UPDATE...Open Rocket iPad App!!!

[Lowpuller]

Somebody please please create an Open Rocket App for an iPad!

Speaking of which I would even pay for a Rocksim Version but the Apogee website won't even work on an iPad.

 

[CarVac]

Somebody please please create an Open Rocket App for an iPad!

Speaking of which I would even pay for a Rocksim Version but the Apogee website won't even work on an iPad.

I believe you need a Mac computer to develop for iOS.

If you'd like to purchase one for me...

 

[kruland]

Actually the entire application would have to be rewritten because java does not run on iOS.

I believe you need a Mac computer to develop for iOS.

If you'd like to purchase one for me...

 

[troj]

Actually the entire application would have to be rewritten because java does not run on iOS.

There are now tools to allow Java to be compiled to iOS binaries.

-Kevin

 

[CarVac]

There are now tools to allow Java to be compiled to iOS binaries.

-Kevin

That brings us back to the first problem, though...

 

[Lowpuller]

Somebody please step up and create this App. I would be willing to pay for it, I know the defeats the purpose of open source, but I'm just saying.

 

[GDJ]

The android version works pretty good. Looks and feels good on a GalaxyTablet.

 

[CarVac]

Somebody please step up and create this App. I would be willing to pay for it, I know the defeats the purpose of open source, but I'm just saying.

Paying isn't necessarily contrary to open-source: there are plenty of companies who produce software for money but open-source it.

Honestly, the spirit of open-source is you learning how to develop and porting it to iOS.


The biggest obstacle, though, is that it costs 100 bucks a year to get the app listed on the App Store, even if you give it away free. And if you don't have it on the App Store, nobody can run it on their iPads.

 

[Sampo]

Hi,

I listed a number of solutions to run Java code on iOS when this was asked the previous time. Some are specifically built so that you write the program logic in Java and the UI in ObjC (which is essentially how the Android version works). Porting is probably even easier now that the main simulation logic has been split out into a separate jar.

The only thing lacking is a developer willing to spend his/her time to port it and maintain it. I don't own any Macs or iStuff, so I'm personally not interested in doing it.

The $100/yr to get it into the app store shouldn't be a problem to raise. Though you need the dev licence to even get started.

Cheers,
Sampo N.

 

[scsager]

Call me crazy... but if you really need OR on a tablet, and you are willing to spend some money. Why not consider picking up an Android tablet. For Christmas, my daughter got a Nexus 7. This is probably the best Android competitor to the iPad Mini. We got it on sale at Office Depot for $150 (half the list price of an IPad mini) and it came with a $20 gift card. If you can step away from the iPad vs Android debate for a minute, this really is the quickest easiest way to get OR on a tablet.

 

[Lowpuller]

Negative, iPad or Die!

 

[CarVac]

Negative, iPad or Die!

That is not the attitude to have when asking for a favor...

 

[Rich Holmes]

Well, he did offer two options.

 

[Lowpuller]

Humor CarVac Humor, so who should I ask this favor of!

 

[CarVac]

Humor CarVac Humor, so who should I ask this favor of!

I figured. I'm a fan of pretending to take jokes seriously.

To be honest, I don't know. Sending an email to the OpenRocket development list may be more fruitful; there may be Mac users who would be capable of porting and testing the program to iOS hidden in the woodwork and who don't visit TRF.

 

[Lowpuller]

ALL,

We are not officially one day closer to have an Open Rocket App for an iPad!

That's right you heard me correctly.....we are one day closer. It is officially after midnight and I am certain somebody else out there is as passionate about making this happen as me.

Has anyone here sucessfully put an App on Apple's App Store. If so please PM me.

 

[rocketgeek101]

While I do not care to participate in the Android vs Apple war, I have absolutely no interest in Android's OS. For me it's iPad all the way. If someone here rewrites OR for iOS, I will most definitely be purchasing it.

I think there is enough interest to make it worthwhile.

 

[Lowpuller]

Rocketgeek thank you thank you thank you, I agree!!

 

[hball55]

The android version works pretty good. Looks and feels good on a GalaxyTablet.

You serious, there's an android version of open rocket? I suppose it'd work on my Kindle HD then.

 

[GDJ]

You serious, there's an android version of open rocket? I suppose it'd work on my Kindle HD then.

Yeppers! You have to put in the motor profiles in, and your rocket file. Editing is limited, view saved simulations.
It's more OpenRocket Lite, but very handy for using it at the launch site with motor profiles and sims and you can do a quick check on your models before flight.

 

[RoyAtl]

Actually the entire application would have to be rewritten because java does not run on iOS.

You could rewrite it in C# (not that big of a jump from Java) and use Xamarin to port to Android and iOS.

 

[Lowpuller]

Roy,

Do it!

I like your way of thinking.

 

[cwbullet]

I think you misunderstand. I do not think he was offering. I think he was suggesting you do it.

 

[CarVac]

I think you misunderstand. I do not think he was offering. I think he was suggesting you do it.

Chuck is right. If you want it so badly and nobody is willing to do it for you, then it's time to pick up a new skill. It'll be fun for everyone.

 

[Lowpuller]

Chuck and CarVac,

I've been researching Xcode giving it consideration, but I suspect there is a well skilled participant already amount us.

The need is there and the payback would be quick!

I would even settle for a RockSim version, but that is another issue.

 

[RoyAtl]

Roy,

Do it!

I like your way of thinking.

I wish I could devote effort to it, but it would have to put money in the bank someway, or I would have to have another project that would do so while I was doing OR in C#.
Plus, I just checked Xamarin's prices (I doubt the free version would be usable) and they would run $1200/year for all four platforms (windows/mac/android/ios)

 

[Lowpuller]

Roy,

Do it as a labor of love for you fellow rocketeers!

 

[RoyAtl]

If I did it as a labor of love, I'd be living under a bridge this time next year.

 

[CarVac]

Roy,

Do it as a labor of love for you fellow rocketeers!

You really don't get the point of free, open-source software.

It's not for other people to make stuff for you: it's so you can make things for yourself, and other people to make things for themselves (that may or may not be useful to you).

We're happy running OpenRocket on our Androids and conventional laptops, and so anything else is a waste of effort from our perspectives.

(note: that was a cynic's point of view. While I like to think the FOSS world is all happy and fun, it sometimes takes a mindset like this to get things done.)

 

[duckhead]

I completely agree with CarVac. For any of us to port Open Rocket to the iPad would take a lot of discretionary hours that most of us don't have (speaking as someone that owns a Mac, has an Apple Developer account, has written native Objective-C iPad apps, and has contributed to and has a pretty good understanding of the OR code base). There's little to no economic justification to create such a thing when there are perfectly good alternatives available (i.e. using the Android version). When it comes to prioritization of software development efforts, there's much more ROI for those tasks that add functionality to the existing OpenRocket platform: tube fins, external subassemblies (ala Rocksim Pods), standardized interfaces to 3D printers, etc. Those are things that could benefit a much larger population of the user base.

If you have a need/want for the iPad version, then great - go try to port it and learn something in the process. BTW, anyone wishing to take it on should look at https://xmlvm.org/overview/ as a possible helpful toolset. Or don't go the native iPad route and rewrite the entire thing as a browser based webapp using something like AngularJS. You'll also learn that keeping the different platform variants in-sync with changes to the core becomes somewhat of a fool's errand. After a while, they'll stagnate, become obsolete, and die away unless someone else with unbridled enthusiasm (and a certain naïveté) comes forward.

Good Luck.

Doug