June 30: iOS app, Deep-update and Local Cloud Beta

kennethlimcp · June 27, 2014, 7:58am

Hello community folks!

It’s me again with some updates to keep you guys up to speed with the HQ

Deep Update for CC3000 via OTA, Spark-cli,DFU-util

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The team has made good progress and the testing rounds with Elites should start earliest next week!

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2, Local Cloud Beta Program

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@Dave has made tremendous progress and we should be reaching out to the Beta group when the 1st testing phase is ready.

I have been managing the beta list and working with @peekay123 to see how we can have a great Beta program.

If you are interested, drop a note here: https://community.spark.io/t/local-cloud-beta-testing-where-is-the-source-code-for-the-cloud/1381/43

We want people to be given guidance and sharpening of skills though beta always sounded about just bug catching and testing! It’s also about giving concise feedback and test scenarios to assist the team with fast re-iterations.

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3, iOS App

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I have seen the iOS App repo popped up in Github but please please please wait for the official announcement!

Don’t end up diving deep in the code when there might be more to fix.

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4, **Inaugural Blink Session! **

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This will kickstart the educational side of things and will be the starting point for greater interaction with the community!

I’m hoping to hear some great feedback on how we can make this better after the session tomorrow afternoon and hopefully have more of you guys involved in this program

Advertisement!

If you have yet to try out Spark-Cli, now is time to do so!

There have been tons of improvements since the 1st commit and it’s definitely easier to use than you imagine.

Installation Tutorials:

For Windows: https://community.spark.io/t/tutorial-spark-cli-on-windows-26-june-2014/3112

For mac: https://community.spark.io/t/tutorial-spark-cli-on-mac-osx-20-june-2014/5225

For Ubuntu: https://community.spark.io/t/how-to-install-spark-cli-on-ubuntu-12-04/3474

What can you do with -CLI?

Write complicated/multiple-library code without worrying about local compile. Simply write and send to the cloud for compilation
Monitor Spark events, check on your list of cores & flash defaults apps like tinker, voodoospark
Use DFU-util without having to remember all the long commands
TRY IT!

The official repo is here: https://github.com/spark/spark-cli

That’s all i have for the updates and will be back when i have screenshots for all the above mentioned.

@Teke, do feel free to edit and Pin this once you have gone through the content

mdma · June 27, 2014, 9:20am

Exciting developments! Thanks for reposting the link to the spark CLI - I’ve been wanting to try it but couldn’t find the repo!

Moors7 · June 27, 2014, 12:41pm

Keep up these awesome updates, they’re informative, keep people engaged, and are a nice way to let the community know what’s going on at Spark HQ.
Looking towards to the updates mentioned above!

Gentmat · June 30, 2014, 8:50am

Can you explain what kind of updates is there

Moors7 · June 30, 2014, 9:07am

There have been some issues with the cc3000 firmware, which have caused quite some problems. Spark has been bugging TI because of this, as well as working together to find a viable fix. Hopefully this fix will solve all the existing problems (e.g. connection instability).
The problem is that it’s not Sparks code that has to be updated, but the firmware on the cc3000 chip. Spark has been trying to find a way to make this process as easy as possible. Currently there’s a patch that can be applied through the CLI, which can be to hard for new people. They’ve therefor been working on a way of updating through the web IDE which would make it dead simple to upgrade.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that pretty much sums it up. Hopefully that somehow answers your question.

Gentmat · July 1, 2014, 9:09am

Can you lead us to the patch for whom who has CLI up and running ?

Moors7 · July 1, 2014, 9:17am

Sure, it’s mentioned on the github at the CLI page (amongst other places I believe).
Link for convenience:

github.com

particle-iot/spark-cli/blob/master/README.md

## __spark-cli__ is deprecated. [particle-cli](https://github.com/spark/particle-cli) is now the CLI tool.

#### To install the Particle CLI run `npm uninstall -g spark-cli` then `npm install -g particle-cli`

#### [Visit the particle-cli repository for more information.](https://github.com/spark/particle-cli)

Look for the “deep update”, somewhere at the top.

This is not the ‘final’ fix as mentioned above though. But it could still be beneficiary to install it.

