BandzoneAndroidUnofficial

Development.log

day	work done
29-dec-2020	created bandzoneScraper RoR api
30-dec-2020	first work on app, searchfield, text events, JSON parsing
04-jan-2021	displaying list of bands, only first 20 results
05-jan-2021	loading of next results after scroll, UI tweaks, messages
18-jan-2021	modifying scraper server app, open action on bands list, adding layout for band and their songs, json requests for band data working
19-jan-2021	complete refactor of app, code cleanup, making adapter for filling bands activity with data, adding abstract classes and interfaces Data and JSON deserialization adapter for Band and it's tracks
20-jan-2021	showing band basic details works, playing with animations and layouts, waiting screen when data for bandloaded from server
21-jan-2021	refactor of code handling opening band portfolio, first goal achieved - app is PLAYING SOUND. Insane level of pain how to synchronise the UI and state(s) of player in some nice user friendly way
22-jan-2021	player synchronized with UI except case when You get out of band profile and back - but solution proposed, resolve recyclerView artifacts
23-jan-2021	pause and rewind and progressbar working now, get sober, 3.6 promile for me not terrible but for app not great
24-jan-2021	UI animations, bugs, icons and look, no band found text, moving player loading to background thread
01-feb-2021	Resolving deprecation warnings, design of player widget
04-feb-2021	Give "life" to player widget (player in bands list)
05-feb-2021	Resolved bug app not loading content on newer androids, adding time informations to player(s)
08-feb-2021	UI changes, click listeners on player, started studying android storage and implementing file download
09-feb-2021	File downloading and removing implemented, playing downloaded files from mem implemented, started studying and implementing SQL database, very basic core functionality implemented
10-feb-2021	Caching (saving) of images of visited band profile, basic operations on databases done (adding band profile if at least one track downloaded, removing if all downloads deleted)
11-feb-2021	Started implementing adapters for running app from local dbs and stored files, tried to offload recycler views from unnecessary ofline assets chekcs
13-feb-2021	Offline mode fully implemented, implemented changing mode based on phone connection state, 0.3-a release
14-feb-2021	Added network mode signalizator, do not remember more
15-feb-2021	Added icon showing that band has some tracks for offline usage, ordering these bands as first, removing broadcasts recievers that causes bands activity to reload when coming back from band profile
16-feb-2021	Adding popup menu, for now with only one function to toggle player into offline mode
12-mar-2021	Resolving bug with duration of few online tracks - unsolvable bug in android - getting track duration from provided info from api instead of player.getDuration()
13-mar-2021	Resolved bug with disconnection app when phone idle, Alphabetical order of saved bands, preserve text and search when offline mode changed
25-mar-2021	Probably last release - moving code to another repository for reuse in another project that will include BandZone functionality, changing server and application providing API, added icon to already downloaded tracks in tracklist
09-jan-2022	Upgrade - hacks for changes in api due to radical change on Bandzone.cz

TODO, ideas

• Show user that band has no published tracks
• When search deleted, load random bands
• Notify user somehow that search is being performed (maybe little spinner in search field)
• Maybe apply gestures for some actions (like back from Band profile to bands search)
• Rework band profile, find out how to put band info into list so it does not occupy space on screen and can be scrolled out
• Make appearing band search results animated
• Pre Kristovu nohu if no bands found according to user request TELL HIM about it, no blank screen
• Resolve recyclerView artifacts - sometimes wiew with hidden buttons appearing for a wile can be seen (recycled view) they dissappeared, but I did nothing
• Put some small player widget on the bottom when in bands index/other band profile to give a user possibility to switch/stop currently playing track and give him clue what is he listening to
• Few bands unable to load, inpect this cases - [RESOLVED] - bands with at least one song that is less than miute long - bug in a Ruby on Rails scraper, not app itself
• Get rid of some HANDROid ugly stock icons
• [SERIOUS] Run player on background thread, loading track freezes UI
• [SERIOUS] Spaces in searchfield causes exception, scraper working OK, mistake here
• [SERIOUS] (in 0.1-alpha) If list of the track longer than screen and last track ends, app will crash
• [SERIOUS] on newer androids, content fetching not working
• develop some mechanism to try to repeat lost request
• [SERIOUS] Bandzone.cz has maintenance shutdown from 3:00 to 3:30 am, track this event, if I cannot do anything with it at least inform user about it.
• provide actual screenshots
• lockscreen player widget
• notification area player widget
• text on widget in bands list not changeing when song changed automatically
• change click listeners on track - missclick on free space in player causes track play again
• ability to download tracks and in gerenal ability to run offline with downloaded content - bands info and tracklist must be downloaded if at least one track is downloaded from band
• add incremental loading (pagination) for offline bands too (if for example 1000 results is issue for recycler view and sqlite, do research)
• reload bands activity on step back if connection changed during time spent inside band profile
• when playback paused in bands list and back into band profile or opposite, player state (in bands list) or player at all (in band profile) not restored
• add icon next to searchfield (in lace when loading wheel occurs) in bands list signalizing player mode (offline/online)
• ^ use that icon to toggle basic settings menu
• ^ in that menu, give user the possibility to work in offline mode even if data on (architecture done, just do menu)
• [IMPORTANT] in offline mode, grey out and remove click listeners on tracks that has not been downloaded
• ^ change download icon on that tracks to something that will inform user that he must download it first when online
• [SERIOUS] when going into band profile in offline mode, something black occupy half of the screen until track played, then content jumps
• [IMPORTANT] reload activities when connection on phone changed
• bug somewhere in db queries, removein all downloaded songs but band remains there
• sometimes when turning off data and paused player in band profile does not dissapear from not downloaded track
• maybe add bands that have downloaded tracks as first when app opened/searchfiled cleared
• [SERIOUS] bug resuming band profile activity while playing track - player missing, if clicked, app crashes
• [IMPORTANT] coming back from band profile gives you at the start of list, something forces activity restart
• performace during scrolling list first time, maybe glide library issue for loading files stored offline
• [IMPORTANT] app loses connection and play only saved tracks after some time when phone screen off
• [IMPORTANT] times on some tracks inaccurate (10-20x times, see band "Container")
• set alphabetical ordering of saved bands
• when changing mode from offline or vice versa and reloading activity, searcfield content deleted if something there
• check the possibility to add next/previous band to player widget in bands list
• ^ add as setting(s) if repeat band tracks, stop playing, play next band
• let user know that track is downloaded and available offline before playing it - add icon to place of play/pause button

Devices tested & issues

[runs/dont] [Android version] (App version tested) Phone brand and model - state/issues

• [6.0 + EMUI 4.1] (v0.1.1-alpha) Honor 7 lite - OK
• [10.0] (v0.1.1-alpha) Samsung Galaxy S10 - App runs, unable to connect and fetch data, test again after deprecations removed
• [5.1.1] (v0.1.1-alpha) Lenovo A6020 - OK
• [9.0] (v0.1.1-alpha) BlackView GBW9100 - same problem as on Samsung Galaxy S10 [tested v0.2-alpha working]
• [9.0] (v0.2-alpha) BlackView GBW9100 - OK
• [13.0] (v0.4.5-alpha) Google Pixel 6a - OK

Local MP3 folder path

All songs are separated in folders, called by name of interpert. Filepath for downloaded .mp3 files:

/android/data/com.kovospace.bandzoneplayerunofficial/files/music