Today I finally submitted JwContactsUD to the Microsoft Store and am awaiting approval. The identical executable is also available at https://www.jwcontacts.com/Pages/DownloadsWindows.html. This version (1.0.6) rounds out my planned efforts for UD. If approved for the Store I will withdraw the earlier Windows versions of JwContacts from both the Store and my web site, as I believe UD to be superior in ease of install and features.
A few recent improvements: The 3rd-party Realm Database software recently had a major upgrade which, at first, threw errors in both UD and earlier versions. Realm just released a bug-free version, now incorporated. Earlier installs likely will update their user data seamlessly, but still pre-update backups are strongly encouraged.
Xamarin Forms, Microsoft’s flagship cross-platform framework, is nearing its final release under that name. Scheduled for weeks, but not yet released, is the “final” version 5.0. Plans are to incorporate all its functions into the new .Net frameworks. .Net 5.0 is due out next month, but word is full Xamarin functionality will not exist until .Net 6.0 a year later.
Unfortunately the last Xamarin Forms 4.x release has a grievous bug for Windows apps. Although I have updated the JwC Android and iOS versions to that release, I had to stick with the preceding release for JwC Windows UWP. The bug is well-known and may be one reason 5.0 has been delayed; I don’t know. But, hopefully, once Forms 5.0 is out, Xamarin Forms will become stable until .Net 6.0 in late 2021. That will be a welcome relief from Forms updates every 4 – 6 weeks!
I am nearly ready to submit both Android and iOS releases to their respective stores. The main effort has been, as I add a UD feature, to replicate it in the JwC versions. Now that UD is fully capable, that can stop.
One Report just added in all versions allows all persons and families assigned to Service Groups to be listed alphabetically along with their corresponding group. This can help when Zoom Breakout Rooms are created for Service Groups and it is necessary to quickly assign current attendees to their appropriate Room.
The Android world has been in a state of flux, with new requirements for new apps and even to have old ones retained in Play Store. Outstandingly all must support Android versions that include “Q” and “R” and use the newer Google-supplied “AndroidX” coding libraries that allow that. My current version has been transformed to meet that new pre-requisite, but I’ve seen a couple of issues that might prevent some devices from running properly. Will investigate.
The two primary 3rd-party control suppliers I use recently released newly-updated suites. I have seen some issues with JwC Pdf viewers and am investigating before I release.
I am excited to see the Branch requesting more computer-programming remote workers. Requested skills include Xamarin, C#, and Swift. In fact, I only began the JwContacts effort 4 years ago, in part, to keep skills current while I hoped I might be asked to help that way. We’ll see now what happens.
But I had already decided to get serious about programming for the Apple Mac, once I learned of Apple’s new use of the Swift language and, even more recently, of SwiftUI. One local elder who has shown real interest in my work is exclusively Apple-oriented and has been awaiting my JwContacts iOS for quite awhile. He would most like to see JwContacts Mac which, as I’ve explained before, is theoretically possible with Xamarin Forms except there is a paucity of 3rd-party XF Mac controls. So I recently committed to becoming astute at Swift and SwiftUI, both just getting major updates a few days ago.
