Bonjour zero-config seems to work only one way

[GoogleCodeExporter]

I'm using VVOSC to try to establish two-way communication between a Mac 
application on my laptop and an application on my iPad, over my home Wifi 
network.

The iPad sees the application on the Mac without any problem (even though the 
status is not very consistent) and messages get through. But it seems that my 
Mac application doesn't see my iPad application. Yet I'm creating the inPort on 
both sides exactly in the same way.

Would you have any idea what can cause that? Could it be linked to firewall 
issues?

Original issue reported on code.google.com by sebastie...@gmail.com on 7 Aug 2010 at 11:30

[GoogleCodeExporter]

By the way, when I launch another OSC application on the same computer as my 
Mac application, for example OSCTestApp, Bonjour finds it and the connection is 
established.

Original comment by sebastie...@gmail.com on 7 Aug 2010 at 11:31

[GoogleCodeExporter]

After further investigation, I confirm that there seems to be a problem with 
the way OSCManager uses Bonjour. I'm using Bonjour Browser on my Mac to scan 
for Bonjour services. When I run TouchOSC (using OSCPack as an OSC 
implementation), I can see it appear in Bonjour Browser. But when I run my own 
app, it does not appear in Bonjour Browser. Here is how I instantiate the 
OSCManager:

-(id)init{
    if(self == [super init]){
        [[NSNotificationCenter defaultCenter] addObserver:self selector:@selector(oscOutputsChangedNotification:) name:VVOSCOutPortsChangedNotification object:nil];
        oscManager = [[MFOSCManager alloc] init];
        [oscManager setDelegate:self];
        oscInPort = [oscManager createNewInputForPort:1234 withLabel:@"MIDI Fighter for iPad"];
        [oscInPort setInterval:0.001];
        [self oscOutputsChangedNotification:nil];

        outgoingBuffer = [[MutLockArray alloc] init];
        oscSendingThread = [[VVThreadLoop alloc] initWithTimeInterval:0.001 target:self selector:@selector(sendOSC)];
        [oscSendingThread start];
    }
    return self;
}

Any idea what the problem might be? Have you tested VVOSC on the iPhone or 
iPad? Can anyone else confirm if it works for them (in which case the problem 
might be in my own application)?

Original comment by sebastie...@gmail.com on 11 Aug 2010 at 7:44

[GoogleCodeExporter]

hi sebastian-

i don't have an iphone/ipad dev setup; at no point have i tested any of this 
ipad/iphone stuff, it's all basically been assembled blind and i certainly 
wouldn't be surprised to hear about the odd bug like this; sorry if this has 
caused you any problems.

i think i've figured this out- take a look at line 149 of OSCInPort.m:

#if IPHONE
            name:nil
#else
            name:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@ %@",CSCopyMachineName(),portLabel]
#endif

that #if IPHONE/name:nil bit is almost certainly why bonjour isn't being 
launched correctly on iphones.  i vaguely recall throwing this in there as a 
temporary workaround for the fact that CSCopyMachineName() doesn't seem to be 
available in the iOS SDK; the correct fix would be to replace that 'nil' with 
something that returns an NSString with the machine and port names.

try replacing:
name:nil

with:
name:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@ %@",[[UIDevice currentDevice] 
name],portLabel]

...and let me know how that works?  this should compile correctly, i just don't 
know if the string returned by [UIDevice currentDevice] is appropriate.

cheers
: : ray

Original comment by raycut...@gmail.com on 11 Aug 2010 at 8:36

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Yay! Bingo, that's exactly it. Now I can see my iPad with Bonjour Browser and 
with OSCulator all right. That's just awesome. You rock!

Original comment by sebastie...@gmail.com on 11 Aug 2010 at 8:54

[GoogleCodeExporter]

May I suggest you to add the port number to the machine name? OSCulator does 
that and it helps a lot making sure the connection is on the right port.

#if IPHONE
            name:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@:%i %@",[[UIDevice currentDevice] name], port, portLabel]
#else
            name:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@:%i %@",CSCopyMachineName(), port, portLabel]
#endif

Original comment by sebastie...@gmail.com on 11 Aug 2010 at 9:03

[GoogleCodeExporter]

hi sebastian-

great, glad to hear that worked; i'll commit it shortly.  please let me know if 
you run into any other problems.

"May I suggest you to add the port number to the machine name? OSCulator does 
that and it helps a lot making sure the connection is on the right port."

that's what portLabel is for- try changing this:
oscInPort = [oscManager createNewInputForPort:1234 withLabel:@"MIDI Fighter for 
iPad"];

to this:
oscInPort = [oscManager createNewInputForPort:1234 withLabel:[NSString 
stringWithFormat:@"MIDI Fighter for iPad %ld",1234]];

...that said, i think putting port numbers or IP addresses in bonjour names is 
a bad idea- especially if your app is expected to communicate with other 
OSC-based software.

bonjour with OSC is great because it allows users to use a human-readable label 
("MIDI Fighter for iPad") to refer to an IP address and port which are 
ultimately dynamic.  if you start changing the bonjour name every time there's 
a minor network change users lose this stable point of reference, and software 
which would've otherwise automatically compensated for a minor change now 
requires the user to re-enter data.  depending on what the user's doing/how 
complex their OSC setup is, this can potentially be a *lot* of work...

cheers
: : ray

Original comment by raycut...@gmail.com on 12 Aug 2010 at 1:12

[GoogleCodeExporter]

Excellent point. So be it then.

Original comment by sebastie...@gmail.com on 12 Aug 2010 at 4:17

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Original comment by raycut...@gmail.com on 7 Sep 2010 at 7:46

• Changed state: Verified