Develop Bugs

Welcome to the improved XDA-developers forum

First of all: don't worry. Everything you are used to is still here. Your username still exists, all the messages are still here, and we're all still here.
There are a few changes though:
You can set a country flag, as well as which device(s) you have and a home GSM-provider. These will be displayed in icon form with your messages. It's completely uncomplicated and much more fun if everyone participates. So please use the 'Profile' button in the menu above to set these things for you. They help others help you by knowing what device you have and what provider you are using.
Topics now have an extra property, which defines whether they are relevant for the original XDA, for the XDA II or for both. A small icon shows with each message. You can set this property when you start a new topic.
The separate XDAII board is gone. All messages there have been moved to the forum where they are most appropriate (see below). The fact that the messages were originally posted in XDAII now shows with an icon.
We now allow attachments, both in forum postings and in Private Messages, sized up to 50MB (!).
The boards have new names, and are slightly re-organized:
[list:42f131921e]
General
Current events, news, etc.
Using it
messages formerly in 'PocketPC' go here.
Not too technical, about use and peculiarities.
Unlocking it
formerly called 'Unlocking'
Networking it
formerly called 'GPRS/WAP settings'
Stocking up for it
formerly called 'Accessories'
Upgrading and modifying it
formerly 'ROM updates'
Hacking it
formerly 'Programmers corner' and 'Other techie stuff'
Anything but it
formerly called 'Off-topic'
[/list:u:42f131921e]
We currently use the plain-vanilla 'subSilver' phpBB style. Expect further changes to the way things look over the next few days. Please let me know by clicking 'PM' under this message if anything that used to work for you all of a sudden isn't working anymore.
Hope you like it...

New look
Sexy!

Wow ! well done ! :wink: certainly a lot of work ...thanks

Sure does and it looks good too! 8)
But found the following to be missing:
no USA T-Mobile listed under GSM Provider
no AT&T radio stacks listed under Radio Version.

Qman said:
no USA T-Mobile listed under GSM Provider
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whoops. Fixed.
no AT&T radio stacks listed under Radio Version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're still confused about all these Radio Stack Upgrade numbers. And if we are confused, imagine what that means for the poor folks out there. But I will include some more numbers tomorrow...

A couple of suggestions:
In the ROM Version setting of the profile, there should be a "kitchen" option for 4.00.16, since this is on at least one kitchen (perhaps "kitchen" ought to be a check box?)
I don't know that I would have chosen to have a merged 'update it' forum for XDAI and XDAII. Most readers are interested in info for one device and dont care about the other.

pdhenry said:
A couple of suggestions:
In the ROM Version setting of the profile, there should be a "kitchen" option for 4.00.16, since this is on at least one kitchen (perhaps "kitchen" ought to be a check box?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done. I might make it a checkbox later on.
I don't know that I would have chosen to have a merged 'update it' forum for XDAI and XDAII. Most readers are interested in info for one device and dont care about the other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was planning to create a one-click filter option for 'viewforum.php'.

Why damn, this blob-thing is ... growing.
As you may have seen the forum now has it's own hostname: forum.xda-developers.com. All existing links (/forum and /phpBB) will redirect to the correct thread or post on the new hostname (using a rewrite rule and sending HTTP 'Moved Permanently').
The uncompressed database for the forum is now 40 MB, the entire site is sending and receiving a few GigaBytes per day, to and from over 2500 unique IP-numbers each day.

Congradulation!
Hello
Well done and great work, keep it up.
thanks with best regards.
Othman

looks alrite but i miss the yellowy colour scheme now looks like every other forum on the web lol :roll:

how strange ...
the DB is only 40Mb ... this fits on 10% of my stamp size SD card ...
and yet, with just 2500 db-access (and how many posts? probably 100kb)
we get Giga bytes of traffic....
Just think how wasteful we're with current technology....
This goes double for a Pocket PC with two wireless communications,
100's of Mb of data, 400Mhz cpu ... and all that it does is displaying
who is calling your phone
Hmmm ....
[this is not a flame of the site or the PPC.... just a note on the status of the information/software age of the 21st century in general]

