Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

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animeout
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by animeout »

KuroiHikari wrote:BT is just mediawiki.

chapter links are just links placed on the project wiki page.
So in other words the chapter pages are not category but normal pages and cannot be retrieved for a particular LN by the API ?
The only way to get all chapter page links for a XXX LN would be to parse the html of the LN main page ?
animeout
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by animeout »

Just wanted to update this, I am resuming this project once again, just to try and be able to read LN (which I dont atm due to all text) during night on my ipad

I had to drop this earlier due to not being able to properly utilize current baka-tsuki API to get the required data, but several months later today I was just playing with DOM and succeeded in created a unofficial BT API, yes its running and gets all required data I need for now. Just wanted to read Tate no Yuusha LN and that led to this T_T

I will most probably be releasing the API to public access as well, read only.

So if anyone is still interested in this, I am open to suggestions on both iOS app features and API features (content it should have, etc.). Anyone good in ObjC (ios) programming or gfx designing, feel free to help.

Currently API gets:-
  • List of main LNs
    Desc of a LN
    Synopsis of LN
    Cover img of LN
    List of vol./chaps of a LN
    Full chap text and in-line image of a individual chap
    Possible LN search
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Unshatter
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by Unshatter »

animeout wrote:Just wanted to update this, I am resuming this project once again, just to try and be able to read LN (which I dont atm due to all text) during night on my ipad

I had to drop this earlier due to not being able to properly utilize current baka-tsuki API to get the required data, but several months later today I was just playing with DOM and succeeded in created a unofficial BT API, yes its running and gets all required data I need for now. Just wanted to read Tate no Yuusha LN and that led to this T_T

I will most probably be releasing the API to public access as well, read only.

So if anyone is still interested in this, I am open to suggestions on both iOS app features and API features (content it should have, etc.). Anyone good in ObjC (ios) programming or gfx designing, feel free to help.

Currently API gets:-
  • List of main LNs
    Desc of a LN
    Synopsis of LN
    Cover img of LN
    List of vol./chaps of a LN
    Full chap text and in-line image of a individual chap
    Possible LN search
Nice! I was always considering buying an android tablet even though I have an iphone and an ipad just because baka-tsuki didn't have an app on the appstore wwwww.

I totally understand you when you said you only wanted to read Tate no Yuusha. I'm reading it too. I greatly appreciate alpaca's contributions to the start of that series, but I'm head over heels for bakahou and co. for translating around 1 new chapter of it every day (and it's still better than a lot of the Legendary Moonlight Sculptor translations). So I was wondering if you were also able to fetch the chapters from other wordpress translation blogs such as bakahou, solitary translation, NanoDesu, etc. It'd be great if it was the case, but even if it wasn't I'd still want the app to be released even if all the chapters you can view/download are only the ones from Baka-tsuki. I mean, it's already great improvement. You were asking about suggestions on the app's features, so how about adding a recently read list and ratings (maybe?).

Thanks, I greatly appreciate your efforts!
animeout
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by animeout »

I can fetch them and so were the plans, I was even planning to create a PUSH API for translators to be able to one click push releases directly to app (automated approach might have unreliable results), but for that I will need a list of blogs first
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Mavs
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by Mavs »

Just curious if there's been any progress. Found this because I was just got into reading manga on my ipad and now want to read LN on it too :P
animeout
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by animeout »

I was done with my API work a few months ago, but then kinda lost interest was got busy in my professional development work, and recently started a few personal app projects and small games

I will be resuming the development of the iOS client (iphone/ipad) from next month most probably
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Shadowys
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by Shadowys »

animeout wrote:I was done with my API work a few months ago, but then kinda lost interest was got busy in my professional development work, and recently started a few personal app projects and small games

I will be resuming the development of the iOS client (iphone/ipad) from next month most probably
http://btapi-shadowys.ngapp.io/

There's this API some of the devs have worked with me that you could use in future development, but it needs more polishing and features, I guess. Would you mind if I took a look into the API you've developed to get some ideas?

Note: Sometimes you may get a 404 error in the link above because the service I'm using had only small amount of RAM. Just tell me when that happens so I can restart it.
Winter's the time of the year,
when the cold chill the skin,
from the very within,
but you grasped my hand,
your eyes shedding a frozen tear.
Our eyes met,
and warmth filled the air.
animeout
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by animeout »

Shadowys wrote:
animeout wrote:I was done with my API work a few months ago, but then kinda lost interest was got busy in my professional development work, and recently started a few personal app projects and small games

I will be resuming the development of the iOS client (iphone/ipad) from next month most probably
http://btapi-shadowys.ngapp.io/

There's this API some of the devs have worked with me that you could use in future development, but it needs more polishing and features, I guess. Would you mind if I took a look into the API you've developed to get some ideas?

