NetTalk mBuild and Adobe PhoneGap Build

questions
Tags: #<Tag:0x00007fc0dcf08d00>
#1

I would normally post this question in the NetTalk Central forums, but they are offline right now.

In the NetTalk mBuild documentation it refers to Adobe PhoneGap Build
https://build.phonegap.com/ but if you visit the site you get the following:

Adobe has discontinued PhoneGap Build and ended investment in PhoneGap and Apache Cordova.
This website is no longer being updated.

and by following another link:

The PhoneGap Build service will be discontinued on October 1, 2020.

I guess I’ll be making a Progressive Web App. Or is there some other preferred way of creating Android apps using NetTalk? Fortunately my client is only using Android phones, so I don’t have the complication of having to support iPhones as well.

#2

Hello @DonnEdwards

I think the better option (in my opinion), is to move to a different technology keeping the back end in NetTalk. Obviously, the problem with that is, learn a new technology.

If you have a public API, I can help you out with Android Studio and give you a kick start with that.

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#3

Which of these technologies provide support for Disconnected web apps?

#4

Making a quick search I found this (check the links). I dare to say that all solutions should work with offline data too in a similar way. The approach used is, use SQLite in the mobile app to store the data and create a sync adapter to synchronize with the server when necessary or when network connectivity is available.

https://developer.android.com/training/sync-adapters

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#5

For now the PWA is the best approach. (Actually it seems to be he best approach even when Adobe Build as working, but I digress.)

Yes, Adobe terminated the Build service last year. I imagine this was because of the reduced demand for it (see my PWA comment above.) While I need to complete some other bits first (Secwin 7 / NetTalk 12) I have finding a replacement for “Build” as a priority for this year.

There are a number of options;
a) Build was just an online service for Cordova - so it’s possible a local install of Cordova will meet our collective needs.
b) One of the alternative services potentially based, or not based on cordova, could be used.

It’s important to note that while NetTalk used Adobe Build (and by extension Cordova) it didn’t make use of any Cordova specific functionality. In other words a NetTalk app is “self contained” - database sync and so on is all handled by NetTalk. So switching the “packager” is not the biggest task - there’s no code in the app that changes.

cheers
Bruce

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