Turns out that this option is really buried within Eclipse. To remove a plug-in *simply* go to: Help | About Eclipse. Click the “Installation Details” button. Select the plug-in(s) you wish to uninstall from the “Installed Software” tab then press the “Uninstall” button.
Saturday, September 4th, 2010
While working on my latest project, BlackPing, I ran into another snag - I couldn’t get my application to download Over-The-Air (OTA). The problem was due to my lack of understanding, hopefully my trouble is your gain. Below you’ll find instructions that guide you through preparing your application for OTA downloads.
Setup the HTTP Servers MIME Types
If you do not have administrator access to your web server then you’ll need help from the administrator to perform the following.
Verify that there are MIME Types setup for COD and JAD files. The correct MIME Types are respectively “application/vnd.rim.cod” and “text/vnd.sun.j2me.app-descriptor”
Upload the Application to the Server
You’ll need to upload the application’s COD, JAD and JAR files to the web server.
Create an HTML “Download” Page
This is the part that I spent a while figuring out. During my first attempts at OTA installation I opened the BB Browser and went directly to the application’s JAD file. Each time I did this the browser displayed the contents of the file instead of trying to download and install it.
To get around this issue, create a “download” page. I recommend a simple page that way you don’t have to worry about the page renders on varios BlackBerry devices. This page should reside in the same place as the application files, but you can place it whereever you want, you’ll just have to do more configuration.
My simple download page:
<html>
<head>
<Title>Download [APPLICATION_NAME]</Title>
</head>
<body>
<a href=”[APPLICATION_NAME].jad”>Download</a>
</body>
<html>
I hope this post saves you some trouble. If it does, or if you have questions, please leave a comment.
Sunday, March 1st, 2009
In a previous post (BlackBerry Code Signing Help), I ran into problems signing my API Keys (.CSI files). Also in that post, I had trouble Requesting Signatures for my application. Both problems are now resolved and I was able to successy install my latest project onto my BlackBerry Storm. (My tweet-of-joy)
Instead of simply making this a “yippee” post, I’m going to provide details on how to sign your API keys and then how to request signatures for your application. I realize that BlackBerry provides instructions but they don’t seem too clear, at least they don’t to me.
Request Java Code Signing Keys
RIM requires that a developer register with them before he is allowed to access certain “sensitive” APIs. These APIs fall under three categories: Runtime APIs, BlackBerry Application APIs, and BlackBerry Cryptography APIs.
Registration is $20 and you can register online using the “BlackBerry Code Signing Keys Order Form.” For more details as to why RIM requires registration and for what specific APIs are controlled, visit the “Java Code Signing Keys” page.
Registering Your Keys with The Signing Authority
Once you have registered for your code signing keys, RIM will send you three files: a “client-RCR-#####.cod,” “client-RRT-#####.cod,” and a “client-RBB-#####.cod.” Each file will be sent in a different email. You can then follow the instructions in the “BlackBerry Signature Tool Developer Guide” (a PDF download).
This is where I ran into my first problem - when I double-clicked a .COD file, Windows did not know which application to open the file with. Please refer to my “BlackBerry Code Signing Help” article for instructions on how to resolve this issue.
Once you have successfully registered your keys with the signing authority two files will be generated - a “sigtool.db” and a “sigtool.csk.” These files will be placed in the same location as the “SignatureTool.jar” file.
If you have the BlackBerry JDE Plug-In for Eclipse and the BlackBerry JDE installed be very careful as the “sigtool.XXX” files may have been placed where you don’t expect! In my case, they were placed in the directory of the stand-alone JDE therefore the Eclipse plug-in couldn’t find them.
Signing Your Application Using the BlackBerry JDE Plug-In for Eclipse
To sign your application first make build it by going to Project >> Build Active BlackBerry Configuration. Next, go to BlackBerry >> Request Signatures this will bring up the “Signature Tool” window.
The Signature Tool window will contain multiple rows of data but you really care about the rows with a “Status” of “Not Registered” and a “Category” of “Required.” If the text in the “Status” field is red it means that the key mentioned in the “SignerID” column is missing or that the key hasn’t been registered. If the text in the “Status” field is navy blue it means that the key mentioned in the “SignerID” column exists and has been registered but the application has been signed with that key.