Looks
gazzaman2k said:
looks alrite but i miss the yellowy colour scheme now looks like every other forum on the web lol :roll:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries: this is temporary. There will be some proper design-work done on the entire site.
This is a good opportunity to say "Thank you" to Mario Giambanco, whose ideas and kind offer to work on the site prompted me to do some cleanup first, which resulted in the changes you see. Between him, myself, and hopefully some other volunteers we can now start to do a major overhaul concerning the looks and stale content of the main site.
The new 'main site' is going to be database-generated (from the phpBB database), and will have at least 'News' and 'FAQ' pages, pointing to topics on the forum. This will mean the 'main site' will be much more of an up-to-date tribute to the collective work of all of you on the forum, instead of a somewhat stale collection of some cool stuff we did way back. Creating layout in the way we did it before is just too much work.

Welcome to our new face
It looks very nice :lol:
But maybe we need added section: download & upgrade hardware ???
:wink:

very nice

Simply An excellent job

I preferred the old one. bah humbug

Thank You!
Thanks! For all the hard work it is much appreciated :wink:
Keep burning the midnight oil, it can only get better! ( like the XDA II )
Kind Regards, StayLucky Jim.

Hacking it ?
I written quite a few custom applications for the XDA and your site has some interesting infomation that has helped me.
I have replied a couple of times too with some code snipits.
All was very professional.
Now the Programmers Corner is under Hacking it, so I must of now become a Hacker. An interesting term, that I will have to add to my CV and see if it effects my future software appointments.

At last! Your decision to migrate to 2.0.6 is very welcome
If you interested - I can suggest two mobile adaptations for phpbb:
- read only version optimized for using as Mobile Favorites/Avantgo channels
and
- fully functional version for using from mobile devices.
These versions were developed and tested for one of the mostly visited (264,100 messages currently) PDA-related site in Russia http://www.handy.ru/board Unfortunately, all of the site is on Russian, but you may look though the following links just to smell it:
Mobile Favorites/AvantGo version:
Setup channels (Controls translation: forum name; timeframe; pictures (all/smiles only/none); link conversion mode; signatures on/off)
Ready-to-synchronize channel link (two days plus vacations, smiles only, links converted to text, without signatures).
Online mobile version: (banners should be visible from desktop PC only)
Forum index
Forum page
Topic discussion
All security is the same as in desktop phpbb version. Almost all functionality is implemented except site administration, advanced moderation panel (topic joining/splitting/mass deletes) and profile changing/private messaging.
These forum versions not include support for skins or language resources (sorry, but I develop them as fast as I can). So translation to English and slight adaptation to your mods (if any) needed. But I'm ready for this job.
The only main forum changes needed are:
- adding 4 lines to template variables array initialization;
- modifying 4 template files to add links to mobile versions;

Re: Hacking it ?
vangelderp said:
Now the Programmers Corner is under Hacking it, so I must of now become a Hacker. An interesting term, that I will have to add to my CV and see if it effects my future software appointments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seemed like a logical term to combine 'Programmers corner' and the little used 'Other techie stuff'. We think of the term 'hacker' as meaning a benign and very advanced programmer or techie, and not in any negative media-sensationalist terms. (Even though some of us do smile when we take the SIMlock off.)
Ofcourse if you think the rest of the world would see this differently, you're welcome to say 'Programmers corner' in future job applications.
I sincerely hope this linguistic issue will not keep you from continuing to benefit and contribute in the future.

