F-Droid

[Jiack214]

This app cannot be included into F-Droid due to binaries (liblocSDK7.so, BaiduLBS_Android.jar) with unclear license. Is it possible to remove/replace them in some way?

[WangDaYeeeeee]

I cannot remove them, it is the location widget. As I know, the license will write some log and update them, but I didn't request the write permission for them, so the license can do nothing, except location.

[dimqua]

Can them be replaced somehow? Or may be you can make them optional.

[WangDaYeeeeee]

Well, I will try that, but not now. After that, I have some work to do.

[nicolasmaia]

@rudloff we now have a proper build flavor, might be good to give this a go

[Rudloff]

Are you sure? It seems https://github.com/WangDaYeeeeee/GeometricWeather/pull/38 was not merged.

[lionirdeadman]

So.. Any news on this?

[dimqua]

https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/wangdaye.com.geometricweather

[lionirdeadman]

This still contains Baidu and the other non-free software to my knowledge.

[IzzySoft]

As there's still no FOSS build flavor (the corresponding PR was closed instead of merged), and the underlying issues are still unsolved after 2 years, I'll for now close the request to include it at F-Droid. @WangDaYeeeeee please update this issue once you're ready, so I can reopen the issue on our end.

[Neurognostic]

Any update on making this application F-Droid compliant? It's a beautiful weather application you have made and it would be great if it could be built without the tracking and non-free dependencies.

https://f-droid.org/en/contribute/ https://f-droid.org/en/docs/Inclusion_Policy/ https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroiddata/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md https://f-droid.org/docs/Submitting_to_F-Droid_Quick_Start_Guide/

Have you found any alternative providers for location? Or can you provide a branch which does not have the non-free dependencies?

[mbestavros]

I'm also interested in an F-Droid version without binary dependencies.

@dimqua @WangDaYeeeeee Is there any downside to just removing the Baidu options (location, weather, plus whatever else those binaries provide) in an F-Droid branch? It seems unlikely Baidu services would be used on an F-Droid release anyway.

[mbestavros]

For those following this thread, I've gone ahead and done it myself: my fork of Geometric Weather removes all the proprietary blobs, so it should be fully FOSS.

This was a pretty primitive brute-force attempt that just rips out all code related to the Baidu/China-specific APIs, but I'm happy to work with @WangDaYeeeeee, @dimqua, @IzzySoft or whoever to fix it up and merge if desired. Regardless, it does work (though without any choice of weather API provider that's not AccuWeather), and I intend to update it upon new releases.

[IzzySoft]

@mbestavros thanks! As you intend to maintain the fork: maybe you could change the package name in yours (to avoid collision – cross-updates won't be possible anyway due to different signature), add Fastlane file structure, and then apply for F-Droid inclusion? I'd pick up from there then. Of course I can also add your fork to my repo once the first 2 steps are done (and a new tag with APK is available), at least until it gets listed at F-Droid.org.

[mbestavros]

@IzzySoft Sounds good! I'll give it a try this weekend. I've created a tracking issue and sub-issues for both of your asks over on my repo: https://github.com/mbestavros/GeometricWeather/issues/3

[IzzySoft]

Now that Geometric Weather became available at F-Droid (congrats! :tada:) – shall I still keep it in my repo, @WangDaYeeeeee? Usually I remove it at this stage, unless explicitly requested otherwise, about 7..10 days after it became available at F-Droid. Just in case you want it to stay, I already adjusted my config here to

• pick the *fdroid*.apk (and not one of the others)
• use metadata provided via Fastlane (going into effect with the next sync tomorrow)

Next question is targeted at @mbestavros – you'll most likely discontinue your fork now, correct? So shall I add a corresponding note ("development returned to parent") and disable update checking?

[mbestavros]

@IzzySoft Yes, that is the plan! I have already updated all my documentation (including Fastlane descriptions and changelogs, and Github README) and threw up a pop-up on app open to direct to the new listing. I've tagged it, so hopefully it should go up soon.

What else can I do to help expedite the process?

[IzzySoft]

Wow, I guess that should cover it all. Just let me know when that version was "pulled", so we disable the update checks. As description etc. come via Fastlane, all else should already be in place. Thanks a lot!

[mbestavros]

@IzzySoft Thank you for all your help and guidance! I'm thrilled Geometric Weather is on F-Droid in full 🙂

[IzzySoft]

Not the least thanks to your hard work, if I might say so :wink:

[mbestavros]

Ah, well, credit where credit is due: the push to get F-Droid upstreamed was spearheaded primarily by @papjul, and he deserves most of the recognition 😄

[IzzySoft]

OK OK, did we mention everyone now – and does it finally stick? :rofl: Maybe we can give some of the cream to @WangDaYeeeeee as well? And of course everyone else involved… :tada: :partying_face:

[IzzySoft]

@mbestavros your latest build fails. I mean, it succeeds, but…

ERROR: Could not build app com.mbestavros.geometricweather: Unexpected version/version code in output; APK: '2.610-foss' / '26100',  Expected: '2.610' / '26100'

Read: the versionCode from your build.gradle has a versionSuffix (-foss) which is not set up in the YAML and wasn't there before. Can be fixed either in the YAML (adding the suffix; not sure if one of our maintainers is already doing that) or via your build.gradle (removing the suffix).

[mbestavros]

@IzzySoft I will remove the suffix as a quick fix when I'm next at my computer.

Can I edit the current release on Github with the new changes, or should I tag a new release?

[IzzySoft]

As the build failed, both should be possible at the moment – if you want to make sure not to cross with any maintainer fixing the build, make a new tag. If the latter is an option for you, it's the safer variant.

[IzzySoft]

@mbestavros No change needed anymore, the crossing just happened! So please do NOT touch the current tag – and no need for a new tag either.

[mbestavros]

@IzzySoft I'm just checking back on this now; I see that the Fastlane description of my app has been updated, but the app itself is not new, so the in-app popup will not show. Should I still proceed with a new fixed tag to ensure the new app makes its way to users?

[IzzySoft]

As your build failed in the last run, the updated APK cannot yet be there as the fixed build would be in the current run (which is not yet completed – indeed, the build just passed at 11:20am UTC today). So please wait for the next index, then check again.

[mbestavros]

@IzzySoft My app listing seems like it got updated! I just downloaded the updated version and got the deprecation popup, so I think my fork is all set.

I think that wraps up everything we needed to do to get Geometric Weather released! 🎉

Last question: would it be okay for me to archive my fork, or does it need to stay live for F-Droid to work?

[IzzySoft]

I'd just disabled auto-updates, so it's fine to archive the repo. That way it remains accessible (even for F-Droid builds) while making clear there's no more development going on. Thanks a lot for "cleaning the table"!

[mbestavros]

@IzzySoft Perfect!! I will do so soon. And of course, I'm just trying to be a good open-source citizen 😄

[mbestavros]

@WangDaYeeeeee @Jiack214 Given Geometric Weather is now fully in F-Droid, I think it's probably appropriate to close this issue!

[IzzySoft]

Btw: with Geometric Weather now listed at "F-Droid proper", guess I can remove it from my repo after the usual overlap (~10d) – or is there demand that I shall keep it?

[IzzySoft]

Well, I've asked twice and got no protest, so I'll remove it from my repo. If needed, it can easily be restored, just let me know.

[Jiack214]

Thank you all!