Hi all! I have a very exciting announcement! Today a beta of the updated Buzztouch 5.0 core for Android is rolling out on Buzztouch.com. This update is a major leap forward, bringing several core components of the Android Buzztouch core to be refactored in Kotlin – including a major overhaul to config management and data storage. To grab the latest beta, head to your app's "Download iOS or Android Project” webpage, and select the “[Android Beta] Buzztouch Core v5.0.0” option from the new “Build Version” drop down. (Note: apps will continue to build with the previous stable version 4.0.3 if you do not select the beta option). When you download a project the .zip archive name will look something like: [appName]_Android_BTv5.0.0.zip Note: This pre-release is for Android only, iOS projects will still compile with the latest Buzztouch release regardless of the selection. (There's iOS updates also in the works– stay tuned!) This post will be updated as further beta releases (and anticipated fixes!) roll out. If you encounter any issues or bugs leave a comment in this thread (or open a new topic if you feel it's needed)! Huge thanks to Chris1 for being the developing force behind this update. Chris is a longtime Buzztouch community member and expert developer– I'm always really happy working with Chris. If anyone needs custom work done on their app, plugin, etc his contact is available through his profile: (https://www.buzztouch.com/chris1) --------------------------------------- ### Known Issues ### The beta will include some outdated documentation referencing Buzztouch 4.0. The final build will be updated to reflect the changes made during this beta phase. There are some references to Eclipse (the IDE previously used for Android development) on Buzztouch.com. It's recommended you use the latest version of the newer Android Studio https://developer.android.com/studio). If you find an old reference, feel free to drop a comment below– we're working to catch them all. :) ### Plugin Updates ### Several core plugins have been updated to support the new 5.0 core. We'd love to hear what other plugins you might want supported in the future.

I haven't been on the site for a while and now I see this fantastic news. Is this beta update also available for self hosted sites as I'd love to test it out.

Hi Sherry! The beta isn't out yet for Self Hosted sites– as on our end it's somewhat of an "on for everyone" or "off for everyone" sort of option when it comes to how we deliver app package versions to Self Hosted panels. We *do* want to get this update out to Self Hosted users– but unlike the recent iOS updates, this will require Self Hosted users to patch some of their PHP files (ie bt_appPackage_AJAX.php) to support the new build API route and the new Kotlin file extension. I'll be sure to bump this thread when we have that file ready for Self Hosted users. 💯 Thanks!!

Fantastic looking forward to it when it becomes available. Patching the self host server isnt an issue we had to do that for I think it was BT 4 to get it to work and David just laid out the instructions - save this file in that folder etc and did it no problem.

For someone who is usually XCODE/iOS only, is there a guide of how i can get started with android. I assume a lot of the old guides are way out of date now. Do i need android studio? can i use microsoft visual studio? easy to set up? THanks Steve

Fantastic looking forward to it when it becomes available. Patching the self host server isnt an issue we had to do that for I think it was BT 4 to get it to work and David just laid out the instructions - save this file in that folder etc and did it no problem.

Hi Mr Cake I wrote an awesome App using Location Map. I posted about it a couple of days ago, not working on newer Android phones and tablets, but still works on older devices- all with current Android versions. I luv the device (bought 2018) that my App (written 2012) still runs on, but would like the other devices to, also.

Hi, just got back to see what is going on with the Android source code. The background is that I want to update the Android version of an app for a client. I developed the app on my self hosted version and had developed several individual plugins for my client. So my questions are 1) Is it possible to use the new Buzztouch 5.0 version for Android on my self hosted server? Is there a recipe to receive and use the patch? 2) As the BT core is refactored in Kotlin, will I have to modify my plugins massively? I am just trying to see the effort it takes to roll out the next version of the app. 3) In former updates I had successfully used a "mixed update" strategy: I downloaded a fresh version from buzztouch.com (to benefit from new core implementations) and added my plugin files and the config file from my self hosted server. Would that be an appropriate (or perhaps the only?) option to benefit from the new Buzztouch 5.0 Android code? Thanks in advance for your help! Thomas