[Kindle] Unified Application Launcher. KUAL

[twobob]

UPDATE v 2.0:
Kindle k2, k2i, DX, 3, 4, 5, PW supported (all revisions)
Many thanks to Hackaday.com and lifehacker.com for their support

NOTICE! • Lägg märke • لاحظت • Beachten • AVIS • Обратите внимание • Προσοχή • LET OP • 注意 • نوٹس

BEFORE YOU CAN USE THE KINDLET: You MUST have installed the Prerequisites.

This is a pair of things. a) Developer Certificate and b) Kindlet Jailbreak

More details below... Installers are in the archives prerequisites-all-supported-devices

NOTE: Flashed 3.2.1 Dx's may not show up any kindlets... See Known Issues section for more details

Support: <-- Like read this... At least once

Spoiler:

Supporting the K2, K2i, DX, Kindle 3 Keyboard, Kindle 4 Range, Kindle Touch's and P/W

Originally Posted by A WORD FROM THE DEVELOPERS ABOUT DONATION

Twobob does not have a Kindle 2. Ixtab does not have a DXg. To be able to support and develop for these devices effectively is a LOT easier WITH the devices. Serial cables also.

If YOU choose to support this project please consider either donating a small amount via paypal here (simple 1 click process) kual@null.net. It is not mandatory. By any means. But we would appreciate it greatly.

Or you could help us keep the dedicated servers up by giving here http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=16490 , Alternately consider forwarding monies to the http://laosliteracyproject.org/ project. Any excess project funds will be forwarded there anyway. Thanks for listening. Enjoy the Thing!

OKAY THAT'S IT FOR THE DONATION INFORMATION - NOW READ ON...

UPSTREAM SOURCE: https://bitbucket.org/ixtab/kindlelauncher

YOU WILL NEED TO PUT STUFF IN YOUR EXTENSIONS FOLDER FOR THIS TO BE USEFUL.

This is simply a folder called extensions located in the ROOT of the drive WHEN YOU ATTACH VIA USB TO FAT. If you forget to make one in advance of running the program for the first time... This folder will be automatically created for you, containing a single test script. Therefore four KUAL buttons.

• Test Kual <-- The test script
• Sort ABC
• Sort 123
• and Quit

"What? that really obvious place right where all the other default folders are?"
"Yep, put stuff there.. in the folder called extensions"

BitRot, No Magic, Voodoo (or Unicorns) "What will run, what won't run"

SOME OF THE OLDER PROGRAMS NO LONGER WORK ON THE NEWER KINDLES (nothing to do with this launcher they just dont work properly anymore) SUCH AS MANY IN THIS OLD LIST: SOME OF THESE DONT WORK

Any known misbehaving application will have support notes linked from 3rd Party Support Notes (below) in an effort to save you grief and wasted time. Please read the notes and check your device types is supported to avoid disappointment.

ALSO: Some extensions such as Kterm ARE DEVICE SPECIFIC. This launcher won't MAGICALLY make code that is DEVICE SPECIFIC work on OTHER DEVICES.

If it doesn't normally work on that type of device? It won't work via this launcher either.

NOTE: There is a push to provide binaries (or pairs of binaries) that provision for all device types. These gtk-driven releases will fit perfectly into the ecosystem of KUAL. This provisioning is still in it's infancy however. Some working prototypes do, now, exist so perhaps watch this space

Enough shouting. You get the picture by now. It's a launcher of "other things" not an exciting thing in itself...

The new KUAL v2.0 and above is less forgiving of BROKEN syntax in extension menu.json files... If you find any let us know and we will try to contact the author to get them fixed "at source", there are very helpful details all about the new KUAL error reporting mechanisms and what to do about the issues HERE:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=778

ALSO: We have included a few optional helper scripts to get you going:
Called "Helper" (attached - unzip to FAT-ROOT/extensions/helper)

Complete List of Requirements & Their Installation:
To install a .bin file place it on the FAT ROOT of your kindle and choose UPDATE YOUR KINDLE from the SETTING page. Actual message text may vary, it will be obvious which one to use. Transferring the .bin files via usb rather than over ssh will ensure the installer is in a ready-to-work state on all device types.

Here is the list of things you must have installed. 4 In Total.

Spoiler:

[1] Jailbreak:

Select the relevant Jailbreak for your device. You will need one of these.