[Request] make XDA-Developers like the iPhone Installer

Hi all, i don't know if it has been asked already but it would be great to have a light black&white forum "Development and Hacking" easy to load and browse from our PPCs/SPs exactly like the iPhone's app called Installer... ok, without all the "sources/install/uninstall" thing, only app name (with very short description like the one we can see if we mouseover a topic's name) and, clicking on it, the author description, link to the Dev&Hack forum article, link to the download, little screenshot or animated gif. And a tiny search engine (no Google)
I know there are websites made like that already like freewareppc or softonic which use RSS, but i was thinking about a more Installer-like webApp.
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=j7rfU4r3Y-0
.. but there's probably something like that already, so i ask you guys and gals where can i find such a service and if you think it would be nice or totally useless

TBH this would take ages to compile and program and with every different model of HTC h/set out there I dont think anyone would have the resources or time to do this. I do really like the idea though kudos for that

Why not look at the App To Date over at MoDaCo?

livefastdiefun87, i don't think it should be that difficult to filter the threads (for example a "[release]" string in the thread title) as links to their first posts (the ones with descriptions, screenshots and downloads) to the user (maybe it's enough for the releaser to keep an eye on the format). For example A_C's releases already have the "required" things (first post: description and download, second post: faqs).
With a little help from any developer i think that even with pocket ie (although a client would be better) we can retrieve every release easier. Then, in order to explore the apps, the user can jump to the ordinary forum.
Maybe i'm making it too simple, but it wont be bad anyway. I'm thinking about a mobile-only road, no ads, no banners, black and white with hypertext

Linux / Android on Diamond

People that only want to use Android, and have NO clue about Linux or programming PLEASE REFRAIN FROM POSTING HERE
First off credits goto all those working hard and having sleepless nights, people like: dcordes, netripper, druidu and all those I didnt mention!
I have just made this thread to get developers a kickstart, so that they dont have to read hundreds and hundreds of posts.
==========
IRC: #htc-linux @ Freenode
==========
READ: http://linuxtogo.org/~lgorris/kaiser-bootkit/README.txt
Getting the kernel (taken from http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2269384#post2269384 ... credits to dwaradzyn): (UPDATED, new ARM toolchain and now working)
Code:
mkdir ~/android
cd ~/android
git clone git://git.linuxtogo.org/home/groups/mobile-linux/kernel.git
cd kernel
git checkout -b htc-msm-2.6.25 origin/htc-msm-2.6.25
cd ..
wget http://www.codesourcery.com/gnu_toolchains/arm/portal/package3382/public/arm-none-eabi/arm-2008q3-39-arm-none-eabi-i686-pc-linux-gnu.tar.bz2
tar xvjf arm-2008q3-39-arm-none-eabi-i686-pc-linux-gnu.tar.bz2\?lite\=arm
cd kernel
make htcraphael_defconfig ARCH=arm
export PATH=~/android/arm-2008q3/bin:$PATH
make zImage ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-eabi-
Now the file ~/android-kernel/kernel/arch/arm/boot/zImage is ready to be put on your phone and you can boot it with haret's newest version (1.5.2 works fine) ... downloadable from: http://www.handhelds.org/~koconnor/haret/
Open your favourite text editor to create the file "DEFAULT.txt" and put the following in it:
Code:
set MTYPE 1910
set KERNEL zImage
set INITRD android.bin
set RAMSIZE 0x5e
set RAMADDR 0x10000000
set cmdline "root=/dev/ram0 rp init=/init console=tty0 mem=94M"
bootlinux
Get the file android.bin from http://linuxtogo.org/~lgorris/kaiser-bootkit/ and put it in the same directory as haret.exe, default.txt and zImage.
Is the android.bin in http://h3po.de/public/diamond_android_0.8.zip the same? (Havent checked)
=====
Now the new points of attention are:
1. Touchscreen calibration:
I have seen people talking about a red dot in the upper left corner, I have seen it once so far and didnt notice any major miss calibration when using the dev tools > pointer locator ... the only this malfunctioning is the x inversion and that you need to double tab (or is this standard behaviour? It looks like it remembers the last pressed location). Also the onscreen keyboard is very flickery, minor issue should be easy to fix (during loading it looks like it is flickering on the readout of the touchscreen).
2. Hardware support:
Adding various support for hardware, to output sound and all other "required to call" fuctionality.
Also not forgetting to access internal memory, maybe the best workaround to loading a fully fledged Android is to make a minimal initrd to setup internal storage and from there load the rest. Should be much easier when it all gets incorporated into a ROM, instead of loading with haret ... which poses serious problems regarding initrd loading and who wants WM6x/7 on his phone anyway when Android becomes usable. Loading from haret does make working with it for now a little easier. Maybe a GRUB like approach and loading straight from a filesystem (ROM or internal storage)?
==========
Some other request:
Pointers to Android OS sources or atleast a working 1.0 (latest branch?) initrd.
==========
General tips:
Going back to desktop: insert and remove stylus.
Selecting and opening, use double tabbing and mirror x for now.
Using onscreen keyboard: havent figured it out yet sadly.
=========
Ill try to update the post, also PLEASE people refrain yourself from posting in this thread ... let's make a good go at keeping it clean. If you do not intend to be working on getting Linux / Android to work on the Diamond and family please post somewhere else. No harsh feelings, but threads getting cluttered with "Great work!" and "wehn iz android really workn on me phone?" do mess things up by quite a bit.
DO NOT ASK FOR REQUESTS, focus is on the basics first ... input, output and storage.
==========
Dont forget to check: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=RaphaelLinux
==========
Developers, please post updated links / patches and all that would help us make progression.