To sign your application (represented by a .COD file) click the “Request” button at the bottom of the “Signature Tool” window. You will then be prompted for your Private Key. Note that the Private Key is different from the Registration PIN you supplied to RIM.
Once your application is signed the “Status” fields will read “Signed” and they will be green in color. You are now ready to deploy your application to a real BlackBerry.
Remember that each time you build your application a new COD file is generated and it will need to be signed again before the application can be deployed to a BlackBerry device.
I hope this article provides you some guidance as you get started in developing BlackBerry applications. If you have any comments please feel free to email me or post a comment.
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
I ran into a little trouble with BlackBerry’s code signing scheme. The root problem was that Windows didn’t know what program to use when opening a .CSI file. I feel this is a problem with the BlackBerry JDE Plug-In for Eclipse installation, but I still needed a resolution. The tech support team at RIM referred me to a knowledge base article which pointed me in the right direction. Since I had a compatible Sun JDK installed, and I didn’t want to re-install RIM’s tools again, I opted for the command line method. Since you have to sign three different keys, I created a batch file to make things easier.
The batch file I created is below. Please look at the simple code since you may have to change some of the paths to make them appropriate for your system. Once you create the file, place it in the same directories as your .CSI files and then you’ll be able to simply drag-and-drop the .CSI file “into” the batch file. You’ll then be prompted for all the information RIM needs to register your keys.
javaw -jar “C:\Program Files\Research In Motion\BlackBerry JDE 4.7.0\bin\signaturetool.jar” %1
pause
Now that your CSI files are signed, you need to register your application. In Eclipse, you go to Eclipse >> Request Signatures. Then you select each record in the table with a status of “Not Registered” and click the “Request” button. This is where I, again, run into trouble. Check back later, hopefully tomorrow, when I write up instructions on registering your application.
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
I’ve embarked on a new project that involves writing software for the Blackberry. So far it has been a maze of encryption keys, development environments, simulators and lots of mis-steps. In the coming months I plan on writing a few posts on my experiences but, for now, I plan on focusing on one of the things that has been causing me the most pain - The Blackberry JDE (Java Development Environment) plug-in for Eclipse.
In the past I’ve used Eclipse extensively. While at Lodgenet, it was my main IDE. So I’ve gotten familiar with the environment and it’s plug-in potential. Although I consider myself experienced, I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to Eclipse which could be the main source of my agony.
Overall the JDE plug-in is very nice. It allows you to seamlessy develop and test your Blackberry application against a wide variety of simulators. (If you’ve ever checked out the original Java Development Environment from RIM, you realize how much nicer Eclipse is.) The problem I ran into is this - I had all of the JDE Component Packages installed yet I couldn’t see the simulator for the Blackberry Storm. After some back-and-forth with RIM’s Technical Support proved to be worthless, I returned to a lot of digging on Google. Thankfully I came across this thread in their support forums. It had the answer I was looking for:
You can then select the comoponent pack to use from Window->Preferences->BlackBerry JDE->Installed Components. This will let you use the simulators available for the component pack you choose.
That one simple paragraph saved the day. I can now test applications for my Storm, and my friends’ Blackberries (Friends, if you’re reading this you’ll be getting an email soon asking you to help me alpha/beta test this software.)
To help other people who are as dense as I am, or those who just want to see what I’m talking about in action, below are some instructions and screen shots that show the problem I had. I will also show you how to configure Eclipse to make your development go a little more smoothly.
Choosing Your Component Package
This is where I went wrong - I didn’t know this could be done! Simply go to Window >> Preferences and you’ll see a dialog like the one below. In the “Choose one of Installed Components” menu, you’ll see all of the JDE Component Packages that you have installed. Each component package is used for testing a different version of the RIM’s Java API and for running different phone simulators. You must do some research on which component package is appropriate for your situation, see RIM’s KB article: What Is - Appropriate version of the Blackberry JDE.
