OpenCPN on Android Tablet

[Target9000]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

Finally I have run opencpn with success under wxqt. This means it can run on any platform supported by qt (which includes android) natively. I don't have an android tablet to verify this.

This is some great news.

[bcn]

Information to get an idea of the project and the "state of the art" here:
WxQt - WxWiki

[rgleason]

Wow awesome Job Sean. Very encouraging. Hope other programmers will now pitch in to help... Thanks Rick

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[rgleason]

P's should I try it on an Android tablet? Is it possibly going screw up my wife's stuff or not? Maybe I backup stuff first. What are the steps to install?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[seandepagnier]

These are the steps to use opencpn with wxqt on linux. You may encounter any number of issues on android.

First have development qt5 libraries installed.

My fork of wxwidgets and build:

git clone https://github.com/seandepagnier/wxWidgets
cd wxWidgets
mkdir bldqt5
cd bldqt5
../configure --enable-debug --with-qt --disable-graphics_ctx
make

Now clone my branch of opencpn, or add the wxQT branch from it and pull:

git clone https://github.com/seandepagnier/OpenCPN -b wxQT
cd OpenCPN
mkdir build-wxqt
cd build-wxqt
PATH=../../wxWidgets/bldqt5:$PATH cmake ..
make -j2
make install

There are bugs. I have a list of 10, and it is growing by a rate of 2 bugs every time I fixed one. It is not finished. Some of the gui features just don't work right. It does work and it is possible to use for chart plotting in it's current state. Most of the plugins work fine.

[Wrong]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

Finally I have run opencpn with success under wxqt. This means it can run on any platform supported by qt (which includes android) natively. I don't have an android tablet to verify this.

I took a quick look at the wxqt WIKI. I'd be happy to try this but... wxqt appears to be in very early stages of development.

"Known Open Issues

Although simple apps works, there are some problems that will affect more complex applications in the near term:

Complex painting is failing "mysteriously" in some situations (see clipping problems notes). Also, still there are many Qt warning about QPainter used incorrectly (most of them should not happen, there could be wrong logic about scroll areas or center widget where Qt painting is not direct / orthogonal to wx use cases). wxRichTextCtrl is the leading case here.
Mouse capture seems not to be working correctly, and that may be causing some issues in controls like wxHTMLWindow, wxHyperlinkCtrl, AUI, etc. There seems that some semantics are very different between wxWidgets and Qt about mouse movements events (see mouseTracking QWidget attribute). It is somewhat strange as some other samples relating mouse work (for example, MDI tiny doodling).
Nested Event Loop implementation is not optimal, as it is doing some kind of busy waiting. It could be enhanced with QEventLoop but didn't work, in fact it get worse: for example, the app no longer exits and some dialogs get blocked, test_gui never ends anymore, etc. Maybe the event loop could be refactorized with QAbstractEventDispatcher to join more tightly both wx and Qt event queues (the docs says there is an example for motif). NOTE that this doesn't affect main application event loop nor modal dialogs, only wxExecute.

Also, there are still some important features like webview (webkit), printing, drag and drop, data view control, native renderer, etc. that aren't implementated. Many of them should be easily achievable (at least webkit, following wxGTK work)."

What steps did you take getting OpenCPN to run in wxqt and what if any issues did you encounter? Did you perform the test with an embedded arm device or P.C.?

Considering the issues related to mouse functions on a P.C., imagine trying to get anything done using a touch screen. What real advantage is there running OpenCPN in wxgt in lieu of a linux chroot environment? Especially when other linux programs are available that do not have comparable programs for android that will run in wxqt? In addition to OpenCPN I'm using Gimp, Inkscape and Qcad in the chroot linux environment on my Xoom.

Given clear advantages, I'd love to see the wxqt approach work.

[seandepagnier]

Originally Posted by Wrong

I took a quick look at the wxqt WIKI. I'd be happy to try this but... wxqt appears to be in very early stages of development.

"Known Open Issues

Although simple apps works, there are some problems that will affect more complex applications in the near term:

Complex painting is failing "mysteriously" in some situations (see clipping problems notes). Also, still there are many Qt warning about QPainter used incorrectly (most of them should not happen, there could be wrong logic about scroll areas or center widget where Qt painting is not direct / orthogonal to wx use cases). wxRichTextCtrl is the leading case here.

When running opencpn using opengl, this is irrelevant. Without opengl, every other frame is "mysterious" so it actually works well enough to use, I am investigating.

The rest of the issues are not really important to opencpn.