K5 / PW(5.2.0 - 5.3.2.1, 5.3.4) • K5 / PW (5.1.x - 5.2.0) • Kindle 4 • Kindle DX, 2.x, 3.x

[2i] Kindlet Jailbreak & [2ii] Shared Developer Keys:

(All Devices) Apply the correct pair from the prerequisites bundle

They will be of the format:
update_<DEV>_<SER>_devcerts_install.bin and also...
update_<DEV>_<SER>_kindlet_jailbreak_install.bin

Install them - one at a time - using the "UPDATE YOUR KINDLE" Method.
So to be clear: Install ONE... THEN the other one... NOT BOTH TOGETHER

[3] Install Kindlet:

Copy the relevant azw2 file to the documents folder on your kindle.
See Running the kindlet section, below.

SO TO RECAP:
(1) JAILBREAK,
(2) KINDLET PREREQUISITES,
(3) PLACE THE CORRECT KINDLET IN THE KINDLES documents FOLDER (folder you put books in)
See Running the kindlet section below to determine which Kindlet to use

Running the kindlet:

Spoiler:

Depending on your device:

(DX, K2, K3, K4)
Put KindleLauncher-1.0.azw2 in documents folder.
Run it by clicking new kindlet document in your list.

(Touch, PW)
Put KindleLauncher-2.0.azw2 in documents folder.
Run it by clicking icon.

Expected output:

Spoiler:

It should read through the /mnt/us/extensions folder and build a list of your extensions. Each command will create one button. you then click a button to launch the required application. Results are now paginated, and roll-around for easier scrolling.



NOTE: /mnt/us/extensions is simply a folder called extensions when you connect via normal USB.
Usbnetworking is not required to access this folder.

The "Helper" Extensions Optional extra

Spoiler:

(All Devices) If you would like some helpful additional buttons you can get the Helper Extensions package.

Unzip the archive and place the contents in a folder called helper in the extensions folder. Simply extracting the folder IN the extensions folder will work fine too since the helper folder name is included in the archive.

The USBNETWORK Extensions only work when usbnetworking app is installed.
The 711 Network report is Touch / PW specific at this time. Silently failing on other devices

FAQ:

Spoiler:

What stage is the project at?
It's at a release stage. Stable.

Anything I should know?
You should only ever run code on your device from trusted sources. Code run via this launcher is no exception. We accept no responsibility and expect you to be vigilant and mindful of any custom code you choose to run on your machine.

Removing unwanted entries from menu
If you have a menu item you don't want. simply renaming the correct /mnt/us/extensions/<application name>/config.xml and menu.json to config-skip.xml and menu-skip.json will remove them from the lists next load. or delete the offending folders. your call.

Adding things to the menu
Simply construct a pair of config.xml and menu.json in it's own application subfolder under /mnt/us/extensions/<application name>/ just like before. The launcher should now parse it.
At a minimum point the menu.json to run at least one thing (like say a shell script) to be actually useful.

http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/KUAL_What's_New Contains a whole BUNCH of good information for developers about how to use the new KUAL 2.x menu system. Give that a read too.

How do I convert my Launchpad scripts?
There is a basic guide to converting the launchpad calls to menu items.
Currently we don't auto-parse the launchpad folder. So this process is required to support applications on the older (pre Touch) devices.


How Do I Exit?
The kindlet will exit when you click a choice
Currently just press the HOME key if you have one or the < icon.
Or select an item, the menu is now self-terminating.

So what can you do with this?
Run other applications

Spoiler:

For info on supported Known packages visit [KUAL] Extension Support and Versioning AND [KUAL] Button Def. Packages

• VIEWERS / TERMINALS / BROWERS / READERS / NOTEPADS
• KindlePDFviewer 2 DX 3 4 [5] [PW] (see notes for 5 and PW)
  
• Hacked Up Reader 5 PW
  
• Skipstone 5 PW
  
• KindleVncViewer 2 DX 3 4 [5] [PW] (see notes for 5 and PW)
  
• Kterm 5 PW
  
• LeafPad 5 PW
  
• IRC Client 5 PW
  
• Komic 5 (Revisions 5.0.0 - 5.1.2) and NOW Rev. 5.3.2 as of Komic V 2.2
  
  GAMES / MEDIA / GNASH / ART
  
• Fbgnuboy game loader 2 DX 3
  
• Frotz curses interface for Kindle Touch & Paperwhite 5 PW
  
• Gmplay (Kindle Silent Movie player) 2 3 4 5 PW
  
• Javascript Games For Skipstone 5 PW
  
• Eboard Chess 5 PW
  
• Minesweeper 5 PW?
  