Note: Sometimes you may get a 404 error in the link above because the service I'm using had only small amount of RAM. Just tell me when that happens so I can restart it.
Am pretty sure mine is almost full complete with everything one could need :P The only problem I have is with parsing some series as the translators/editors didn't used proper tagging on those pages, which is causing issues with parsing, only on some pages though. If you are a translator, would it be possible to fix the tags or change them if I link the series to you ?

Can you PM me your email, I think it would be great if we can work together, me being a developer and you being someone who is aware of how things work at BT
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Blake81
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by Blake81 »

Today marks one full year since anybody last said something about this.

Did the app got created and posted somewhere? Or was the whole thing dropped altogether?
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Shadowys
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by Shadowys »

Would have to wait for a reply from animeout, but last time I checked the API was pretty complete, just lacking the app itself :D
Winter's the time of the year,
when the cold chill the skin,
from the very within,
but you grasped my hand,
your eyes shedding a frozen tear.
Our eyes met,
and warmth filled the air.
_AzSiAz
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by _AzSiAz »

Well you can use my app on iOS : https://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/ln-read ... ?l=en&mt=8

But read my description because it's something you can consider to be an alpha^^
animeout
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by animeout »

Just to make an update what I have been doing over the year, the API was pretty much complete a year ago, yeah. But I decided to scrap it.
Earlier on, it was using baka-tsuki's mediawiki API components which wasn't as reliable so I decided to create my own API using a scrapper and bot. It uses the edit page to get the code, parse it and format it.

Earlier on I was working all alone which made me lazy and have no motivation, thankfully a friend and LN addict joined me over 6 months~ back and we completed the whole API around 3-4 months ago.
We also created a sub-API for MangaUpdates to get much more data about a LN which is not available on Baka-tsuki (and some meta-data on BT wasn't getting parsed due to announcement, warning, dead, removed, etc. texts).

So right now API is pretty much complete and quite solid, it has a separate Media sub-API for all artwork and such.

I have been working on the app quite slowly the past 3 months now,basically because I am working all alone now and I get de-motivated easily (and Dota too).

So yeah, I am taking my sweet time because I want the LN app to be how I used to imagine it whenever I thought about reading LN, I dont want to create just a text reader or newspaper or kindle looking app which might bore a user reading just text.
Adding some dynamic functionalities like inserting the artwork of a volume/chapter within text content, having the option to play relevant OST of the LN's counterpart anime, LN specific mini-chat and a user-based open submission of new LN and chapters (there are some cool chinese novels I wanted to read) are taking time.

If any of you senpai's here want to join our Slack channel and perhaps help me with your ideas on both features, designs and want to test the app during its development, let me know your email via a PM, will invite you to our Slack.
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Shadowys
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by Shadowys »

_AzSiAz wrote:Well you can use my app on iOS : https://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/ln-read ... ?l=en&mt=8

But read my description because it's something you can consider to be an alpha^^
You've managed to get push notifications working? :D
Winter's the time of the year,
when the cold chill the skin,
from the very within,
but you grasped my hand,
your eyes shedding a frozen tear.
Our eyes met,
and warmth filled the air.
_AzSiAz
Kyonist
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Oct 20, 2015 4:17 am
Favourite Light Novel:

Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by _AzSiAz »

Shadowys wrote:
_AzSiAz wrote:Well you can use my app on iOS : https://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/ln-read ... ?l=en&mt=8

But read my description because it's something you can consider to be an alpha^^
You've managed to get push notifications working? :D
Not completely but almost there I think, my version (not the one in the app store) can do it but I want to test it more to see if it's really working for all the case^^

By the way your API return wrong data in some novel you need to get back to work :P
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Shadowys
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Re: Creating a iOS (iPhone/iPad) app for Light Novels

Post by Shadowys »

Just post it in the repo and I will get it looked at asap. Some novels have been updated since DMCA so there may be some changes.
Winter's the time of the year,
when the cold chill the skin,
from the very within,
but you grasped my hand,
your eyes shedding a frozen tear.
Our eyes met,
and warmth filled the air.
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