Customizing/Developing on Kindle

Nachtkater · 11-26-2014, 05:28 AM

Hey Guys,

some time has passed since I got my PW2 and JB'ed it.
Basically I'm only using it for the SS hack so far, but I wondered if I could push further.
After graduading an education as IT specialist/developer this year and only working with databases at work since then, I thought about possibilities of developing stuff for the kindle to get a bit into coding again.
Just I can't find any information, what the possibilities are, what can be used or done.

Is there some place to start looking in?
I realized during the JB was python installed, can tis be used some way?

Thanks in advance for any information on this.

knc1 · 11-26-2014, 06:34 AM

As an owner of a PW2 you are in danger of being hit with an update to firmware 5.6.1
Currently, firmware version 5.6.1 would place a serious limitation on your choices.

To help you decide what you want to do first, See:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...81&postcount=6

None of the i.MX6 Kindles (2013 and 2014 PW2, 2014 KT2, 2014 KV) are a good choice to practice/learn on.
We can't 'auto-debrick' those.

Instead, get yourself a used K4 or K5 to start out on.
Those can be 'auto-debricked' with Kubrick.

The K5 was the last model with audio device support -
It uses the IR scanner touch screen, like the new KT2 does -
There is a lot of information here about the K5, both in the forum and in the Wiki.

On the other hand -
The K4 is approximately 'throw-away cheap' by now.

Nachtkater · 11-26-2014, 07:58 AM

I'll have a look into getting a K4/K5 if it sounds worth the investment.
As for my PW2, I am at least guarded by backdoorlock. Will have a look into OTA rename.

But for programming itself - what could I even do, is currently more of a question.
Could I for example somehow make a screensaver showing current time or similar?
Would I use said python for such a thing? Since html files are supported, could I include some scripts in there to make a (crappy) game type of thing? Read somewhere there was (ancient) java/javascript support for example...

NiLuJe · 11-26-2014, 08:19 AM

My Python build doesn't ship with anything GUI-toolkit related (and isn't part of the JailBreak itself, but of a dedicated package).
There's a fairly ancient GTK stack available on the device itself, but I refuse to lower myself to building against such ancient code ;p. baf & twobob have shown that it was useable, though

.

Other than that, for UI stuff, you used to have the Java Kindlet stuff, but that's apparently been deprecated, and has fairly particular and annoying limitations, so let us speak of it no more.

That leaves playing with the framebuffer manually, which is what KOReader does, for instance.

(There also used to be a Qt build laying around, but I'm not sure it ever was completely usable on FW 5.x).

brianinmaine · 11-26-2014, 10:51 PM

Have a look at post #31 of this link:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=224800

I posted simple instructions to make a Debian chroot for ARM which allows you to compile almost anything, the trick is getting it to display properly. Most of the programs I've seen/tried need to patch in the window title in a special format to make it on the top layer. Can be done, just a bit tricky. Look at some of the projects for KUAL, twobob and I have even included some patches for stuff. With twobobs help I finally got kcheckers to work for example and included a patch.

I have only a Touch, so debricking is pretty easy (and I have needed it

. Good luck with what you decide! I'd like to see some more projects!

knc1 · 11-27-2014, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nachtkater

I'll have a look into getting a K4/K5 if it sounds worth the investment.
- - - - -

Wrong consideration. Rather:
How many sets of PW2 spare parts can you afford to create when you brick them?
And you will brick them while learning.

Nachtkater · 11-28-2014, 01:43 AM

Thank you all for the answers again.

So basically, if I don't really know what I'm doing there, I'll have a hard time with basic language knowledge, which is mainly c an java. To me this seems all tied close to os and hardware from what you linked here and what I found in the wiki.

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

Wrong consideration. Rather:
How many sets of PW2 spare parts can you afford to create when you brick them?
And you will brick them while learning.

Sorry if I was expressing this a bit cryptic - what I meant was, if it is even worth trying, given the results that would be achievable for me with the knowledge I have and think I could get.

brianinmaine · 11-28-2014, 03:28 AM

I'm no coder at all - I'm more of a "code-changer-until-I-get-it-working" kind of guy. I've been helped a lot along the way - I have made some programs on here I believe helped the group, and tried making some games work, just trying stuff. Depends what you are looking for. What do you want to do? You can just use an ereader to read books... or you can learn more. I'm having fun so far - EXCELLENT support here.

