Re: [ruboto] iOS Support?

[Uwe Kubosch]

On 2013-03-10, at 04:48, Ashiq A. <alibha...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi Ashiq!


> I looked through the mailing list and wikis on Github but can't find any mention of this.
>
> Are there any plans to make Ruboto work on iOS (iPhone) as well, whether in the near or distant future?

The Ruboto project covers getting JRuby to work on Android, and requires a Java-like environment to run on.

A quick search gave me this:

https://blogs.oracle.com/mobile/entry/oracle_brings_java_to_ios

If iOS can run Java, it can run JRuby.

Next question is "what parts of Ruboto are relevant on iOS?". Most of Ruboto is glue to get Android-specific concepts like Activities working well. Are these concepts present on iOS?

The Ruboto project is open to getting ported to iOS if it makes sense and someone with the motivation to do it wants to join the project…or someone sponsors a device and developer license for iOS :)

My current view is that different mobile Ruby environments should share their similarities as pure-Ruby RubyGems. Also all the mobile Ruby environments share the Ruby StdLib. What more should they share?

If you to have a portable UI toolkit across Android and iOS, I think it should be built on top of Ruboto, not included in it.

Any other opinions?


--
Uwe Kubosch
http://ruboto.org/

[Ashiq A.]

Hi Uwe,

Ruboto provides an environment where I can write Ruby/OpenGL apps (games, specifically) which is what I'm after. If I can write Ruby games with the Ruboto API and reasonably expect it to work on iOS as well, I'm happy.

As an "outsider" whose goal is "how can I make Ruby games for mobile apps," I have two choices: Ruboto (Android) or MobiRuby (iOS). MobiRuby seems like it will eventually reach Android, so what about Ruboto eventually reaching iOS?

I haven't experimented enough to say more (eg. can I include 3rd-party gems like RMagick and expect it to work?) so I'll refrain from commenting now. 

--Ashiq

P.S. I'm obviously more interested in Android than iOS right now, since I'm trying Ruboto :)

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[Scott]

Another relevant thread:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/ruboto/YU6geGxpn4k

I don't believe that there is a large potential for general porting of either project to the other platform. As I mentioned in the other thread, I think the best chance is for creating some shared APIs for specific areas. OpenGL could be one of the areas with the highest potential. 

RMagick would only work if there is a JRuby version (RMagick4J). The regular version depends on a C library (ImageMagick). I have not tried RMagick4J on Ruboto. If someone wants to move that forward, please create a WIKI page to track progress and show samples.

[Ashiq A.]

@Scott I read that thread before posting. I hope a generic solution will appear (eventually?), because Ruby developers would love to be able to write mobile apps for both platforms. Today, I see a few options (real or imagined?):

- Ruboto adds iOS support

- MobiRuby adds Android support (they already claimed it in their roadmap)

- MRuby itself, or some other (C++-based) Ruby solution appears

- Oracle launches Java on iOS (Java > JRuby > Ruboto > win)

- Someone writes a generic layer that delegates to Ruboto on Android and MobiRuby on iOS

Thanks for the tip about RMagick. RMagick4J passed two years with no commits, but it looks promising. 

I'm still not sure what I'm personally going to do. If I decide to stick to Ruboto, I'll probably start a blog and document my various adventures (already found two bugs in generating the app starter code in Windows). Wiki editing is another option.

Cheers,

--Ashiq

--

[Keith Bennett]

As I understand it, RubyMotion is the best tool for writing iOS apps in Ruby.

- Keith

[Jeffrey Jones]

On 11/03/13 08:47, Keith Bennett wrote:
> As I understand it, RubyMotion is the best tool for writing iOS apps in Ruby.
>
> - Keith
>

Agreed.

Ideally you would write the vast majority of your application in plain
old ruby then turn it into a gem.

You would then write two front-ends (one Rubymotion, one Ruboto) which
include your gem and simply call the gem's public API.

For an idea of how this might work have a look at the "Architecture, the
lost years" presentation by uncle Bob.

http://www.confreaks.com/videos/759-rubymidwest2011-keynote-architecture-the-lost-years

[Robin2]

Will this work with GUI stuff?

...R

[Thanh Nguyen]

As I've read in the thread, it seems that iOS is outside of the scope of Ruboto. However, as it is Ruby, most of your core code should be the same even if you use Ruboto and some other iOS Ruby solution. The code relating your app to GUI/native functionality will be different though. 

ntt

On 2013/03/12, at 8:03, Ashiq A. <alibha...@gmail.com> wrote:

Has anyone actually tried this (running Ruboto with Rubymotion)?

I'm hesitant to rely on commercial third-party tools if there are alternatives. I just got burned on this recently.

--Ashiq

On Saturday, March 9, 2013 10:48:52 PM UTC-5, Ashiq A. wrote:

Hi all,

I looked through the mailing list and wikis on Github but can't find any mention of this.

Are there any plans to make Ruboto work on iOS (iPhone) as well, whether in the near or distant future?

--Ashiq

[Ashiq A.]

Thanks for the discussion all.

I will investigate and post my findings. Eventually :)

--Ashiq