//placeholder for useful links
Original thread (very bloated with comments and hard to dig through, dont let it happen here): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=402002
Complete working Android 0.8, "extract and run" ala Plug 'n Pray: http://h3po.de/public/diamond_android_0.8.zip
Wikipage: http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=RaphaelLinux
Haret: http://www.handhelds.org/~koconnor/haret/
Howto for kernel building: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2269384#post2269384 (replace htc-msm with htc-msm-2.6.25)

// placeholder for points that need attention
1. Touchscreen input, calibration and sensitivity.
2. Latest sources to build our own initrd for Android OS.
3. Storage accessibility.

question???
why not put this in the thread that is already running on this ????
why on earth does it need a new thread?

only a question : if I try this Android on my Diamond , the WM6.1 will be delete ? or I can have it also?
P.S.
sorry for my bad english

yuco91 said:
only a question : if I try this Android on my Diamond , the WM6.1 will be delete ? or I can have it also?
P.S.
sorry for my bad english
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
beware.....you can brick your phone if you don't know what you are doing!

liamhere said:
beware.....you can brick your phone if you don't know what you are doing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, but you not have aswered at my questions .....

this sounds quite interesting...
Android, is a serious alternative now to Windows o/s, yes?
What are the selling points compared to windows???
Why are there not clear and concise instructions on how to install android???
Does android offer the use of the line 2 facility like 6.1?
I notice the huge Hype with the launch of the G1 phone, can someone offer some screen shots of what it looks like on the diamond please???
cheers

What???? Look I love Mobile phones, Ive bought every high end phone scince the Nokia 8800, but this is way beyond my pay grade, can you ell me how to do this? Im a junkie for utilities and Roms, and etc, but this is really past my skill level. Ive searched and read the thread but I can't get past the first stage. Please help me out, I really want to learn.

liamhere said:
why not put this in the thread that is already running on this ????
why on earth does it need a new thread?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
cause 581 pages is hard to follow... and OP has sumarized it well...
zmob123 said:
What???? Look I love Mobile phones, Ive bought every high end phone scince the Nokia 8800, but this is way beyond my pay grade, can you ell me how to do this? Im a junkie for utilities and Roms, and etc, but this is really past my skill level. Ive searched and read the thread but I can't get past the first stage. Please help me out, I really want to learn.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dont bother usable android version isnt ready for general use (yet)...

not ready?
so how ready currently is it???
and do we have the choice of looking at screen shots???
does it support multi lines?
Was wm6.1 ready? - questionable!

crystal_clear said:
Android, is a serious alternative now to Windows o/s, yes?
What are the selling points compared to windows???
Why are there not clear and concise instructions on how to install android???
Does android offer the use of the line 2 facility like 6.1?
I notice the huge Hype with the launch of the G1 phone, can someone offer some screen shots of what it looks like on the diamond please???
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no real screen shots...as it not really running RIGHT on diamond yet...
don't put this on and think your have a new all singing and dancing phone
YOU WON'T....NOT YET ANY HOW

has anyone.....
ok, your point that its not running at moment taken on board...
Has anyone had the idea yet to startup a directory for interested parties to be contacted to take part in trials - once its in the stage of being ready???
I would like to be considered, as i absolutely fully abuse all the facilities i have available to my via orange uk.
And do actively find the wm6.1 platform fails me seriously at times due to usage.

