Feature #731
closedAndroid 3.1+ -4.2 support
0%
Description
Since most android tablets have full usb support, if there was a possibility of running chirp on an android OS, the capapilities would be amazing. I use chirp to program uv-5r+ radios and having a portable programmer would really help. I'm learning linux and would like to help support this project.
Updated by Tom Hayward over 11 years ago
- Status changed from New to Rejected
There are a few major hurdles which must be overcome before this becomes possible. Once overcome, you are welcome to report back here and I'll reopen the issue.
CHIRP uses PyGTK for its GUI. Android doesn't support PyGTK, so you would need to port PyGTK to Android.¶
PyGTK's widgets, and subsequently CHIRP, are designed for a mouse and keyboard interface. Even if PyGTK would run on Android, it would be very difficult to use CHIRP without a mouse and keyboard.¶
Updated by Sean Fox over 11 years ago
If I had someone that coded for Android then it would be more realistic. Basically CHIRP is coded in python from what I understand, which can be ported to an apk with free tools that are available. Even the kivy.org cross platform project could help with porting to more platforms as code works on almost all main platforms. As for the keyboard and mouse, I'm typing this from a Toshiba thrive touchscreen Android tablet so I'm able to input text into fields with an on-screen keyboard and click just like you can on a PC. It may be something I dig deeper into, especially if I can find support from others and if the source code is available. Thank you for the input. As a 21 year old ham, I'd love to make things easier and available for other amateur radio enthusiasts.
73's, KI4ZUD
Updated by Tom Hayward over 11 years ago
Ported, maybe. Supported, not until all the dependencies are met. I am familiar with Kivy and am using it for a project at work. Kivy does not have a spreadsheet widget. If/when it did, you might be able to port CHIRP to Kivy. Even then, it would be a port, not native support. CHIRP is written for PyGTK, so you would need to throw out all the GUI code and rewrite it for Kivy. The radio drivers should be somewhat portable, but rewriting CHIRP for a new GUI toolkit is outside the scope of a feature request.
Right now, the same code allows CHIRP to run on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. There was no porting involved. Almost every line of code runs on every platform (we have a small section of code that translates some platform-specific quirks). This just isn't possible with Android, so what you are asking for is a new app based on CHIRP.
You are welcome to recruit developers to try to achieve this, but I don't think any of the current developers have the time or expertise to start over writing CHIRP for Android.