• Mplayer GUI 5 PW?
  
• Gnash 5 PW
  
• KUAL flite Speech Synthesiser (talking clock demo) All Audio-Enabled Kindles
  
• Draw - a simple TS drawing application 5, PW
  
• Basic Audio Recorder for Kindle Touch All Audio-Enabled Kindles
  
• gtkSudoku for kindle touch KT 5.1.2 ONLY SERIOUS ISSUES
  
  COLLECTIONS / SYSTEM / SECURITY / FIREWALL / UTILITIES
  
• Broken Screen Scroller 2 DX 3 4
  
• Vague - Voice Activated GUi Extension (TOUCH DEMO) 5
  
• REALLY SIMPLE Calculator (pythonGTK) 5 PW
  
• Collections Manager Launcher 5 PW
  
• KUAL Firewall with BBB filter 2 DX 3 4 5 PW
  
• BackDoorLock hack - prevents silent updates 2 DX 3 4 5 PW
  
• Set DateTime from Server 3 4 5 PW
  
• Toggle Light via KUAL for PAPERWHITE PW ONLY
  
• KUAL DevHelp - dmesg->doc button 2 DX 3 4 5 PW
  
• Battery Report 2 DX 3 4 5 PW
  
• DuokanLauncher 3? 4? 5 PW?
  
• FontConfig 5 PW
  
• SSmodeSwitcher 5 (Revision 5.1.2 ONLY)
  
• FolderToggle NOT SUPPORTED

Anything I might not have read above that I really should have?

Originally Posted by SUPPORT ADVICE

Since most of the support requests are about the initial installation this section has been expanded to hopefully make it perfectly clear.
Before you ask for support: Have you installed the PREREQUISITES? They are REQUIRED.

Spoiler:

You MUST install the Prerequisites. This is a pair of things.
a) Developer Certificates and b) Kindlet Jailbreak

For all devices we provide one zip files with both of them in: The Prerequisites

This pair are really required. Like really. you NEED them.
The large error messages will be a clue if you forget this step.
You install them one-at-a-time, using the UPDATE MY KINDLE option in HOME>SETTINGS

Don't expect support if you haven't installed them other than "Install them!"

So by this point you should be 100% ready to install everything...
Give it a go...

We maintain lists of known issues and other exciting details like "change logs" below. Enjoy the App.

Testing, errata, one last time...

Spoiler:

There are a couple of apps that don't play nicely - xterm for example on the PW must be replaced by Kterm. Documenting these corner cases would go a long way towards knowing what needs to be fixed. Some efforts to this end are being made in the 3rd Party Support Notes section below.
Feel free to add comments about amending that as needed.

This is in the Release phase right now for k2, k2i, DX. k3, k4, k5 and PW series devices, support is confirmed for these devices and it is safe to use the installers on them.

You can follow the project updates and grab the source here: Kindle Launcher Git

Also Attached as described above is the "Helper" extensions package.
THIS REALLY NEEDS UPDATING TO BE USEFUL ON ALL DEVICES... Some bits won't work on some models right now...

However: DO, Simply un-archive the HELPER package and place the resulting "helper" folder and it's contents in your extensions folder to get started with a few "Helper" links. If you don't have an extensions folder then create one and put it in there. Get you going with a few buttons.

Programmers details:

Spoiler:

TODO:

Spoiler:

Expand parser to include some more CommandRunner, Kite and Launchpad support
Make it prettier. - still.
Document everything.
Fixup the script spawning underbelly again. one last time
UPDATE HELPER TO BE USEFUL ON ALL DEVICE TYPES

Credits. Twobob, Ixtab, StepK, KNC1, et al.

Spoiler:

Thanks to KNC1 for download authentication support.
wakawakawaka for testing the DX prerequisites.
All the application authors who took the time to provide support.
All those kind users who were good enough to provide extensions for their favourite apps.
Yifan was the original chap whoms configs we parse.
All the unsung demo authors whose work we draw from on a daily basis.
And everyone else along the way.

Changelog:

Spoiler:

0.0 added code to remove parse scripts from temp directory.

0.0.1 updated logo, removed some debug from status bar
Helper changes - Fixed DOS line ending. Updated kterm killer script.

