Update information
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:28 pm
I am by no means a spokesperson for this app, the Church, or anybody else but myself. So if you have better information than I do, by all means post it. There are LDS webOS users that want to know. I'm somewhat of a techie (Electrical Engineer with limited software experience), so what I'm about to say may be a little too much techie-talk, but the intent should be clear.
Updating content for this app is slightly problematic. The Church provides XML source files for a ton of content, including scriptures, conferences, magazines, manuals, etc. This Gospel Library app was written to utilize the Church-termed "ldsxml" format source files. The problem is that the Church recently changed their formatting to something they call "ldsWebML". The October 2010 Conference was released as ldsWebML and NOT ldsxml. So basically, portions of the Gospel Library app have to be rewritten to support the different format as new content is released. Again, this is my understanding, as a techie-but-not-guru kind of guy.
The Gospel Library apps for the other phone platforms (iOS, Android, etc.) use a database format that's different entirely, but seems to be common between platforms. I hear they have the option inside the app to choose what content to download. Each "book" is downloaded from a Church server in a "zbook" database format. The app just has to support the format, and the Church will provide the zbooks. That will provide content updates without needing to update the app. The problem with adopting this method of content access is that webOS does not allow importing databases. The only database an app can access is one that it creates for itself. I really hope this changes with webOS 2.0. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but as it is now it looks like the app would need to be completely rewritten using the PDK instead of the SDK to accommodate the zbook format like the other phones.
So, to sum up, the webOS Gospel Library app is in sort of a hard spot right now. And yes, webOS is not super popular, so there are not hundreds of developers interested in moving this forward. There have been a few new features and more content (an older conference, some manuals) checked in to the subversion repository since the (only) 1.0.0 release. I have built the app myself with the new content and features, and it's better, but still not where I would like it. I volunteered to help with the development (remember, limited skills here), but as you can see, the problem is not just a "type in the latest conference" kind of deal.
I don't think this will clear up any of the frustration at the lack of progress with the app, but at least now you know what's going on. Or at least my take on it.
Updating content for this app is slightly problematic. The Church provides XML source files for a ton of content, including scriptures, conferences, magazines, manuals, etc. This Gospel Library app was written to utilize the Church-termed "ldsxml" format source files. The problem is that the Church recently changed their formatting to something they call "ldsWebML". The October 2010 Conference was released as ldsWebML and NOT ldsxml. So basically, portions of the Gospel Library app have to be rewritten to support the different format as new content is released. Again, this is my understanding, as a techie-but-not-guru kind of guy.
The Gospel Library apps for the other phone platforms (iOS, Android, etc.) use a database format that's different entirely, but seems to be common between platforms. I hear they have the option inside the app to choose what content to download. Each "book" is downloaded from a Church server in a "zbook" database format. The app just has to support the format, and the Church will provide the zbooks. That will provide content updates without needing to update the app. The problem with adopting this method of content access is that webOS does not allow importing databases. The only database an app can access is one that it creates for itself. I really hope this changes with webOS 2.0. I'm going to go out on a limb here, but as it is now it looks like the app would need to be completely rewritten using the PDK instead of the SDK to accommodate the zbook format like the other phones.
So, to sum up, the webOS Gospel Library app is in sort of a hard spot right now. And yes, webOS is not super popular, so there are not hundreds of developers interested in moving this forward. There have been a few new features and more content (an older conference, some manuals) checked in to the subversion repository since the (only) 1.0.0 release. I have built the app myself with the new content and features, and it's better, but still not where I would like it. I volunteered to help with the development (remember, limited skills here), but as you can see, the problem is not just a "type in the latest conference" kind of deal.
I don't think this will clear up any of the frustration at the lack of progress with the app, but at least now you know what's going on. Or at least my take on it.