seem to have lost the opportunity to do so.

I'm not going to reinstate the Ad Hoc distribution system, it was too much trouble both for me and for users. Frankly I'm fed up with Apple so I will simply withdraw the iOS edition of BBCSDL entirely. I have every expectation that the MacOS edition will go the same way before too long.

[Hated Moron]

On 28/11/2022 22:43, John Alfred via groups.io wrote (cross-posted from the Discussion Group):

One peculiarity (not that it matters now), was that sometimes if I stopped the music programs, the program would hang up. I had to power down my iPhone 8 to get rid of the problem.

The supplied help file, which I'm sure you've read, says the following: "It is inevitable that from time to time BBC BASIC will crash (for example abort with an untrapped error), especially if you are testing and debugging your own programs. If this happens it will not damage your device or other apps, but it will be necessary to close BBC BASIC and open it again".

But I don't understand why you would need to "power down your phone" (whatever that means); fully closing and then re-opening just BBC BASIC should do the trick. I'm one of those users who closes every app immediately after having used it (on both Android and iOS), I don't like leaving things running 'in the background' using memory and power.

[Hated Moron]

On 29/11/2022 00:44, John Alfred via groups.io wrote (cross-posted from the Discussion Group):

If it hung up, and I closed the App, it was still 'hung-up' when I opened it again.

I don't believe you can have fully-closed the app, there should be no way that can fail to restore correct operation. By fully-closing I of course mean double-pressing on the home button (or equivalent gesture if you don't have a physical home button) and swiping the app away.

My suspicion is that what you are calling 'closing' is in reality just putting the app into the background, where it will continue to use memory (and could use power too). As I said, I routinely fully-close all my apps; if I double-press on the home button I see a blank screen, not lots of suspended apps!

Try it again, I'm confident that fully-closing and re-opening BBC BASIC will resolve any 'hang' (in fact I don't believe what you are reporting is a 'hang' at all, but more likely running out of GPU resources like textures).

[Hated Moron]

On 29/11/2022 20:19, Maksim AbuAjamieh wrote (cross-posted from the Discussion Group):

You can always demand a full disclosure of the reasons behind taking your app down.

I don't think I (or indeed anybody less powerful than the European Commission, for example) can "demand" anything of Apple!

In general, I believe the majority of BBC Basic users are Windows/Linux users.

To the extent that I use BBC BASIC at all (and I've pretty much given up all programming) it's principally on Android and iOS. My most recent app, as I've mentioned here before, is the one which allows me to interrogate and control how our solar panels and storage battery are performing. I want to be able to use that when out and about, so running on any desktop platform isn't very useful.