0.0.2 Added process backgrounding and suicide call to kindlet. now is one shot.
created tidyup for orphaned process stubs.
added killall for known to misbehave apps.

0.0.3 Swapped in new shell parser.
New "\u0001" separator format.
Basic one tier layout still used for now.
Titles simplified to single commands - for initial V.0.3 Test release
Since "Helper" is near-stable, versioning removed with an eye to perpetuity.
chowned zips root:root and re-packed, updated gpg-signatures

0.2.0 Support for older devices.
Paged results
Old parser used again to support older ash
prerequisite installers for some devices
warnings when prerequisites are missing

0.2.1 New parser put in place.
Fixed missing title name bug
added unified prerequisite installer.
Added experimental k2, k2i and DX support. <-- UNTESTED

0.2.2 "shut down" and "open something else" delay added.
logo evolution
bugfix release

Version 0.2.3
Halved launcher delay for commands wth usleep
aloop-20130130a.sh implemented with 200%+ speed increase for parser
credit given to stepk for his, now long, work on improving the original parser
product.vendor=twobob ixtab stepk

0.3.0
Fixed up indirection.
Silent script Update.
Evolved Logo.
Docs Bump.
Pagination now "rolls-around".

0.3.1
grouping now works "Naturally"
Logo bump

0.3.2 Bugfix release
Label names allow special characters. If you REALLY want that.
Extension folder names may have spaces now
gpg files broken out into gpg-authenticity-verification-files-NOT-required-KUAL.V.0.3.2. bundles

0.4 The SORTED release
- When there are no extensions KUAL displays a test button
- fix: now can have multiple buttons with the same name
- many bug fixes and work-arounds
- documentation

LIST

KUAL's own menu and replace store button
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=476

config file and error reporting
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=479

sort by "123"
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=481

sort by "ABC"
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=482

sort by "abc"
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=483

recap
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=484

new reporting mechanism (extension scripts can use it too)
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=468
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=496

2.0 The EVOLUTION release

Spoiler:

CHANGE LOG
20130502,a
+ Added: JSON "status":false disables displaying the contents of JSON
"action":"commands" in the status line prior to launching action.
# Added: JSON "date":true displays the current date/time in the
status line after having launched an action.
. Removed: temporary button 'Clear cache on restart (temp)'

20130430,a
- Fixed: no button focused on 5-way controller devices!

20130429,a
# More robust, possibly faster, kindlet start.

20130428,a
- Fix: spurious message 'cannot update cached menu' in KUAL.log
+ Added: JSON key/value "refresh":true rescans /mnt/us/extensions
and refreshes the displayed menu. This enables extensions to
'dynamically change' the menu.

Internal changes:
+ Class KualLog in package resources

20130427,a
+ Auto-reload changed menu.

Internal changes:
+ Classes KualMenu, kualConfig, and MailboxProcessor in package resources
+ Interface MailboxCommand in package resources
# Kindlet code refactoring

20130425,a
# Testing usability of left-sided up button and new toTop and Quit buttons
- Fixed: kindlet could run on either KT or K3 but not both (timer issue)
+ Added checked buttons - JSON key/value "checked":true
. FIXME K3 doesn't repaint the button label immediately
+ Added toTop and Quit buttons - placed after all level buttons
. Minor cosmetic changes

Internal changes:
+ Class KualEntry in package resources
+ Class TimerAdapter in package timer package
+ Class KualButton in package ui/v2
# Kindlet code refactoring

20130421,a
- Fixed: failed starting on K3/K4
+ Added: auto-delete old cache file on new version upgrade.
- Fixed: spurious "can't hash" error message on very first start.

20130420,a
+ Added automatic cache expiration. Manual cache management should
no longer be necessary. The 'Clear cache on restart' temporary
button will be phased out shortly, unless testers report that it's
still needed and why. Did you need to use it? Why? Could you achieve
the same result in a different way without pressing the button?
. Tested on KT only