Development is open, just follow the important topic.
All I see is that this topic confuses people.
Bad idea starting this.

Riel said:
Development is open, just follow the important topic.
All I see is that this topic confuses people.
Bad idea starting this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we agree to agree....your my new friend now

Delete this topic.

My cats breath smells like cat food.....

I see that this topic is confusing people already, this is mainly due to the fact 90% of the repliers DID NOT READ MY POST!
As I have stated before:
The basics still need to be worked on; input, output and storage.
People that only want to use Android should refrain from posting in this thread! I made this thread so digging in the old thread can be kept to a minimum, what gets added there I will try to add here too.
I just wanted to encourage people that know what they are doing with a headstart, I myself have been working with Linux since 1998 and reading the "delete this thread" posts really does not support encourage me to help you guys.
As for an example, some random programmer with a Diamond googles for Android and finds hey this might work on my phone (like happened to me) ... the next he will go trough hours of reading useless and outdated posts, not really helping you further.
Then you decide to read from the end back forward, even more useless posts are read and finaly you get a minimum set of files that works ... what now? No sources, no nothing to be found after reading beginning and end of the posts, so you decide to read the WHOLE thread and still NO progression after a full day of endless reading.
So my simple request was to summarize EVERYTHING developers can use to get started and NOT spend one day now or two/three days in the future looking at outdated posts and reinventing the wheel.
I for example did reinvent the wheel and started from the start of the thread, where I spend downloading the git sources from Andriod and started compiling ... same problem, started on output first ... framebuffer ... then I conclude lets start from the end and notice people already gotten something running ... NOT really helpful if you ask me.
So any mod, please delete all the useless posts in this thread. I have no problem with continueing in the old thread, but it will not progress us any further if its not cleaned up.
So people that only want to use Android, and have NO clue about Linux or programming PLEASE REFRAIN FROM POSTING HERE

So here is my summary of posts to be deleted:
4: Original thread is too long, doesnt help new developers start off where they should start.
5: Dont post in this thread, it will not delete WM6x.
6: Answer to post 6, dont post here unless you know what your doing.
7: Please dont formulate such questions here!
8: It does not work correctly, seams you just want to use Android and have no clue what your working with. Please do not post such questions here.
9: Please no learing here, learing can be done on other platforms.
11: It barely works, raw input and working output, some other major and minor functionallity is there but does not work correctly yet. Please dont ask these questions.
13: Trial and testing will be done trough progress, we dont need people that just want to use Android in this thread.
14: Sorry that it seems to confuse people, it is mainly due to people not knowing what this is all about and asking questions that should not be asked in the first place. Let alone they EVEN read every word here!
15: Good luck reinventing the wheel.
16: A webdesigner asking to close this topic ... not really helpful and discouraging.
17: Please remove yourself from this forum!
Thanks in advance.

ouch
...how to make and break friends in one single post
sorry this thread is only for the "special people"
us plebs must not comment in the thread...we have been told
THE END!

XDA-Wiki concern.

alright, im a regular of the xda-devs irc. there have been more people the last 2 weeks that have come in there with questions that couldve been solved by a 2 minute read on the wiki.
i've read the annoucement, however i do not..understand what the issue was.
XDA's old wiki software was hacked and represented a security threat to the entire site.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'd like to ask would it not be more timely to fix the hack. i'm unsure as to what they did, however from the sound of it they got database access.
in which case, move the tables from mainserver to another and make them readonly. i cannot grasp why shutting down the wiki for weeks on end is a better idea than a few file adjustments as a stopgap.
somebody willing to put out more information on the matter?

