PRS+: Enhanced firmware for Sony Reader, Folders, Games & more

[kartu]

Guys, I feel tired and do not want to rush yet another release. It's postponed until tomorrow.

[PaladinBL]

No problem

[kartu]

Just to elaborate, what was wrong with 1.01. In a startup script there was a change, at the moment needed mostly by Russian/Chinese speaking users:

/usr/local/sony/bin/mtdmount -t vfat -o utf8 -o shortname=winnt Data /Data 
if [ -f /Data/database/system/PRSPlus/prsp.sh ]
then
	. /Data/database/system/PRSPlus/prsp.sh
fi
/bin/umount /Data

.

What it basically did was, mount internal memory, check if prsp.sh file exists, call it. This kind of call:

. /Data/database/system/PRSPlus/prsp.sh

basically means that content of the prsp.sh file is included in the calling script. (this was "needed" to allow setting variables visible in the caller script. Russians need LD_PRELOAD variable to point to their win1251 -> utf8 translator) Which means one could easily write a broken "custom" script and brick the device (well, 10 resets, or reset and hold bookmark + volume+ buttons still works, no worries ) which has happened quite quickly after release. And by broken, I mean, even having windows style \r\n end of lines was enough.

So there is a nasty choice between opening Pandora's box and not letting big part of the users to have what they'd like to have.

Now, the solution, I am still evaluating it and your ideas/comments are welcome, would probably look like this (written in human words ):

if exists prsp.sh and does not exist /Data/guard then 
  touch /Data/guard 
  /bin/sh prsp.sh
end

this would call custom prsp.sh only if "guard" file doesn't exist in internal memory. The "guard" file would then be deleted either by the calling script itself or by the PRS+ script. The latter is probably the best way, as if PRS+ script has started, then everything went ok and even if it didn't, there is a way to not let it start - just by connect reader it to PC, when device is booting.

In the end, it would allow anyone to experiment with custom shell script without fearing to have to brick/reflash the reader.

Linux gurus, tell me what you think.

[Joember]

The solution seems like a sensible one. Any reason for not putting the guard file on the SD card root instead? (Edit: Actually, the guard file is automatically created by the PRS-505 when plugged into USB... isn't it? Never mind the SD card then.)

Can we still expect the new release today? Or is it likely to be delayed?

Lastly, do you know of what font Russian and Chinese users employ with your script? The PRS Customizer unicode font is still more limited than I generally prefer.

Joember

Ps.: Unbricked my PRS-505 by the way. The trick was to use a wall charger (part of the problam was battery issues), and reformat (wipe clean) the internal memory.

Pps.: Do you have a guide on how to do translations of your Enhanced firmware?

[kartu]

Joember
It will be delayed. I want to do more testing before releasing it.

The solution seems like a sensible one. Any reason for not putting the guard file on the SD card root instead?

Well, not everyone and not always has an SD card in the reader. Allowing to start prsp.sh from SD card sounds like a good idea. But IM solution is still needed.

Lastly, do you know of what font Russian and Chinese users employ with your script? The PRS Customizer unicode font is still more limited than I generally prefer.

Russians just use the one included in PRS+. Chinese (Japanese) fonts are simply too big to fit in it.

But most of the other alphabets could be easily added to the default fonts, there are about 2Mbs of free space. Which symbols do you miss?

[PaladinBL]

Originally Posted by Joember

reformat (wipe clean) the internal memory

This delete all books in internal memory or just system files?

[sideburnt]

Would it be possible to get a more accurate reading on the battery level?, We get a lot of bricks because syncing via the computer gives the illusion of full battery, while in fact draining the hell out of the device.

Massive support for KARTU, I noticed you're already starting on style switching in 1.02. You deserve enough beer to drown a small village.

[Joember]

Originally Posted by kartu

Russians just use the one included in PRS+. Chinese (Japanese) fonts are simply too big to fit in it.

But most of the other alphabets could be easily added to the default fonts, there are about 2Mbs of free space. Which symbols do you miss?

I actually need Chinese/Japanese character support in the menus (for Titles and/or Authors). I think I recall seeing screenshots before that look like they had that...

How come the font only has 2 MB available for it? Is the 220 MB available to the user on a separate partition? Even if so, can the sytem file not be located on that? Or is it a font fitting into memory issue?

Originally Posted by PaladinBL

This delete all books in internal memory or just system files?

It deletes everything that is visible when you mount internal memory via USB. Some of those are system(-ish) files, and definitely all books in internal memory. (Which is fine, because I store everything on my SD card.)

Joember

[kartu]

Joember

How come the font only has 2 MB available for it?

Fsk partition (firmware) is only 8mb, 6 are occupied.

Chinese normally use shell call that looks like:

mount --bind /Data/FONT /opt/sony/ebook/FONT

which basically says "use FONT folder in internal memory, instead of default folder". It will be possible to do it, one way or another, with 1.02.

sideburnt

Would it be possible to get a more accurate reading on the battery level?

I am afraid ebook.getBattery() returns already rounded numbers.

[Joember]

Originally Posted by kartu

Joember

Fsk partition (firmware) is only 8mb, 6 are occupied.

Chinese normally use shell call that looks like:

mount --bind /Data/FONT /opt/sony/ebook/FONT

which basically says "use FONT folder in internal memory, instead of default folder". It will be possible to do it, one way or another, with 1.02.

Good to know. Thanks!

Are there any guides to Javascript/XML development on the PRS-505? The source files look byzantine to me, and leave me scratching my head about how to get started.

Joember

[kartu]

Joember
Decompiled binaries/images and existing hacks are pretty much the only guide.

[Joember]

Originally Posted by kartu

Joember
Decompiled binaries/images and existing hacks are pretty much the only guide.

Is there any specific hack or set of files that you would recommend an aspiring beginner to study?

Joember

[kartu]

I've started with BookSwap (one of the stickied threads) and a bit of Sudoku, then switched to reading decompiled script files / experimenting.

You can decompile xsb and some .so files using this:
http://projects.mobileread.com/reade...k/DeFsk_02.zip

kbook.so and FskCache.so are probably the most interesting. You can extract them from firmware image yourself or just download them from PRS+ site:

http://code.google.com/p/prs-plus/so...ok/application

[Joember]

Thanks, Kartu!

Is there any way to simulate symlinking on the (FAT filesystem formatted) SD card? Maybe via a physical file (e.g.: filename.lnk) that contains nothing but the location of the eBook file it is standing in for?

I have books that I want showing up in multiple folders, but without having to have multiple physical copies.

I know that the academically correct way to do this is via Collections... but they are not manageable for me, as they are simply dumb fixed lists with no sense around sorting by author and/or title within their set of books.

Joember

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by kartu

I didn't try all options, but those that I've tried did it, yes.

So can I just put the new file over the old one without having to flash my 505? If so, can you attach it to this thread please?