20130418,a
+ Added cache. KUAL starts faster when the cache exists.
. Until implementation of a cache expiration policy (TODO) users
Users need to manually delete the cache to apply changes
to their configuration and menu. Use new button in KUAL menu
'Clear cache on restart' - TEMPORARY.
. The cache file includes all configuration data, so if you edit
KUAL.cfg or change sort order you need to clear the cache.
# Change: In KUAL.cfg KUAL_options becomes KUAL_sort_mode.
YOU NEED TO manually update your KUAL.cfg file once.
# Change sorting options.
# "ABC" (default) lexicographically sorts top-level entries only and
# leaves sub-menu entries in the order that the menu author defined.
# "ABC!" (bang) sorts ALL levels lexicographically.
# "123" sorts EACH level by json key "priority" (=0 when unspecified)
#KUAL_sort_mode="ABC"
+ Enhanced usability of sub-menu "KUAL"
! Certain features are discontinued to simplify async execution of
the parser script (see Internal changes below).
Discontinued features include:
. Test applet - replaced by trail message button 'Add some extensions!'
. 'Replace/Restore Store button' button - it may come back as a
stand-alone extension for KT/PW, if enough interest.
. The '[ "$KUAL" ] && $KUAL $n"' application interface. In particular
this takes away the 4-line message display on which demo extension
'Save KUAL from suicide' relies.
- Fix: added expansion of all JSON string escapes, \n \t etc.
. KNOWN LIMITATION: can't expand \uHHHH escape
- Fixed rare (and harmless) error message upon sorting zero entries.

Planned (not in this build):
+ Menu collation. Stutus: implemented. Testing in progress.
+ Menu navigation improvements for lower devices.

Internal changes:
# Script parse.awk replaces parse.sh
+ Upgraded parser core to JSON.awk 1.10.
+ (EXPERIMENTAL) Async execution of the parser script. Now the kindlet
does not wait for the parser to exit before calling initializeGUI().
This change aims at buying the kindlet more time to build its GUI
before the 5000 ms timeout expires. It also frees the parser to run
errands as necessary after sending the kindlet the parsed menu - either
from the cache file or from scratch.
# Minor tool and documentation updates.

20130412,a
# Change: ABC sorting only sorts the top-level entries and leaves sub-menu
entries in the order that the menu author defined.
. You can force ABC sorting at ALL levels by adding/changing the following
option in KUAL.cfg: KUAL_options="-s=ABC!"
. If you use KUAL_options="-s=ABC" (without ! that is) or omit -s=xyz from
KUAL_options you get top-level alphabetic sorting only (default).
. Be aware that changing sort order from the "KUAL" sub-menu resets the
value of -s=xyz in KUAL_options.
. When ABC (not ABC!) sorting is in effect, you can rearrange the order of
"KUAL" sub-menu entries by simply listing them in a specific order in
option KUAL_show_KUAL_buttons, i.e., KUAL_show_KUAL_buttons="99 1 2 3"
shows the Quit button on top. This tweak has no effect when 123 or ABC!
sorting are in effect.
- Fixed tokenizer issue upon reading backslash-backslash in a JSON string
+ Improved JSON parser error reporting
# Changed error annunciator (cosmetic)

Internal changes:
# More dead wood removed from ash script.


20130410,a
- Fix regression in KUAL menu sort option
# Change: now ABC sorting ignores case
+ documentation updates

20130409,a
- Fix "wrong action is executed when a menu.json file includes multiple top-level items".
- Minor fixes and improvements

20130408,a
Fix kindlet timeout issue
- Fixed the reason for kindlet timeout issue in the parse script
+ Improved script's early error reporting mechanism

20130407,a
New options and default values speed up scanning /mnt/us/extensions
# Change: by default do not recurse /mnt/us/extensions/* when
searching for json files. Equivalent to setting KUAL_search_depth=2
# Change: by default skip searching /mnt/us/extensions/system.
+ KUAL.cfg option: KUAL_search_depth="N"
search /mnt/us/extensions up to N levels deep (default N=2)
+ KUAL.cfg option: KUAL_search_exclude_paths="system"
semicolon-separated list of paths to exclude when scanning
/mnt/us/extensions.
It does make a noticeable difference when scanning a huge extension
folder like the 'KUAL system' extension. Comparison: KT running
version 20130407a vs. 20130405a w/ and w/o 'system' extension
20130407a w/o w/
real 0m 0.67s real 0m 0.93s <<<<
user 0m 0.55s user 0m 0.74s
sys 0m 0.11s sys 0m 0.11s

20130405a w/o w/
real 0m 0.76s real 0m 3.90s <<<<
user 0m 0.53s user 0m 0.77s
sys 0m 0.14s sys 0m 0.48s