cheapusenet said:
alright, im a regular of the xda-devs irc. there have been more people the last 2 weeks that have come in there with questions that couldve been solved by a 2 minute read on the wiki.
i've read the annoucement, however i do not..understand what the issue was.
i'd like to ask would it not be more timely to fix the hack. i'm unsure as to what they did, however from the sound of it they got database access.
in which case, move the tables from mainserver to another and make them readonly. i cannot grasp why shutting down the wiki for weeks on end is a better idea than a few file adjustments as a stopgap.
somebody willing to put out more information on the matter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The wiki software is old, and probably has a few vulnerabilities. I'm guessing it's more than just the wiki's database been hacked that is the securing concern. Most of the db tables will probably be written to, so read-only might not be a viable option. Remember the old wiki has integrated login with vB.
The admins have setup a new MediaWiki wiki and people are currently helping migrate the content over. I'm not sure of the "Go Live" for it, but it's starting to shape up.
Dave

i just now found it, its looking..pretty good. still seems to me an hours work on the old one could fix it enough to suffice until the new ones all ready to go.

At the moment, there's only a handful of folks working on porting (migrating) the information over.
We could use (and appreciate) any and all help on this effort. If you or others members are wish to assist, please contact svetius via PM.
Cheers,

so its still dead for the foreseable future. why is it we don't give my plan some thought. it cannot hurt. it'd be alot faster and alot better than waiting for every page to be moved over by a handful of people, and at the rate its going it's not exactly speedy.

cheapusenet said:
so its still dead for the foreseable future. why is it we don't give my plan some thought. it cannot hurt. it'd be alot faster and alot better than waiting for every page to be moved over by a handful of people, and at the rate its going it's not exactly speedy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every visit to a page writes to the database, so read-only's not an option.
To use it, it still needs read access to the vB user login database, so we cannot secure XDA's vB database from it, meaning if there are SQL IV vulnerabilities someone could access parts of our vB database.
Dave

o use it, it still needs read access to the vB user login database,
^
bingo, why. why does it HAVE to access login data?
as for writing to the database stripping that code out couldnt be that hard,.

cheapusenet said:
o use it, it still needs read access to the vB user login database,
^
bingo, why. why does it HAVE to access login data?
as for writing to the database stripping that code out couldnt be that hard,.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will have access to the login data so that we only need one login for the wiki and for vB.
I've seen the code for it from when it was on Source Forge, it's a mess - if we miss something that could be a problem.
Also if we were still getting SQL IV attack's against read-only databases, I'd still be worried .
Dave

I've started a thread for discussion on the wiki migration:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=729576

daveshaw, you're missing my point completely. the data in the wiki is in no way dependant on userlogins. it could be moved to a completely different server if needbe, mysqlhaxing across into another db onto another server .. over xda, would be a pretty darn extravagant feat id say.

cheapusenet said:
alright, im a regular of the xda-devs irc. there have been more people the last 2 weeks that have come in there with questions that couldve been solved by a 2 minute read on the wiki.
i've read the annoucement, however i do not..understand what the issue was.
i'd like to ask would it not be more timely to fix the hack. i'm unsure as to what they did, however from the sound of it they got database access.
in which case, move the tables from mainserver to another and make them readonly. i cannot grasp why shutting down the wiki for weeks on end is a better idea than a few file adjustments as a stopgap.
somebody willing to put out more information on the matter?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As Dave mentioned, the old wiki software has inherent vulnerabilities, and because it is no longer supported, we don't get periodic updates from the creator. MediaWiki is much better supported, so that over time we can continually update the software to keep it secure, etc.

in no way am i objecting to using mediawiki. moving it all over to mediawiki is a great idea, i agree.
however restricting access to the current one for weeks just because somebody doesnt want to edit some files, jerry-rig it a bit, is a bit of a..pain for everyone. alot of data is stored in that wiki.

cheapusenet said:
in no way am i objecting to using mediawiki. moving it all over to mediawiki is a great idea, i agree.
however restricting access to the current one for weeks just because somebody doesnt want to edit some files, jerry-rig it a bit, is a bit of a..pain for everyone. alot of data is stored in that wiki.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We're just trying to migrate it as fast as possible.