What steps did you take getting OpenCPN to run in wxqt and what if any issues did you encounter? Did you perform the test with an embedded arm device or P.C.?

I just posted these. I never tried embedded arm, only x86_64 linux.

Considering the issues related to mouse functions on a P.C., imagine trying to get anything done using a touch screen. What real advantage is there running OpenCPN in wxgt in lieu of a linux chroot environment? Especially when other linux programs are available that do not have comparable programs for android that will run in wxqt? In addition to OpenCPN I'm using Gimp, Inkscape and Qcad in the chroot linux environment on my Xoom.

The advantage I can think of, is maybe hardware acceleration works when it cannot in a chroot, and there would be far less configuration for the user. It also requires a lot less disk space usage, because you do not need to install linux anymore.

It would give a different look and feel which might be a nice change for users on linux, windows and macosx. In some minor ways, wxqt is superior to wxgtk and in the future these cases may expand.

The other advantage would be supporting ios, blackberry and linux framebuffer platforms as well as any other platforms qt may support in the future.

[GrowleyMonster]

Originally Posted by rgleason

P's should I try it on an Android tablet? Is it possibly going screw up my wife's stuff or not? Maybe I backup stuff first. What are the steps to install?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Don't "maybe" back up the device... DO back it up. You should keep a recent backup anyway.

You are EXTREMELY unlikely to permanently destroy your tablet. But you could destroy data and require a complete restore to factory software and settings. And if you are as clumsy as me when it comes to geeky stuff like this, your device might be out of action for a day or two while you proceed.

If you are unsure then simply don't do it on your primary tablet. Pick up a used or reconditioned one, or an older model. These can be pretty cheap. Make sure it can take an sd memory card. Stick with a popular brand and model. Can't go wrong with a Samsung galaxy tab 2. The 7.0 fits in a back jeans pocket. The 10.1 has a nice big screen. Either one works. I used a tab 2 7.0. Google before you buy. Make sure your exact model is represented. If the rooting etc tutorials specifically include your device model, you have an excellent chance of success. Other folks are doing this, and not all of them are MIT phd's who play chess with Stephen Hawking while casually discussing hyper-dimensional quantum computer logic matrices. Some of us regular folks have done it.

With the recent availability of methods for using the tablets internal gps, I would be doing this again myself if I didn't already have too many projects on my plate. It is on my to do list. Just not on my primary device, which is also my daily carry phone. But I still have my old tab 2...

If you are unsure, then don't use your primary device. The peace of mind will make you less hesitant and paranoid.

Generally, rooting a common and popular android device is fairly straightforward. Flashing a custom ROM can be a bit more involved, but you don't need to do that. You only need a simple root. All that basically does is give you (and software that you grant permission to) access to the entire file system, and make you a "SuperUser". This is necessary for setting up the chroot environment and installing linux. Rooting has many other advantages especially for a power user, but here we are only trying to run OCPN so I will ignore other reasons for rooting.

For Rooting or setting up custom recovery or custom ROM (remember, all you need to do is root the device) you will get more expert help on one of the android mod forums. Do your research and get it right. Take your time. The first time can be a little scary but it's really not that big a deal if you have a popular device with a wide user base. Rooting should be regarded as a distinct and separate step.

Once you are rooted, come back here and follow the tutorial. Plenty of folks here who will hold your hand when you are confused. The process works. It's just unfamiliar ground for you.

Another way to go is instead of buying a second tablet for this, buy a nice new powerful upgrade as your new primary device and relegate your old one to OCPN use. The new tablet can be a "gift" lol.

No matter what approach you take, back up important data and settings. Even if you decide to not even mess with OCPN, rooting, chroot, etc, back up your stuff cause stuff happens.

[seandepagnier]

to make opencpn more widely available; from the qt website:

Desktop Platforms
Windows
Linux/X11
Mac OS X

Embedded Platforms
Embedded Android
Embedded Linux
Windows Embedded (Compact and Standard)
Real-Time Operating Systems, such as QNX, VxWorks and INTEGRITY

Mobile Platforms
Android
iOS
BlackBerry 10
Sailfish OS

Work in progress ports of Qt exist for:
WinRT (including Windows Phone)
Tizen

[CarCode]

Originally Posted by bcn

Information to get an idea of the project and the "state of the art" here:
WxQt - WxWiki

Latest commit of wxWidgets 3.1.0 version (trunk):

Commit: df13791078f107edda80f50f1ab498ad936ff069 [df13791]
Parents: d513d3e2f0
Author: Vadim Zeitlin <vadim@wxwidgets.org>
Date: 24. August 2014 03:50:11 MESZ
Labels: HEAD origin/master origin/HEAD master
Subversion Revision: 77455

Merge wxQT branch into the trunk.