20130405,a
Extensions can now write a message to the trail/status lines
+ Extension can write a fixed message into the trail line with json
{"name":"label","action":"TRAIL","params":"this message","exitmenu":false}
+ Extension can write a verbatim message into the status line with json
{"name":"label","action":"STATUS","params":"thi s message","exitmenu":false}
! Note that it's a fixed message; sh doesn't process it at all
+ Capture stderr of extensions to /var/tmp/KUAL.log
+ New KUAL sub-menu button "File KUAL log as a document"; moves KUAL.log to /mnt/us/documents/
! Still not quite working; the log file is always empty. Could it be due to the suicidal context ?!?
- Fix out of range index in setTrail()
- Removed more dead wood and command-line options -c -f,

20130404,d
- Fix file descriptors and segmentation fault
= Port of user option handling complete

20130404,c
- Fixed regression bug in EXTENSIONDIR scan
- Fixed missing version string (corner case)

20130404,b
+ ixtab's Unicode support for KualButton.
* commit to kindlelauncher repo

20130404,a
+ ixtab's KUAL 0.4.1 improved GUI buttons on lower devices.
Internal changes
+ Export interface #3: test_applet install
+ Scan EXTENSIONDIR and read KUAL.cfg in awk script
# Stripped more dead wood.

20130402,a
! Huge rewrite complete, I might have missed to reconnected all
previous functions but, for the most part, KUAL 2 is here!
+ Dive-in menu support, 3 button navigation (prev, next, up) with
trail line (press the trail line to go up).
+ Faster startup time. KT takes twobob's huge extensions folder no sweat.
+ Improved but -by design - UNFORGIVING json parser. Fix your menus.
Invalid json files don't slow down loading the menu.
+ KUAL.log file in /mnt/us/extensions (pending bug fix).
+ KUAL menu stays fixed on top. Shows number of error messages, if any.
Press any error message button => KUAL.log snapshot to /mnt/us/documents.
+ No suicide json key - "exitmenu":false
+ KUAL.cfg in /mnt/us/extensions, options to: selectively hide KUAL
menu buttons, stop following links when looking for json files,
hide the status line (sends status info to the trail line).
+ Show version/build number in the status line (if not hidden).
! Before starting any extension KUAL changes directory to the
location of the menu.json file.
- Sundry bug fixes, improvements, cosmetics.
= KUAL menu: Quit, Store button, Sort 123, Sort ABC.
= Tested on KT 5.3.2 only. Should run on K3.

20130330,a
+ Start new version based on stepk's awk port of JSON.sh
! Urge to document - before I forget - the limits of nested menus:
- maximum nesting level = 10 [0..9]
- maximum entries per sub-menu = 255 [0..254]
255^10 = 1,162,523,670,191,533,212,890,625 =~ =~ 1.1625 x 10^24
1 septillion... 1 million billion billion... Compare it with:
4.3 x 10^17 seconds, age of the universe
1.0 x 10^80 estimated number of atoms in the universe

Known issues:

Spoiler:

ERROR "This device is not authorized as a test Kindle by the developer of this item"
SOLUTION Re/Install the DEVELOPER KEYS from the prerequisites bundle.

ERROR "Kindlet Jailbreak not installed"
SOLUTION Install the KINDLET JAILBREAK from the prerequisites bundle.

ERROR Flashed 3.2.1 Dx's may not show up any kindlets...
SOLUTION There is a workaround by TJW <-- tested by wakawakawaka

ERROR Kindlet did not shut down properly: Occasionally a seemingly spurious fail message is shown: "Kindlet did not shut down properly... blah.. blah.."



SOLUTION

Spoiler:

This happens generally after:

• A change in the install of prerequisites. (following a failed previous "open" attempt)
• A newly installed application ends with a bang.
• You restart your kindle while the app is running somehow (ssh, rebootApp, etc)

Just press on "OK" then "Home" IN TIME, or suffer the reboot

Simply opening KUAL again (after you dismissed the message) will work just fine. Very rare. Benign. This is actually the Amazon framework doing it's job correctly and alerting us we had an issue. IIRC there is some way of auto-clearing the notification but this seems contrary. Therefore "Won't fix".

3rd Party Support Notes:

Spoiler:

Extension with serious issues are colored.
Many have no issues but additional helpful run notes etc. check pages for details.