[REQ][XDA WIKI]: Feature request thread

Request 1: Add HTML Tidy to the xda wiki stack
Template:Navbox @ Wikipedia said:
Using this template on other wikis requires HTML Tidy to be turned on. A version that does not require Tidy can be found at Wikipedia:WikiProject Transwiki/Template:Navbox. (That version generally shouldn't be used here on the English Wikipedia.) More detailed information on copying {{Navbox}} to other wikis can be found on the talk page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been doing a LOT of work adding stuff to the xda wiki, but I've hit an impasse, some of the most complex templates used on Wikipedia depend on it being 'scripted' with HTML instead of pure wikimarkup.
The main example is Template:Navbox. While this specific template does have a pupre wikimarkup equivilent (if it even is an equivilent, it's not maintained at the level of the normal one). The other templates I wish to use dont have equivilents.
Template:Navbox subgroup is the one (among others) that I wish to add in but cant because it depends on HTML Tidy. The Template itself is already on the xda wiki, but if you attempt to use it it's completely broken.
I cant say it's as simple as "install on server and turn it on" but the fact of the matter is that without it most of the fun/magic stuff on wikipedia cant be brought over to the xda wiki.
Some examples of recent stuff i've made (for reference):
Samsung Galaxy S Series Navbox
Samsung Galaxy S II Series Navbox
New Samsung Portal on Main page
Entirety of Dell devices page
If you look at the several navboxes I've made they have hacks in the code to get around the fact that I'm just a normal level editor.
Request 2: We need MOAR editors!
Also this doubles as a request for more editors on the wiki: XDA is the largest android development based site on the internet, yet here we are weeks after the release of the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Note and the pages didnt even exist until I made stubs for them.
As of this past quarter I've generated more edits then possibly nearly every other user combined, but there's only so much I can do at this point by my self. (With my primary style being to organize page layouts and tidying stuff up vs writing new content for devices)
[Edit count itself is a bad metric, but edits that arnt mine only number in the dozens a month]
Sure it's reasonable for minor devices and varients to be stubs, but the Note has sold over a million units and yet not a single person has even bothered to make as much as a scribble on the wiki about the device. That's just an example, but ultimately if this were wikipedia, the amount of pages rated 'good' or higher would only number in the dozens. (There's also the fact that my belief is that it's a bad idea to add anything intensive for a device you dont own, standard fare on one device can super-brick another due to quirks)
It's a rather sad state of affairs that for such a large web site with 22000 active users at any one time that there's not a single good consistant repeat editor besides me.
Edit: changed wording to not be inflammatory
Request 3: Turn on Subpages on the main namespace
Mediawiki:Subpages are by default enabled on the template and user namespaces, but not on the main namespace. I believe it's done this way because of editor policy and not technical reasons.
The xda wiki would HEAVILY benefit from having it enabled since it already currently manually uses them, the previous example of:
Samsung <Series>/<model number>/article has long existed this way but without the automatically generated anchors.
The majority of pages are already ready to accept it, it might simply need to be turned on.

XDA Wiki
TheManii said:
there's not a single good editor besides me.
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IMHO that is a rather sweeping statement and is likely to put off anyone from editing the Wiki. I would dispute even your claim as a good editor would not make sweeping changes to categories without discussion on the pages involved. Should I just "undo" them?
XDA has a problem with repetitive questions leading to user dissatisfaction with overlong forums and the loss of good developers such as AdamG.
One solution may be to create a FAQ Wiki for any thread over a certain size (for example 1,000 posts) and automatically link to that thread at the top of every page and above the reply box.
Cheers
Tom