This merges in the latest sources from GSoC 2014 wxQt project with just a few
minor corrections, mostly undoing wrong changes to common files in that branch
(results of a previous bad merge?) and getting rid of whitespace-only changes.
Also remove debug logging from wxGrid.

Gerhard

[Wrong]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

These are the steps to use opencpn with wxqt on linux. You may encounter any number of issues on android.

First have development qt5 libraries installed.

My fork of wxwidgets and build:

git clone https://github.com/seandepagnier/wxWidgets
cd wxWidgets
mkdir bldqt5
cd bldqt5
../configure --enable-debug --with-qt --disable-graphics_ctx
make

Now clone my branch of opencpn, or add the wxQT branch from it and pull:

git clone https://github.com/seandepagnier/OpenCPN -b wxQT
cd OpenCPN
mkdir build-wxqt
cd build-wxqt
PATH=../../wxWidgets/bldqt5:$PATH cmake ..
make -j2
make install

There are bugs. I have a list of 10, and it is growing by a rate of 2 bugs every time I fixed one. It is not finished. Some of the gui features just don't work right. It does work and it is possible to use for chart plotting in it's current state. Most of the plugins work fine.

How to do this on an android device without linux? Remember, an imbedded device and PC may have linux installed. Although android devices have a linux kernel, that's where all comparisons stop...

I believe you're going to need an android application to make this possible.

[seandepagnier]

You must get a shell on the android system somehow. Sorry I can't help more as I don't have an android system at the moment. For now my focus is on stabilizing opencpn under wxqt which leaves native android support open as a future development.

[Wrong]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

You must get a shell on the android system somehow. Sorry I can't help more as I don't have an android system at the moment. For now my focus is on stabilizing opencpn under wxqt which leaves native android support open as a future development.

There are android shells. The problem is how to launch wxgtk, compiled in linux and which is not an android application, without a linux system. Not going to happen. Only android applications or apk's are compatible with the android system. The Linux operating system can be installed and used only because android has a linux kernel useable by linux. But, without Linux, no linux programs can currently be run on an android device.

There a few android tablets modified to boot directly into linux, either because dual boooting is possible or the boot sector has been modified to replace android entirely with linux.

Most android devices though, due to partitioning schemes and lack of interest by mods in any effort to make booting into linux possible, will never boot into linux directly.

So, I hate to burst peoples bubbles of hope they can run OpenCPN on their android devices anytime soon without installing a linux chroot environment, but it is what it is.

Instructions how to do it are here: Building on Motorola Xoom | Official OpenCPN Homepage

[Rik-lu]

maybe this helps:

Linux-on-android | SourceForge.net

http://linuxonandroid.org/downloads/

Linux-on-android - Browse /App at SourceForge.net

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...nandroid&hl=de

[Wrong]

Originally Posted by Rik-lu

maybe this helps:

Linux-on-android | SourceForge.net

Downloads : LinuxonAndroid

Linux-on-android - Browse /App at SourceForge.net

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zpwebsites.linuxonandroid&hl=dei

There are plenty of android applications used to install linux on android devices. But, once installed, with very few exceptions, linux cannot be run 'natively' on android devices. This means linux partitions - once mounted - can be accessed, files created, copied, deleted and moved within the linux filesystem and between the android and linux systems. But, programs can only be launched and used in a 'virtual' window via a vnc viewer. This includes the linux Desktop, menus and more, all organized by a window manager. Each linux distribution provides a window manager of your choice. FVWM, Xfce and KDE are popular window managers. Memory requirements and appearance between the managers varies widely. This is why Xfce and FVWM are preferred window managers for linux installations running in a 'chroot' environment on android devices. Their demands on memory and storage space are much lower than for example, KDE.

There is a thread here in the OpenCPN forum about OpenCPN running on embedded devices. These are very popular small computer 'boards', typically lacking much in the way of memory, speed and the means for attaching peripherals. They have 'arm' CPU's similar to those in android devices, sold with an android operating system. But, that's pretty much where similarities end. Linux can be installed and run 'natively' on embedded devices. Not so on devices with arm cpu's sold with the android operating system - UNLESS - linux is operated in a 'chroot' environment and programs are viewed via a vnc viewer. This is what my instructions here: Building on Motorola Xoom | Official OpenCPN Homepage guide people in doing.