FolderToggle NOT SUPPORTED Issues noted HERE

SSmodeSwitcher KT 5.1.2 ONLY Issues noted HERE

gtkSudoku for kindle touch KT 5.1.2 ONLY SERIOUS Issues noted HERE

Hacked up Reader Issues noted HERE

Komic Issues noted HERE

Skipstone Issues noted HERE

Leafpad Issues noted HERE

IRC Client Issues noted HERE

Gnash Issues noted HERE

Kterm Issues noted HERE

Eboard Chess Issues noted HERE

Javascript Games For Skipstone Issues noted HERE

KindlePDFViewer Issues noted HERE

KindleVNCViewer Issues noted HERE

Frotz Issues noted HERE

Fbgnuboy game loader Issues noted HERE

Minesweeper Issues noted HERE

Collections Manager Launcher Issues noted HERE

Set DateTime from Server Issues noted HERE

KUAL flite Speech Synthesiser (talking clock demo) Issues noted HERE

Vague - Voice Activated GUi Extension (TOUCH DEMO) Issues noted HERE

Gmplay (Kindle Silent Movie player) Issues noted HERE

Basic Audio Recorder for Kindle Touch Issues noted HERE

Toggle Light via KUAL for PAPERWHITE Issues noted HERE

BackDoorLock hack - prevents silent updates Issues noted HERE

KUAL Firewall with BBB filter Issues noted HERE

KUAL DevHelp - dmesg->doc button Issues noted HERE

DuokanLauncher Issues noted HERE

FontConfig Issues noted HERE

Broken Screen Scroller Issues noted HERE

Simple Calculator Issues noted HERE

Battery Report Issues noted HERE

Draw - a simple TS drawing application Issues noted HERE

Mplayer GUI Issues noted HERE

Much of these issues are bit rot of old extensions... not the launchers failing.

NOTES: Are you a user? please report your fails on the relevant threads.
Are you a developer? use the templating system to add yourself as a "known" application.

Probably other apps exist and have issues.... If you find one we missed? Let us know.

GPG KEYS:

Spoiler:

Do I need them??? No.

You can add these to your host computer key-rings (I.E: not to the kindle) to check the attached azw2 files for authenticity. Should you choose to here http://drpbox.knetconnect.com/mr-keys/ is the link to the repos of MR public keys. The twobob one works for this project. sigs and gpg's attached.

Here's a howto guide for gpg for those that need/want one

HOW DO I UPGRADE FROM AN EARLIER ONE?
No need to touch the prerequisites.
Replace the old KindleLauncher-(1|2).0.azw2 file in the documents folder with the new one.
That's everything. You can find the new one in the KUAL.V.2.0 files below

[silver18]

That's amazing!!!!
I just tried it and it works really fine!
Komic just works (I tried it on my 5.1.2 Touch. Could you please send me a PM describing the problem you found so I can fix it?).

This kindlet is fantastic!!!
Thanks to both of you!

[twobob]

Yeah. it was the config.xml line endings. Please run dos2unix over your config files before releasing them in the future mate

IN FACT IF ANYONE HAS ANY DOUBTS ABOUT THEIR FILES??? RUN THIS OVER THEM

EDIT: Although it shouldn't matter now... The parser will fix it up : )

Thanks for testing.

Attached some files that are useful (many of them only work on KT <5.3.2) - and annoying to get hold of.

[eureka]

You've forgot to put this link into your post: https://bitbucket.org/ixtab/kindlelauncher

[silver18]

I always use Programmer's notepad from when I first had lots of problems with line endings.
Anyway, I'll check twice before releasing (BTW, no new releases until I have some spare time!).

This launcher could really beat the original one! It could also display images along with extension's name!!
I'm loving it!!

[twobob]

Originally Posted by eureka

You've forgot to put this link into your post: https://bitbucket.org/ixtab/kindlelauncher

No I didn't forget.

I chose to leave it out. EDIT: But you were right to ask / provide links to the source of course

when it's ready for the bigtime - Ie the support is fixed for the lower devices. - Then I would have shared it.

EDIT: And now it's there

You can follow the project updates and grab the source here: Kindle Launcher Git

[twobob]

Originally Posted by silver18

I always use Programmer's notepad from when I first had lots of problems with line endings.
Anyway, I'll check twice before releasing (BTW, no new releases until I have some spare time!).

This launcher could really beat the original one! It could also display images along with extension's name!!
I'm loving it!!

Okay mate. good thoughts. In an effort to limit to amount of items the generic UI interface create so far I have gone with the utter barebones Ixtab provided.

