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Coming back to my original question, I'd like to access iOS & Android hardware functions, like the GPS, compass, phone, messaging, etc.

Can anyone please help me on this? An example on how to initiate INLINE API calls or how to write such a wrapper would be most helpful.

Thank you kindly.


Dear Moderators,
Please don't lock this thread too. I promise to be good.
Thank you.

Thanks for the kind replies. TBH, I'm still considering GLBasic that's why I'm asking. If the benefits outweigh the workarounds, it will be well worth the effort to target two or even three platforms with a single writing. But even if the missing elements can be filled with INLINE code or wrappers I don't know how to do them. I'm only 15 with just a few years of programming skills.

My current projects involve making hyperlinked phone calls, capturing realtime images from the camera, adding a simple homescreen widget, etc., all of which cannot be done directly in GLBasic. I've not found a tool that can do it all, or at least not one that I can afford anyway. I'm still saving up for the Apple Program just to do some real time testing on my iPhone.

I do somewhat regret my phrasings, but to be called a troll when I'm at my wits end trying to find answers? Not unprovoked or unwarranted. That Ian is a little abrasive. Not a good quality in a moderator.

Seriously? Your'e complaining about an .EXE of 1MB for "Hello World"? I dare you to find a machine produced in the last 10 years that finds a 1MB executable too large to fit in it's memory. You will also notice that no matter how big your code gets that .EXE doesn't really get much bigger. It contains pretty much everything you will need for your program, no matter how large it is.

You complain about GLBasic missing certain features from certain hardware, but fail to grasp the fact that the language is called GL "BASIC". Please list all the BASIC like languages available that support all those features on Android and iOS deveices as well as support the multitude of other devices that GLB does.

You also forget to mention just how easy it is to create programs in GLBasic, how fast they run and how many systems they run on without ANY modifications to your code.

The features and functions you require CAN be achieved with GLBasic and APIs - but you have to do some of the work to import and incorporate them. GLBasic can't be expected to do absolutely everything for you.

Anyway, I smell trolling, so I'm locking this thread.

Asking questions about GLBasic's capabilities and shortcomings is trolling? Where do you get off?

It was a legitimate query into whether or not GLBasic is interpreted, and the statement was in reference to that. Because it seemed big I was asking if there was an interpreter or player embedded. The others had answered that question.

You seem to think that being a jack of all trades and master of none is an acceptable thing. People don't jump onto a platform because it supports a multitude of devices, but because it claims to support a particular device, or two, that they are interested in. Incomplete command sets that require native workarounds does not qualify as support. Touch and go at best.

And the most important part - we selected GLBasic because it is BASIC, and expecting that we learn Objective-C or C++ to get things done is ludicrous. Of course we expect GLBasic to do everything for us, especially when that everything is part of the fundamental functionalities of the device it claims to support.

Easy is great, but complete would be better. No offence Gernot, but your moderator is a dunce.

But the roadblocks are still too many. GLBasic claims to support iOS & Android, but does not include stuff like camera capture, sensor i/o, phone functions, widgets, etc.

Big difference between "can compile to" and "support". Still too new for these platforms.

[- Compiles to native bytecode. No runtime libraries are required. APK files are exactly the same as APK files created with Java / Eclipse- Performance is similar to applications written with Java]

Basic4Android claims:
- Compiles to native bytecode. No runtime libraries are required. APK files are exactly the same as APK files created with Java / Eclipse
- Performance is similar to applications written with Java

But techBasic and AGK use players or interpreters to run BASIC code.

I think that GLBasic uses GCC to compile to native iOS app, but how does it compile to Android DVM byte code?

My recent roadblocks with GLB have gotten me searching for an easier IDE to do iOS & Android development. One important factor is compilation.

GLBasic apps can get a little big - even a simple HELLO WORLD comes in above 1MB.

Are GLBasic apps compiled to native iOS/Android code or are they interpreted?

Yes, my glbasic-debug.apk works too. Do we have to sign the release version to even test it on our own devices?

I am able to use the GLB IDE to successfully deploy and run the app to my ANDROID device by clicking on Build Multiplatform. But when I copy the APK file to the device manually, the installation process starts but finishes with "Application not installed". Why is this so?