11-26-2014, 05:28 AM	#1
Nachtkater Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2	Customizing/Developing on Kindle Hey Guys, some time has passed since I got my PW2 and JB'ed it. Basically I'm only using it for the SS hack so far, but I wondered if I could push further. After graduading an education as IT specialist/developer this year and only working with databases at work since then, I thought about possibilities of developing stuff for the kindle to get a bit into coding again. Just I can't find any information, what the possibilities are, what can be used or done. Is there some place to start looking in? I realized during the JB was python installed, can tis be used some way? Thanks in advance for any information on this.

11-26-2014, 06:34 AM	#2
knc1 Going Viral Posts: 17,212 Karma: 18210809 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Central Texas Device: No K1, PW2, KV, KOA	As an owner of a PW2 you are in danger of being hit with an update to firmware 5.6.1 Currently, firmware version 5.6.1 would place a serious limitation on your choices. To help you decide what you want to do first, See: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...81&postcount=6 None of the i.MX6 Kindles (2013 and 2014 PW2, 2014 KT2, 2014 KV) are a good choice to practice/learn on. We can't 'auto-debrick' those. Instead, get yourself a used K4 or K5 to start out on. Those can be 'auto-debricked' with Kubrick. The K5 was the last model with audio device support - It uses the IR scanner touch screen, like the new KT2 does - There is a lot of information here about the K5, both in the forum and in the Wiki. On the other hand - The K4 is approximately 'throw-away cheap' by now. Last edited by knc1; 11-26-2014 at 06:40 AM.

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11-26-2014, 07:58 AM	#3
Nachtkater Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2	I'll have a look into getting a K4/K5 if it sounds worth the investment. As for my PW2, I am at least guarded by backdoorlock. Will have a look into OTA rename. But for programming itself - what could I even do, is currently more of a question. Could I for example somehow make a screensaver showing current time or similar? Would I use said python for such a thing? Since html files are supported, could I include some scripts in there to make a (crappy) game type of thing? Read somewhere there was (ancient) java/javascript support for example...

11-26-2014, 08:19 AM	#4
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047202 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	My Python build doesn't ship with anything GUI-toolkit related (and isn't part of the JailBreak itself, but of a dedicated package). There's a fairly ancient GTK stack available on the device itself, but I refuse to lower myself to building against such ancient code ;p. baf & twobob have shown that it was useable, though . Other than that, for UI stuff, you used to have the Java Kindlet stuff, but that's apparently been deprecated, and has fairly particular and annoying limitations, so let us speak of it no more. That leaves playing with the framebuffer manually, which is what KOReader does, for instance. (There also used to be a Qt build laying around, but I'm not sure it ever was completely usable on FW 5.x).

11-26-2014, 10:51 PM	#5
brianinmaine Evangelist Posts: 457 Karma: 1287375 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: West Gardiner, Maine Device: Touch (5.3.7)	Have a look at post #31 of this link: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=224800 I posted simple instructions to make a Debian chroot for ARM which allows you to compile almost anything, the trick is getting it to display properly. Most of the programs I've seen/tried need to patch in the window title in a special format to make it on the top layer. Can be done, just a bit tricky. Look at some of the projects for KUAL, twobob and I have even included some patches for stuff. With twobobs help I finally got kcheckers to work for example and included a patch. I have only a Touch, so debricking is pretty easy (and I have needed it . Good luck with what you decide! I'd like to see some more projects!

11-28-2014, 03:28 AM	#8
brianinmaine Evangelist Posts: 457 Karma: 1287375 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: West Gardiner, Maine Device: Touch (5.3.7)	I'm no coder at all - I'm more of a "code-changer-until-I-get-it-working" kind of guy. I've been helped a lot along the way - I have made some programs on here I believe helped the group, and tried making some games work, just trying stuff. Depends what you are looking for. What do you want to do? You can just use an ereader to read books... or you can learn more. I'm having fun so far - EXCELLENT support here.

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