It is sweeping, but the fact is there arent many repeat editors, many devices havnt not seen edits in months because a great deal of the changes dones are a one-time batch job with a single theme.
I'm not at all saying that the other editors are bad, though yes that what the impression was (and perhaps I should have worded it better). I'm saying that few wish to stay with it for the long-haul.
There's few editors that consistantly return to add/update/expand artitles for their own devices or other devices. That's my main issue. I actively want to be proven wrong in this regard, I'm inviting other to prove me wrong. I myself am somewhat guilty of this myself, I primarly concentrate on the dell devices, but I've kept them very up to date for the previous year.
One example I have issue with is: Acer A500 -xda wiki the entire page are just forum links. I have no issue at all with the contents of the posts (just as much my opinion on them is irrelevent) but the fact they are just links and not part of the article. The fact it's not on the wiki means that other editors cannot make changes themselves, which rather defeats the point of the wiki, which leads to,
The other issue is, unless the OP is excellent at keeping the thread organizied, you often have to wade though the entire thread to keep up to date. With a thread with +200 posts even if you wanted to it's a huge effort to do that. Even in the most complex of topics, they can be broken down a couple bullet points and approx a paragraph each to elaborate. There's also 'bad' advise that doesnt get edited away on topics ('bad' as in it may simply be the case that it was the right thing at the moment but there was eventually a more 'correct' method discovered later and the original 'bad' one is still reposted for whatever reason)
I could copy the posts onto the wiki verbaitm, but you really should have the poster's permission, what if the poster isnt active? It would be a bad idea to paraphrase advise/guides without context, what if you remove an important small detail. The right way to be to frequent the device and get context, but that triples the amount of work to do so properly.
It's no secret that there's always users that refuse to read topics and simply skip straight to posting repeat questions. Short pages with clear instructions are much easier to recommend then having them read though dozens and dozens of posts (which they skipped as they posted without reading in the first place)
Discussions dont really work on a wiki, esp one without consistant-repeat (or even repeat) editors. There's a fair amount of edits for various devices, but there are obviously more devices then editors. Lets walk though it: I want to make an edit, do I post it on the topic's talk page? Short of doing so on wikipiedia proper on a popular change, you wont recieve much feedback.
Do you make a post on each of their device's forums? XDA has sub-forums for each device, but not really a sub-forum for the family itself (back to the SGS/SGS2, there's the main device's subforum and each varient's subforum but none for the entire family, i think) That means making dozens of posts to talk about each major change.
What if it's an old device such as the winmo devices? The HTC HD2 is the only one left on the active part of the xda forums, because it's obviously not just a winmo device now. You're going to have to wait a very long time as they naturally only get a couple posts a month now.
Just as much, unless a mod/admin states to the contrary, you can always assume Wikipedia:Be Bold is implied to apply. I honestly have no issue if my edits are reverted if they are constructive reverts, as that's how wikis work.
If anyone has a issue with the edits I make, you're welcome to discuss it with me and hopefully we'll find a middle road.
Also I've made a reply on User_talkaveShaw#Page Name & Categories (as a fun note: & is translated to _.26_ in links while / isnt, though mediawiki has no issue with either of them, though you cannot directly use & in page names while you can use /) You should read it if the critisim is directed towards me.
tl;dr prove me wrong, Be Bold, help make the wiki better
Edit: HTC_HD2 - NexusHD2 ICS CM9 FAQ is an excellent example of why things should be on the wiki as articles instead of just merely links to a thread. It's about 3 pages of topic points and contains the majority of the topic points instead of having to read 225 (currently) pages to get the same info. (Also, just as much if I inadvertently remove valid content, revert/add it back! That was not my intention, everyone makes mistakes. The xda wiki is pretty well off in that it has little/no intentional vanadalism, you can always assume an edit is in good faith, I dont recall more then 1-2 legitamitely bad edits in nearly a year)

I've asked someone to look at Request 1.
I'm not sure what can be done about Request 2, if people don't want to maintain it, we can't make then

Thanks!
I dont really expect req 2 to be fullfilled in any real manner. Just pointing it out.

Added request 3: enable subpages on main namespace

TheManii said:
Added request 3: enable subpages on main namespace
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Our server admin has told me this has been done.
Dave

I can confirm it's on now, all the subcatagorized pages seem to be working great now

TheManii said:
I can confirm it's on now, all the subcatagorized pages seem to be working great now
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Thanks
Dave