[USB debugging]

Thank you mentalthink, for taking the time to troubleshoot my problem. From your initial suggestion that it could be a USB/driver issue, I searched the web to find out how to confirm that the connected device is actually detectable from the Android development environment. This is what I found from the Android Developer website:

http://developer.android.com/tools/device.html#setting-up

It turns out that there is an option in Android devices to enable USB debugging, and after doing that, the app deployed and ran perfectly.

It's really the small things that help. Thank you! 

[glbasic-release-unsigned.apk]

I think the trouble can be the useb driver for your android device... If works in Emulator works in real device...

Thank you for your quick reply. I suspected that too, so I manually copied the file glbasic-release-unsigned.apk from the distribute folder to my device and tried to install it; the installation starts with the prompt,
Do you want to install this application?
Allow this application to:
Storage
Hardware controls
Default
followed by
Installing...
then
Application not installed

Shouldn't this work?

[compiler\platform\android\android-sdk-windows\add-ons]

The app deploys and works perfectly fine on the emulator:

Code (glbasic) Select Expand

*** Configuration: ANDROID ***
precompiling:
GPC - GLBasic Precompiler V.10.104 SN:xxxxxxxx - 3D, NET
Wordcount:445 commands
compile+link:
running Android build-script...
BUILD STAGE 1: Compile and pack RELEASE
.
BUILD STAGE 2: Build DEBUG and install on device
finished Android build-script.

but fails when trying to deploy to the device:

Code (glbasic) Select Expand

*** Configuration: ANDROID ***
precompiling:
GPC - GLBasic Precompiler V.10.104 SN:xxxxxxxx - 3D, NET
Wordcount:445 commands
compile+link:
running Android build-script...
BUILD STAGE 1: Compile and pack RELEASE
.
BUILD STAGE 2: Build DEBUG and install on device

BUILD FAILED
Q:\Compiler\platform\android\android-sdk-windows\tools\ant\build.xml:1100: The following error occurred while executing this line:
Q:\Compiler\platform\android\android-sdk-windows\tools\ant\build.xml:1114: exec returned: 1

Following the various advice from the forum, I have:
1. created the compiler\platform\android\android-sdk-windows\add-ons folder under GLBasic
2. deleted and re-created the debug.keystore file in the .android folder with keytool.exe
3. restarted the device
but still no success.

Have I missed some step?

Are you able to use the forum search feature because there are 9 pages of iOS wrapper info?

No, 9 pages are returned when a search for "wrapper" is done, but besides one or two slight examples, still no help. Time for you to become invisible again.

Maybe, when I understand a bit more, I will write a tutorial for dummies, but right now I myself am a dummy, lol.

Aren't we all. It'll be really great if the Android & iOS functionalities of GLBasic are extended. But if we need to wrap each and every missing function ourselves, we'll need to get really familiar with Objective-C and Android Java. And if that's the case, we might as well just code in them directly.

I don't know what an iOS wrapper is though. But I was helped by the info given by bigsofty. I'm on a quest to do ads.

Hi r0ber7. Any luck with your Android issues?

Learn how to install a iOS wrapper and there are many examples on the forum.

Sorry matchy. I did see your answer, but that's just beyond me. All these iOS and Android stuff is alien to me at the moment, and the prospect of learning Objective-C and Java/XML is daunting to say the least.

I may be slow or something, but coming from a BASIC background, I can't understand why it should be such a task to perform a simple string manipulation in those languages (and even in C/C++) when it just takes a couple of simple lines in BASIC.

So, installing a wrapper, let alone an iOS one, naturally escapes my attention.

Nevertheless, thank you for your answer! 

GLB compiles to C++ with some Objective C for linkage. It is then complied to a .IPA via XCode.

GLB also compiles to C++ for Android, with some Java for linkage. It is then compiled to .APK using the Android SDK+NDK.

Thanks bigsofty for that answer.  Everything to C++ except for some linker code.

What about hardware access, like the camera, phone, compass, GPS, etc.? There's no mention of them in GLBasic.