It has been quite awhile since I posted a Ute Hub mobile app update. Apple has changed some of their requirements for how apps are built, and threatens to remove apps in their store that don’t meet their new specs. So I started to work on fixing some of those things last year. I ran into some bad problems with some outdated libraries and have had a real tough time getting them to work. Some features in the app broke in the process. It’s quite a time suck.
In order to fix some of these problems I needed to modernize the app’s core. So what I’ve decided to do is eliminate as many of these libraries as possible to avoid these pitfalls in the future. This means rather than using a library to do something quickly, I’m writing my own code instead. That way I don’t have to worry about getting support from the library, but it does make things much more difficult and time consuming.
In short, I’m rewriting a large percentage of the app. This will hopefully mean less bloat and a little better performance in the long run.
I’ve got the home page, stats, about, forums list, rules, EULA and social links rebuilt so far. I started with the more simple/easier pages. I’ll be starting to work on the more complicated ones (like topics and replies) soon and I anticipate it being a bear. I’m not sure how long it will take to complete. Weeks or even months.
In the meantime, if Apple gets a wild hair they may remove the current app. IF that happens it will suck, but isn’t an emergency.
GO UTES