Note - I think it’s safe to assume that if the Component Package you select doesn’t include all of the devices you’d like to support, you’ll need to create a separate release. There may be a work-around or “Compatibility Setting” to make things easier, but I haven’t found (nor have I really researched) one.
Creating a Run Configuration
If you’re familiar with Eclipse, Run Configurations are nothing new. But, I include some instructions here just for completeness.
To create a new Run Configuration, go to Run >> Run Configurations and you’ll be presented with the dialog below. Using the tree on the left of the dialog, select “Blackberry Simulator” then click the “New Launch Configuration” button. Give the configuration a meaningful name (Example: “BB Pearl 8130″) and select the “Simulator” tab. On this tab you’ll see a “Profile” menu. In that menu are all of the devices that are supported by the Component Package you selected previously. To make this configuration match the name above select “8130-JDE.” Now, click the “Apply” button and that will save your configuration.
I recommend that you create a Run Configuration for each device you want to test. Alternatively, you can create a configuration for each Component Package you have installed.
Using Run Configurations
Using the configurations you create is simple - Open the Run Configurations dialog, select the appropriate configuration and then click the “Run” button. Once you use a configuration once, it will be added to the list of configurations under the “Run” button (the one that is located on the main IDE screen). One thing to remember is that you’ll get odd errors if you use a run configuration that includes a device that isn’t supported by the Component Package that you’ve selected. Therefore, be sure to keep in your mind which device you’re using and which Component Package you have selected.
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009
The Storm first arrived at 10am this morning and I’ve been playing with it ever since. My first impression is that the device is named incorrectly, it should be called the Blackberry Flurry.
I’ve been following the Storm since early 2008 when information about it was first leaked. During the months between the initial leaks and its actual release I read every little piece of information - pictures, features, specs, etc. I was truly excited to get this phone.
I liken my experience to a child going to bed on Christmas Eve hoping to wake up to a ton of presents and winter wonderland outside of his window. The Storm does provide a ton of a new presents, in the form of new features, but no winter wonderland. To better explain my analogy, let me start from the Storm’s release date.
The phone was officially released on November 21, 2008 and it immediately sold out. I ordered mine directly from Verizon at 1pm that day, even after reading all of the horrible reviews. The Storm didn’t arrive until a week later even though I had it shipped FedEx Next Day. (To be fair, the shipping problem wasn’t RIM’s fault, but Verizon’s.)
This morning the phone arrived. Before I activated it, I decided to run a few tests: type a few fake emails, navigate around the menus and the applications, etc.
Typing on the keyboard feels strange. My first experience with PDA’s and smart phone’s began with a Handspring Visor back in 1999, so I have a deep-rooted sense of how a touch screen should work. The Storm’s screen doesn’t fit that idea. Simply placing your finger on a button or an icon will highlight it, you actually have to press down on the screen in order to activate the button or icon. The press isn’t a big deal, it requires the same amount of effort as a mouse click. But it will take some getting used to.
The strangeness of the keyboard led me to make a ton of mistakes. One mistake caused me to send an email to client well before it was ready to be sent. Thankfully the client had a sense of humor and the email didn’t contain any “gaystack“-type mistakes. I could only imagine what could happen…
The menu system and general navigation is just slow, painfully slow. One example is attempting to make a telephone call. I placed my Blackberry Pearl 8130 next to the Storm then I clicked the “Phone” button on each device. The Pearl’s phone keypad displayed noticeably quicker than the Storm’s. Very disappointing.
The accelerometer is also slow. The commercials lead one to believe that the screen’s orientation changes quite quickly, unfortunately that’s just advertising voodoo. In real world use, it’s painfully slow. So slow in fact that it actually caused me to press the wrong button a few times because I didn’t know if the orientation change didn’t register or it was just taking a while.
In order to take advantage of the accelerometer, applications must be updated. While it seems that the applications packaged with the Storm do support the accelerometer, some of the other 3rd party applications do not. Twitterberry (an otherwise great Blackberry Twitter client) doesn’t work well as it could, but todoMatrix seems to work just fine (but they released a Storm-compatible beta), and WorldMate Live (a favorite travel-related application of mine) just doesn’t work.