Gentmat · July 1, 2014, 9:44am

Please specify a firmware file to flash locally to your core

Seens the file is not available yet . read it on another thread in this forum , so for whom trying to update dont try now and wait the release . instruction are there but no file (lack of test and full fix)

kennethlimcp · July 1, 2014, 9:48am

Just wanted to chime in to say that the switch for deep-update has not been flipped on but good to try out Spark-cli as mentioned by @Moors7

I won’t recommend doing any flashing with regards to deep update at this point in time

kennethlimcp · July 4, 2014, 12:10pm

Just some updates on this:

1.) Deep update WEB IDE stuff is more or less done up

We are short of the final .bin file which can be flashed locally until the OTA issue is resolved.

2.) Local

I have managed to get it at least install-able and able to at least handshake with the core after a long night

For people who wants to be ready the moment Local code is available, you need:

Node.js
OpenSSL
Dfu-util
Spark-CLI
Github command-line

For windows user, i will come back again with more updates. There are many dependencies compared to Mac OSx and Linux but i’m on it at this very moment as we speak

NanoAkron · July 4, 2014, 7:48pm

Hi @kennethlimcp, does this deep update include the mutex/changes to the IRQ blocking that @mdma and @AndyW were talking about in the bug bounty thread to address the hit-and-miss nature of OTA flashing?

kennethlimcp · July 4, 2014, 11:01pm

It will have the fix in order for the OTA to work reliably. Let’s see their progress

I’m more on the Spark-cli side to patching but it’s better we get the OTA running which is much easier for everyone!

kennethlimcp · July 9, 2014, 1:05pm

Hey guys!

1. Local

The source code required for you to run the Local is already available here:

1st time usage instructions for Local is here: https://community.spark.io/t/tutorial-local-cloud-1st-time-instructions/5589/4

I’m not sure when the official update is coming from HQ but you can already run your own cloud with the basic functions running

NOTE: For windows user, the installation is not straightforward and i have a tutorial which works for up to…Windows 7 64bit. Windows 8.0/8.1 needs a little more workaround but still do-able.

If you are a Windows user interested to install on your Windows machine, @ping me or @peekay123. We will see how we can release the install tutorial and let you guys enjoy it too

2. Deep-update

the 1st test of OTA flashing via Web IDE has been done Elites and it works .

We are left with fixing of unreliable OTA flash and the final version of deep_update.bin

I will check with @jgoggins again and see if we can push the .bin file to Spark-CLI for update over flash.

That can help more people have reliable connections instead of waiting for the OTA issue to be fix

Cheers!
ken

krvarma · July 9, 2014, 4:23pm

@kennethlimcp, I managed to install on Windows 7 32-bit machine following your instructions (https://community.spark.io/t/tutorial-local-cloud-1st-time-instructions/5589). Only thing I found is that we need to install either .NET Framework 3.5 or above or Visual Studio. It is for installing the Local dependency ursa (https://github.com/Medium/ursa). Other than this, I didn’t find any issue, I just followed your instructions from above link.

After the setup is done, I can see my core is online.

jgoggins · July 9, 2014, 9:05pm

Hey @kennethlimcp , just had a conversation with @Dave about this, we’re thinking it’ll be late next week at the earliest when we’ll have the OTA fix merged in and deployed + a new deep_update.bin cut and integrated into CLI, fyi.

Given the delay and the need for users to apply the cc3000 patch a bit more easily, I did update the documentation for applying this patch via the CLI–if you have any ideas for doc improvements, please issue a pull request.

Thanks!

-joe

NanoAkron · July 9, 2014, 10:23pm

Just watching you guys work on this snagging issue of OTA reliability is great. Can’t wait to see what Spark looks like in 2 months time.

zach · July 18, 2014, 4:46am

Thanks @NanoAkron! Helps to have a great community of people like yourself who are jumping in!

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Local Cloud Beta Testing [Where is the Source code for the Cloud] Cloud	121	11813	November 9, 2014
Spark Cloud Outtage	16	1743	May 5, 2014
Database Systems Upgrade	12	2125	June 7, 2014
What we're up to: Oct 21, 2014 edition General	11	2477	November 4, 2014
Next up: RAM optimization, CC3000 patch, libraries, new docs site	10	2539	June 20, 2014

June 30: iOS app, Deep-update and Local Cloud Beta

1. Local

2. Deep-update

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