Jump to content

Whereyougo


The Daymudes

Recommended Posts

So Android only has one Wherigo app. I went looking to see if there are any future updates on it. I found out that the developer is no longer developing it and has made it open source. It got me thinking that there is 30 or so different geocaching apps. Why do we only have one Wherigo app? Does anyone know if there are plans in the future for a new app? Not that the app we have doesnt work, it could just be improved on.

Link to comment

The trouble with Wherigo is a basic technical problem.

 

The scripts included in Wherigo cartdriges and built with ad-hoc tools must run on a very specific SW engine called LUA. This engine is dedicated to run users scripts inside host applications, and was developped mainly for Game applications.

 

The problems with this engine and Wherigo are :

- very complicated scripting language

- no communication from Groundspeak on how they are using it : documentation, tools and apps come from people who have done blind reverse engineering on it

- no support from LUA open source development team to new platforms like Android

 

Even Garmin has decided to avoid implementing Wherigo in their new GPS devices.

 

So, it is to Groundspeak to decide the future of Wherigo. I would like an open source approach with no exotic script engine, with a simplification of script building (cyphered XML) and run (open source engine that can be integrated on multiple plateforms).

Edited by courdi95
Link to comment

The trouble with Wherigo is a basic technical problem.

 

The scripts included in Wherigo cartdriges and built with ad-hoc tools must run on a very specific SW engine called LUA. This engine is dedicated to run users scripts inside host applications, and was developped mainly for Game applications.

 

The problems with this engine and Wherigo are :

- very complicated scripting language

- no communication from Groundspeak on how they are using it : documentation, tools and apps come from people who have done blind reverse engineering on it

- no support from LUA open source development team to new platforms like Android

 

You are nearly wrong in all of the statements you make above.

 

Lua was original developed for use in an application for the Brazilian oil company, Petrobras. The scripting language is very simple and easy to understand. And I have not seen any negative feelings from the Lua commynity against Wherigo.

 

What is correct, is that Groundspeak have been very unhelpfuill in providing documentation for the platform, leading to a lot of badly implemented reverse-engineering apps, that each have their own quirks. Common to them all, is that they lack more than 50% of the functionality in the emulator, PPC player and the Garmin players.

Link to comment

As far as lua, my understanding is that lua can call any method left open in the running application. So when your cartridge calls "Wherigo.MessageBox", it is actually calling a method within the player application, which will then show a message to the player and, if provided, call a function within the lua script if one is passed. Thus, by adding more methods to the player application, you can add more features to Wherigo. For instance, "Wherigo.API" or "Wherigo.CallWebService" could be used to call the Wherigo API or a web service anywhere in the world. Other calls, such as "Wherigo.Video" could be called and would stream video from a certain URL, such as YouTube. (This is part of what I consider Wherigo 2.0.)

 

The limiting factor, then, is what the player application makes available to the lua script. And, as you can see, these examples require a cellular connection, which is why I will be opposed to seeing Wherigo on a GPS receiver in the future. Things would become complicated for me if Garmin suddenly began including the Wherigo player in their newer GPSr models.

 

You also have it right that Groundspeak has not provided documentation. I've heard documentation was provided to Garmin, but I have not seen it. Two weeks ago, someone at Garmin was asked to look for it for me. But you're right in your assessment that the Wherigo developer community has had to do a lot of reverse engineering.

 

-----------

 

Actually, in a situation like this, it is not Groundspeak that will decide the future of Wherigo. Since they're not doing any development on the platform, it is the developer community that will decide Wherigo's future. On top of that, it's the greater community, those using these tools, that will in turn influence the developer community. I have a good idea what I want to see in Wherigo 1.1 and 2.0. From there, it will be up to the cartridge authors and players.

 

Good things are in the works.

Link to comment

Many of the current Wherigo players are open source. It depends upon the developer if the builder is to be open source. If anyone wants to contribute by developing my Wherigo\\kit further while I'm busy with this other project, I wouldn't mind (that's my stance on my project's source).

 

A multi-platform script engine, huh? Well, that's still lua. There's a C++ version of the lua engine and there's a C# version. I think, at the time, lua was chosen because it had a smaller footprint on the device and the syntax was easier for people to learn. Perhaps the whitespace issue, too. I don't know the real reason lua was chosen.

 

When it's time for Wherigo 2.0, the community will have and opportunity to participate. But, first, Wherigo 1.1 will need to be released.

Edited by Ranger Fox
I said too much
Link to comment

As mentioned, the original WhereYouGo and OpenWIG developers open sourced the code. There are at least a few of us out there who have the ability to continue this app. I've been toying with an in app download button but haven't released it. Maybe someday I will.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...