"Attempt to invoke virtual method on a null object reference" during fetch

[aicantar]

I'm using Nextcloud News installed on a Hetzner Storage Share instance with this app. The app refuses to fetch both unread (I have no unread feeds) and read feeds displaying the message as seen on the screenshot below instead.

Error text:

Attempt to invoke virtual method 'int com.google.gson.JsonArray.size()' on a null object reference

The app successfully fetches the list of feeds and displays them in the left menu, it fails, however, to fetch the articles themselves.

The Nextcloud app itself works properly.

Steps to reproduce:

1. On a Hetzner Storage Share instance, install the Nextcloud News app
2. Connect to that instance in the mobile app
3. Observe the error

System information:

• Nextcloud News Android app version: 0.9.9.53
• Nextcloud News version: 16.0.0
• Nextcloud version: 20.0.9
• Android version: 10
• Device: Redmi Note 8 Pro
• Host operating system version: Linux 5.4.0-72-generic x86_64
• Host PHP version: 7.4.16
• Host database: probably MariaDB, in Settings > System identified as mysql 10.3.30

[David-Development]

@aicantar Are you using the manual login or Single Sign On? If you have the Nextcloud News App installed on the device please give the SingleSignOn a try as the manual login is deprecated.

[aicantar]

@David-Development yeah, it works using SSO, thanks. But why was the manual login deprecated? Do you plan to remove it entirely eventually?

I'm using Nextcloud to store files encrypted using rclone and I can't view these files using the standard Nextcloud Files app which makes it useless in my case. Having to install a separate app just to log into the news reader is a strange approach :thinking:

[stefan-niedermann]

Do you plan to remove it entirely eventually?

While i am not the maintainer of the News Android app, i think i can safely say: Yes, it will (hopefully) be removed in the future.

Actually SSO is the only reasonable way to log in in the long term :wink: It might be a bit strange in your very special use case, where you don't need the Files app. The great majority of all users will come into contact with Nextcloud via the Files app though and extend their ecosystem to third party apps.

To mention just a few benefits of the SSO:

• :lock: Security
  • Most Android apps for Nextcloud like News, Deck and Notes are from 3rd party developers. Why should you trust them and give them a valid password or token? With SSO only the Nextcloud app knows your secrets, no need to share it with any other apps.
• :zap: Reliability
  • Apps which use SSO do not send any network requests itself. They use the Nextcloud app as a proxy (which adds the authentication information). This way all setups which are supported by the Nextcloud app are automatically supported by third party apps which use SSO (think about strange edge cases, local hosted clouds, two factor authentication, self signed certificates, ...). Also keep in mind that the time which third party developers spend on implementing this stuff all over again in each app can be used now to focus on actual features of the app due to the reduced maintenance efforts.
• :sparkles: A much better user experience
  • Just select the already configured account and grant access
  • No more entering of an URL or any long complicated passwords
  • This becomes especially handy if you have to set up multiple apps (say News, Deck, Notes, maybe Bookmarks, ...)

I recommend you to watch @David-Development s talk at the Nextcloud conference 2020 for more information :point_left:.

which makes it useless in my case.

Yeah, there is this very special edge case, where you only want to use one third party app and not the Nextcloud app. So what? No you have a use case :smile:! Just don't use it. Look at it as a dependency, like a module of the News app, just that it has its own icon. Compared to the benefits, this "drawback" is quite small, no? :slightly_smiling_face:

Having to install a separate app just to log into the news reader is a strange approach thinking

Let's have a look what Google does: You set up one Google Account on your phone and have access to the Play Store, GMail, Maps and a docent other apps. Removing one Google core component will make the other apps useless - It's a similar approach.

[aicantar]

I definitely can live with one more unused app on my phone. Phones these days bundle tons of apps of questionable usefulness anyway. I was just asking about the plans for the future :P.

Thanks y'all for your time, I think this ticket can be considered resolved and closed.