No doubt someone with more Java skills can make this thing be beautiful.
One for "Nice to Have" pile. Thanks

[phoeagon]

Any idea on whether it works on 5.3.2 (KT) and 5.3.3 (PW)?

[twobob]

Originally Posted by phoeagon

Any idea on whether it works on 5.3.2 (KT) and 5.3.3 (PW)?

Should be device agnostic.

[DuckieTigger]

Just a quick post. Since I was the guinea pig for PW, it works great on PW running at 5.3.3. Will update later with more information.

p.s.: A quick note for installing. When on Windows and using 7zip and WinSCP. You have to extract the azw2 first before drag and dropping into your documents folder. Otherwise dragging out of 7zip and you get a nasty error3. And it took me quite a while to fix that.

[twobob]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Just a quick post. Since I was the guinea pig for PW, it works great on PW running at 5.3.3. Will update later with more information.

p.s.: A quick note for installing. When on Windows and using 7zip and WinSCP. You have to extract the azw2 first before drag and dropping into your documents folder. Otherwise dragging out of 7zip and you get a nasty error3. And it took me quite a while to fix that.

Ah great. PW test. thanks.

Heh yeah good point. FULLY extract the files first - then onto devices Noted.

[NiLuJe]

Congrats! \o/

Speaking of the whole 7zip thing: @twobob: You might want to switch to zip, a lot of windows archivers are *really* stupid when dealing with gzipped tarball (two-pass decompression: gunzip, then untar, instead of rolling it all into one...).

[twobob]

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Congrats! \o/

Speaking of the whole 7zip thing: @twobob: You might want to switch to zip, a lot of windows archivers are *really* stupid when dealing with gzipped tarball (two-pass decompression: gunzip, then untar, instead of rolling it all into one...).

Thanks. It was mainly Ixtabs efforts, I'm just the monkey

Noted. and thus uploaded updated versioned tar.gz and same for zip

Appreciate the assist.

[knc1]

One of the most powerful things that could be imagined on a *nix machine -

Drop a shell script (and supporting files) in user storage - run it as 'root'

Also opens the door to malicious scripting targeted at the end-user who can not (or will not) read them before running them.

OK - I really, really hate to rain on this mornings parade, but . . . .

Let us adopt the habit of having the author always provide a detached signature file that can be checked for authentic with a pgp or gpg public key.

All host OSs support that checking (with either the pgp or gpg applications) - so signature checking can be off-kindle ;
Each provider of an archive can use their own key pair ;
Each provider can post their public key of the pair in a trusted location - here or on a public gpg key server ;

Adopting this sort of policy should be welcomed by the providers of archive packages - it minimizes the liability of "Your application published all my personal data" - - -
If that installed application archive **was not** signed by the author who published it - then s/he didn't do it - sue someone else.

Adopting this sort of policy should be welcomed by the end-users of these archive packages - it gives assurance that they are using an **authentic** copy of the author's archive.

Yes, of course, humans have a tendency to not download and test the signature against the archive -
That only means they have chosen not to protect themselves, their device and their personal information **PRIOR** to running the archived application.
Their loss, their fault, none of us did it to you. Go sue someone else.

Here is a worked example -
My mirrors.minimodding.com domain publishes **copies** of other peoples archives.
You will find a signature file for every archive posted.
In the side-bar you can find two (2) independent sources of the public key needed to check that the archives are authentic. (Which also does a checksum test for corrupted downloads.)

For Linux (any *nix) and probably for MacOSx also, it is just a matter of the user downloading both the archive and the signature - -
Then in their file manager, clicking on "check signature" for the archive.
At which point (if it passes) they know they have a true copy of whatever I posted.

Simple - only adds a couple of clicks to the entire process of installing a new application for the launcher.

For the author - nearly as simple - in your file manager just click the file and pick "sign" then pick the key you are using for this purpose.

MacOSx:
https://www.gpgtools.org/

WinBoxen:
http://gpg4win.org/

Linux:
Pre-installed by most distributions, and available in your distribution repo if not.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by twobob

Ah great. PW test. thanks.

Heh yeah good point. FULLY extract the files first - then onto devices Noted.

First crash. When running kterm and letting pw go to sleep, upon waking up it displays kterm shortly and then back to launcher. No way to get back to the running kterm again. Starting kterm again and runs a new version. When exiting launcher pw will complain that app did not close right and wants restart or cancel. Maybe simply adding an killall everythingthatwasstarted might do the trick.