C Code, Run

Today, version 2.6.4 of EasyRoute was released to the App Store. The fixes are relatively minor, but I’m happy to be fixing minor issues versus having to sweat out potentially large issues.

Last time, I wrote that the big new iCloud feature in 2.6 may have blown up in my face. After hearing from more users and seeing some more data, I think it largely went OK. There ended up being just two reported iCloud problems and a few crashes. The crashes were easy to pinpoint and I got fixes submitted to Apple quickly.

The reported iCloud issues did scare me into adding some safeguards though.

When EasyRoute requests files be put into iCloud, iOS moves these files into the iCloud container, meaning the originals are gone. If iCloud is misbehaving for some reason, your routes will be unavailable. After the initial 2.6 release, I added a fail-safe so if the iCloud sync doesn’t work as expected, you can turn iCloud off and be offered the option to restore your routes from the fail-safe.

This means you can safely attempt to turn iCloud on. If syncing goes bad and the routes are not available, you can turn iCloud off and restore from your fail-safe.

Yes, it’s a workaround, but no routes will get lost in iCloud this way. At this point, I think its an uncommon problem, but I feel better knowing the fail-safe is there.

The most frustrating part of the whole thing was having users with problems I couldn’t reproduce. iCloud syncing works beautifully with my devices (the “works for me” problem) and, if anything, I thought the routes would be safer in mirrored into iCloud than just stored on the device.

As I said, there were only two reported problems, if you turn iCloud on and have problems, let me know.

Time to face the music.

On Monday, my iCloud update for EasyRoute was released. This was my longest release cycle for a lot of reasons and I actually sat on this release for a few weeks after I thought it was ready, just to be sure.

Unfortunately when I finally released it, I got reports of routes disappearing. To top it off, even new routes would disappear.

I have a theory as to why this is happening, but I certainly didn’t see it coming.

There are two things that happen when you first launch version 2.6. First it turns the routes into documents, then, if iCloud is enabled, moves those documents into the app’s iCloud container (really just a special directory) for syncing. Once in the iCloud container, they should get synced to Apple’s servers and to your other devices.

Well, unfortunately it seems this sync can go the wrong way and wipe the container. The fact that even new routes get wiped out shortly after being created supports this theory. I’m guessing the initial move to the container is wiped out, and since iCloud insists the “truth” is that the container is empty, keeps removing anything else put there.

I saw things like this happen when trying to sync the old data store (which was Core Data). It would seem to be alright, but often there would be a bad sync and data would be lost. This is the main reason I moved away from Core Data, because I just couldn’t make the iCloud sync work reliably. When I tried this with documents, it worked great. Also, the routes-as-documents approach is much more straightforward. I think the result is much cleaner.

So, upon learning of the syncing problems, I reviewed everything. I checked with some of my testers, but was unable to reproduce it. I had no choice but to disable iCloud-by-default and try and get a new release out as fast as possible.

Luckily, despite my request for an expedited review being denied, version 2.6.1 got through the App Store the same day. The problem isn’t fixed, but it is sidestepped and hopefully, at some point, it will occur to me how to eliminate it altogether.

So, the option is still there in the Settings App, but off by default. I wish I knew exactly how many people the sync fails for, but getting 2 reports in the first day is enough for me to say it’s not reliable.

Finally, I feel terrible that this happened…

EasyRoute isn’t my day job, it is my labor of love. I created it to fit my own needs and it’s been fun adding features and tweaks for cyclists, walkers and even motorcycle riders! (I definitely wasn’t thinking motorcycles when I started this.) There’s been lots of response from all over the world and it’s been fun getting to know my users. Now, I feel like I let everyone down. My name is on this program and until yesterday afternoon, I was quite proud of how it had come out.

So, to anyone having issues, I’m deeply sorry.

If there are still any problems with 2.6.1. Let me know, I’m listening. My contact page is the best option as I see messages left there right away.

Version 2.6 of EasyRoute was approved and released by Apple today! The big new feature is iCloud syncing.

In order to sync your routes across your devices you only need to be signed into iCloud. That’s right, all the syncing is done behind-the-scenes for you. This means if you create a route on your iPad, it should be available on your phone. (This is the case I see being common — making a route using the larger iPad screen and then having it available on your phone.)

There are some other smaller fixes, but the iCloud stuff kept me busy enough, so I didn’t want to introduce too much else in this release.

The best thing is, the internal changes required for iCloud also helped set the stage for some cool stuff I have planned for future releases, so stay tuned!

Since I’ve been in radio silence here on CodeAndRun.com for a while here, I figured I’d post a little news and a quick status update.

DC Rainmaker

First off, EasyRoute was mentioned on DC Rainmaker! I’m a long-time reader so it was really fun to see Ray using it. I had reached out to him some time ago just to let him know that EasyRoute existed. It appeared in his “Week in Review” posts when he used to post screenshots of app updates, but I didn’t know it was his favorite route planner! Thanks, Ray!

In the Pipeline

This has to be the longest I’ve gone without some kind of feature update for EasyRoute. I was on a nice cadence of getting something useful out the door every few weeks, but I’ve gotten stuck on something big. Sitting on a major update and releasing it after a long period of no updates is exactly what I try to avoid, but once I become unstuck, I expect to be able to make a number of releases with some nice features as the log jam clears up.

To elaborate a bit, the next feature is iCloud support. Basically, if you make a route on your iPad, it is available on your phone too. There were a number a behind-the-scenes changes I needed to make and it they were more extensive than I planned for, but I’m much happier with the new design. Actually, iCloud was something I had planned for from the beginning, but without getting into technical nitty-gritty, my original design didn’t work out.

While I’m on the topic of my next release, I wouldn’t mind taking on some additional beta testers. Drop me a note on my contact page if you’re interested.

I just received a message through my contact page asking about EasyRoute’s GPX import feature. Unfortunately, my reply got bounced back to me, so I figured I’d address it with a blog entry in case anyone else was confused about it and hopefully the person asking about it will return here and find the answer.

EasyRoute is registered as being able to open GPX files which means another app needs to offer it to EasyRoute. For example, if your GPX file is a mail attachment, EasyRoute will show up in the mail app as being able to open it.

If your GPX info is in another app, EasyRoute will be available through the that app’s export or share feature. (A box with an arrow pointing up out of it seems to be the universal icon for that these days)

If the GPX file is not on your device at all, just e-mail it to yourself.

As you can see, I make every effort to reply to all messages regarding EasyRoute.