S4Aconnetor can't merge to Offline S4A version?

[mskicker]

Making Offline S4A versions with NWJS and ... Was more than only some extra blocks
edit some menus and ... without internet connection and ... can be nice for some fans like me
you say that S4A stopped (at #341 topic) and switched to S4Aconnector
Please think about that !
S4A connector is nice idea to reduce project conflicts BUT i think this library can be work with NWJS too.

[jguille2]

Hi @mskicker
Thanks, I appreciate your comment and valuation.

I want to share with you some points.

First, about the reasons of this change:

• We can do "almost everything" inside Snap! (we'll check later possibles losses)
• People love not having to worry about installing software or browser plugins to do the job.
• We have to upgrade Snap4Arduino continuously without any "Arduinos" new features, only to have all the new Snap features and fixes. And sometimes, this upgrade is not quite easy (because sometimes Snap changes forces to rewrite a lot of functions)
• The worst: continuous problems are coming with nw deprecated libraries, nwbuilder,... and above all with Google new restrictions, the old serial api...

And I am very interested in knowing what problems (or shortcomings) you find in working with the connector and seeing if there are alternatives or solutions. I start by commenting:

[Pros]

• Do you know we can run Snap! offline? It has all the configuration of a pwa (progressive web app) and then, your browser offers you the possibility to install it and can be in memory to run offline when there is no connection.
• S4A connector has all the blocks officially supported by Snap4Arduino. Not only the basics (digitalWrite, analogWrite, digitalReadings... ) It also has (hidden) the features made with custom firmatas made for the Snap4Arduino project (tone, ir, pulse, ultrasonic, dht11, neopixels...are supported)
• Firmata uploader. I made a firmata uploader for UNOs. It is not in Snap! but I've made a web space to support these needs: https://snap.creativelearninglab.click/course/view.php?id=2
• Custom libraries for some hardware. We can't overload Snap! with a lot of "hardware" libraries... but the same webspace can do the job. I'm open to include other custom hardware libraries.
• Snap4Arduino projects can be imported to Snap! and, after loading the S4A connector, the imported blocks will run ok.

[Possible Cons]

• We are not supporting the http server features. I think they are not used much. And we have a lot of Snap! tools to connect our projects: http blocks, websockets library, mqtt, microblocks library, mobile sensors library...
• If somebody has JS implementations to use other firmatas... it won't run directly. But in this case, they can move (and I can help to do this) to a new JS code, using the new implementation.

Ok, I finish my "roll" (sorry).
Tell me your feedback and continue...

Joan

[mskicker]

Snap4Arduino have some base
1- use locally and offline snap like desktop project
2- customize sprites and backgrounds and ... (changing snap standards make many problem)
3- customize menus and settings (easy)
4- use NWjs libraries in serial OR system Management

i think big mistake was develop and edit Snap in Snap4Arduino BUT Snap4Arduino is Great
review the history :
clone many functions and edit them and their migration issues
fix some snap bugs and duplicate fix again in snap and ...
edit sprites and menus again and again.

BUT reWORK and reTHINK about that.

Snap4Arduino Can be only fixed desktop version of Snap. (without unwanted chrome updates or Bad settings Or corrupted chrome Or nonstandard browsers AND INTERNET access issues and Network security issues and ...)

this version can work with system hardware easier and locally with better view and speed and Icon and setup and extra utility like drivers and sample and ...
I think you can use plugins in NWjs to Solve migration problems too

like this :
{
"name": "my-nw-app",
"main": "index.html",
"chromium-args": "--load-extension=./path/to/unpacked/extension"
}
can be have OS blocks like shell (to run commands on OS) and snap work like desktop programs

[jguille2]

Hi @mskicker
As I said, I appreciate your comment and valuation... but the answers I wrote are still the answers to you new comments.

• You can run Snap! offline. It is a webbapp. Then, from your chromium/chrome/edge... browser, you can "install" it, and it will be stored in cache and so, you will run it offline when you want.

• If you want to use a "frozen" Snap4Arduino, you can do it, running any old Snap4Arduino versions. But when we were updating Snap4Arduino, the only thing we were doing was updating the Snap version (no implementning arduino features). And then, we needed to update the Snap4Arduino browser (for those new desktop versions).
  So, it has no sense to keep Snap4Arduino to be able to use frozen browsers. I has been done. You can use all those versions... but new versions would have been an updated browser... and for this, we have just Snap!

• If we want to have some sprites, libraries, examples... we can pull request the Snap project and propose its inclusion (just for the regular Snap!). But, in my opinion, for hardware customization, it is better to launch projects from a website (what I do on https://snap.creativelearninglab.click/course/view.php?id=2 ) because users need more information that a library name, to know what they really need.

• Ending... the only "hardware library" we need is the serial connection. And the best serial connection now is the web serial api... and it is implemented in plain browsers. So, I don't need any node lib to implement nothing.
  It's the better way I know now to connect Snap to Arduino.

Joan

[mskicker]

Hi and thanks a lot for your attention
a) But you must have internet access for first time
b) you update snap project / NWJS and modules And migrate your project with new version(this item take a lot of your time And you can ignore it with upper comment ideas)
c) customize graphical object can be funny but can be done without server costs IN offline snap4arduino
d) As I say I think you can use browser serial socket extention in offline version too Like online version.
AI say that you can use browser serial socket in NWJS Like online version with this commands:
{
"name": "my-nw-app",
"main": "index.html",
"chromium-args": "--load-extension=./path/to/SerialModule/extension"
}

[mskicker]

I know updating previous Snap4Adruino wasn't great enough But : PLEASE MAKE NEW OFFLINE SNAP4ARDUINO WITH NEW METHOD

1. Try to Use browser extensions instead of NWJS modules
2. Edit only very Important And Critical option and functions
3. focus on desktop features like desktop shortcuts and fix OpenWith for Snap4Arduino files and some thing like that
   i try to help you too with my limited programming knowledge :-)

[bromagosa]

a) But you must have internet access for first time

I'm sorry, but how were you getting Snap4Arduino before? Weren't you downloading it from the internet? 🤔

[mskicker]

Some student not have access to web
they move program with flash memory or something like that.

in addiction internet connection is not reliable in some countries
For example, Iranian radio and the internet were blocked for two weeks after Israel, with US support, carried out terrorist activities in Iran, but were reconnected after street protests against US and Israeli intervention and public support for the Islamic Republic and the arrest of terrorists.