Another thing I noticed while playing with the Storm is its weight. Normally, I don’t take weight into account when comparing devices unfortunately the difference is noticeable when it comes to the Storm. The Pearl weighs in at 3.4oz, the Curve about 4.2oz and the Storm weighs 5.5oz. Not a big difference, just a few ounces but, in your hand, it feels immense. My hand actually gets tired after typing a long email. I’m not sure what the difference is.
One thing the phone does have going for it looks. Right now the phone is sitting on my desk and it looks very stylish. The screen is crisp and the colors are brilliant. Videos playing on the phone are wonderful. No lag, no slow downs and no shadowing, even when playing action movies.
The phone also comes with 1GB on-board memory and Verizon is shipping it with 8GB microSD card. The extra 8GB of space was something Verizon definitely got right. I’ve never purchased another device that came with so much extra memory.
The Storm is also a worldphone and Verizon will send you a SIM card already installed if you ask for it. I didn’t have to pay anything extra for the card.
I really want to fall in love with this phone. It is a beautiful device and the feature set is wonderful. Verizon Wireless has a 30-day return policy for existing customers and it may take me the full 30-days to decide whether or not to keep it.
Comments? Questions? A good or bad experience with the Storm? Post a comment!
Pro’s:
Con’s:
Friday, November 28th, 2008
I am a programmer, a de facto project manager and anal when it comes to organization. I code for a living, code on the side and I’m also on the board of a local young professionals organization. My life is quite hectic at times and tasks can come at me from any angle. Unfortunately none of the task managers at my disposal ever really met my approval.
My latest foray into this arena comes from REXwireless. Their todoMatrix application does not fail to impress. Task organization is very natural - your tasks are organized by “drawers” and then by “folders.” A task takes under a few seconds to create, this is a great deal quicker than any of the other applications I’ve used.
Another nice feature they have is named “injection.” todoMatrix installs an injection option to the menus provided by your Blackberry. Injection allows you to take the text currently displayed into a new task, saving a great deal of time.
Those few things made me fall in love with the application, but one feature really clinched it for me - rexDesktop. rexDesktop allows full CRUD on your todoMatrix data from the web.
todoMatrix is not without its quirks. It would be nice if there was option on the menu that displays the shortcuts available. I’m sure they’re in the documentation but I’m too lazy to read it and I couldn’t carry it with me.
Also, I find the UI to be lackluster. I’m going to break that comment into three separate parts - 1. The Main Screen, 2. The Folder View, and 3. The Item View.
The main screen displays a tree which contains all of your drawers and folders. Although you can configure the colors of the folders, it still feels clunky to me. In Rex’s defense, I’m not sure what more can be done with a tree.
This view shows all of the tasks that are stored under a particular folder. The top quarter of the screen displays information related to the selected tasks and the bottom three quarters show all of the tasks.
The task detail section is too small. So small that labels for the six data elements that are displayed contain acronyms. These acronyms, although logical, I can’t get their meaning as quickly as I’d like to. I’m forced to look at their values in order to determine what I’m looking at. It seems to me that there is room to expand this section or at least expand the label names.
The tasks displayed give you a hint as to their status but there are only two colors used - a light blue for uncompleted tasks and a light gray for completed ones. I would like configurable colors for each status or priority. I understand that this could lead to confusion for the user, but if the colors are configurable, then the user could use as many or as few as they like.
The Item View suffers from the same problem as the top portion of the Folder View but at least there’s a line that explains the meaning of each label.
This is probably my favorite feature of this application. Unfortunately, it too suffers from a UI problem - it sucks. In a world full of Ajax and flashy UI’s this web app still looks like something from the late 90’s. It is fully functional it just looks ugly. But I’ll still choose function over form.
Although I write a great deal about the things I don’t like, todoMatrix is a great application. I feel that its strong points speak for themselves. I can’t wait to see how this application matures in the coming versions.
—
todoMatrix can be purchased at rexWireless.
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
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