Upgrade the barcode scan to flutter 3.7

[monsieurtanuki]

What

• The upgrade to flutter 3.7 provoked the barcode scan not to work anymore (#3670).
• Other important PRs were pending and needed to be merged, but that wouldn't make any sense to release a version with those PRs and without an actual barcode scan.
• We downgraded to flutter 3.0.5 (#3702 #3711), and the barcode scan worked again.
• We cannot stay forever with flutter 3.0.5 (July 2022).
• The barcode scan code must be fixed/upgraded in order to work with flutter 3.7.

Steps to reproduce the behavior

1. Use the latest version of flutter.
2. Run the app in debug mode
3. The barcode scan does not work

Expected behavior

The barcode scan is supposed to work.

Why

The barcode scan is a key feature of Smoothie.

Additional context

Icing on the cake would be to refactor the barcode scan:

• the current barcode scan doesn't work on my smartphone (crashes)
• the current barcode scan code is somehow hidden in github
• I coded a fresh barcode scan based on zxing that worked perfectly on my smartphone in #3694, and the development was much faster (initial flutter run start time) as - I suppose - the code was local and less complex. The PR worked very well and fixed a dozen of issues, including P0, but I had to close it because it discarded most of the current barcode scan code. The current barcode scan code is embedded in the rest of the code - you cannot touch it without touching the rest of the app - and should be completely isolated in a package instead.
• beyond the barcode scan issues, the flutter camera package doesn't seem to work very well either (cf. #3674), and I recommend using native camera code.
• I cannot code or test on this issue - I have no idea where the code is hidden (I'm not very good with github), I cannot test on a device (the initial flutter run takes 30 minutes and when I reload the app it crashes)

[monsieurtanuki]

@MKCOOL142 (OnePlus 7Pro), @teolemon (Pixel 6), @thestarsahil (Redmi Note 8 pro), @natrius (Xiaomi Mi 9 with Android 10), @M123-dev (Samsung galaxy s21), @raphael0202 (Oneplus 7T), @chk1 (Sony Xperia 10 IV), @monsieurtanuki (Samsung Galaxy Core Prime SM-G360F), @CharlesNepote (???), @g123k (ZFlip3), @stephanegigandet (Samsung Galaxy S8)

Guys, the current develop version of Smoothie now includes the "new" barcode scanner. Please test it as much as possible, in real life conditions. If something strange happens it's better to know asap so we can fix it. If you don't know how to install the develop version of the app, I don't either, but I guess @M123-dev does know.

[Mattis142]

@monsieurtanuki i am confused on where to select which of the two (Zxing MLkit) to use for scanning, I found nothing in the settings mby I overlooked it

[thestarsahil]

@MKCOOL142 (OnePlus 7Pro), @teolemon (Pixel 6), @thestarsahil (Redmi Note 8 pro), @natrius (Xiaomi Mi 9 with Android 10), @M123-dev (Samsung galaxy s21), @raphael0202 (Oneplus 7T), @chk1 (Sony Xperia 10 IV), @monsieurtanuki (Samsung Galaxy Core Prime SM-G360F), @CharlesNepote (???), @g123k (ZFlip3), @stephanegigandet (Samsung Galaxy S8)

Guys, the current develop version of Smoothie now includes the "new" barcode scanner. Please test it as much as possible, in real life conditions. If something strange happens it's better to know asap so we can fix it. If you don't know how to install the develop version of the app, I don't either, but I guess @M123-dev does know.

Still Facing the same Autofocus problem

[monsieurtanuki]

@MKCOOL142 @thestarsahil @natrius Be sure to use the latest develop version - well, 4.6.0 is the latest published version.

If you're familiar with flutter, you can

• flutter upgrade # should be something like flutter 3.7 / dart 2.19
• get the latest smooth_app code
• cd smooth-app/packages/smooth_app
• flutter run -t lib/entrypoints/android/main_google_play.dart # for mlkit (to be deployed in almost all play store)
• flutter run -t lib/entrypoints/android/main_fdroid.dart # for zxing (to be deployed only on FDroid)

I'm currently trying to create an apk; I'll keep you posted.

[thestarsahil]

@MKCOOL142 @thestarsahil @natrius Be sure to use the latest develop version - well, 4.6.0 is the latest published version.

If you're familiar with flutter, you can

• flutter upgrade # should be something like flutter 3.7 / dart 2.19
• get the latest smooth_app code
• cd smooth-app/packages/smooth_app
• flutter run -t lib/entrypoints/android/main_google_play.dart # for mlkit (to be deployed in almost all play store)
• flutter run -t lib/entrypoints/android/main_fdroid.dart # for zxing (to be deployed only on FDroid)

I'm currently trying to create an apk; I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for the update men

[monsieurtanuki]

@thestarsahil Do you mean it finally works?

I'm currently trying to create an apk; I'll keep you posted.

Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to create that stupid apk. There are tons of thing I ignore about compiling - and I intend to keep it that way.

[M123-dev]

(Re-opening for the discussion in here)

Here a build apk ready to test, not for looks but for functionality. You can now switch the scanning engine (mlkit and zxing) in the dev settings (how to enter it)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R2b_rbQuq9Lv-vGErU-8xdvmumQYwhcz/view?usp=sharing

[Mattis142]

mhhh so I did some testing with ML Kit and it is more prone to scanning incorrectly (these screenshots are both from the same bar code)

[thestarsahil]

@thestarsahil Do you mean it finally works?

I'm currently trying to create an apk; I'll keep you posted.

Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to create that stupid apk. There are tons of thing I ignore about compiling - and I intend to keep it that way.

Not working properly Have some time to update

[monsieurtanuki]

@MKCOOL142 Possible reasons/fixes:

• mlkit may not be mature enough - please try with zxing, is that better?
• do you experience the same incorrect barcode detection with my test app?
• perhaps confusion is added with too many formats checked - which barcode formats are we supposed to detect?
• incorrect barcode detections are possible anyway - that would make sense to give the user more feedback possibility ("that's not correct!" would send a sentry msg, "let me try with another barcode scanner" would switch to zxing, "let me input the correct barcode" would open a numeric keyboard)
• btw there's an unexpected rrect window on your screenshots - any idea what it comes from?

[monsieurtanuki]

Not working properly Have some time to update

@thestarsahil Could you please be a little more specific about what works and what does not work, and with mlkit and zxing?

[thestarsahil]

Not working properly Have some time to update

@thestarsahil Could you please be a little more specific about what works and what does not work, and with mlkit and zxing?

Actually, When we try to scan the barcode the scanner couldn't recognize that information from the product So Update on the camera feature! That Camera Focusing focuses on the object barcode

[chk1]

(Re-opening for the discussion in here)

Here a build apk ready to test, not for looks but for functionality. You can now switch the scanning engine (mlkit and zxing) in the dev settings (how to enter it)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R2b_rbQuq9Lv-vGErU-8xdvmumQYwhcz/view?usp=sharing

Test on Sony Xperia 10 IV:

• On first launch, after tapping through the welcome wizard, viewfinder stays black (small red text "ML KIT"). Locking and unlocking phone somehow fixed that without app restart (I think this was an issue with the production version too afair)

MLKIT:

• Scanning works great
• Switching to profile and back to scan view causes an error banner message, but does not have an impact on anything else (scanning still works) "Something went wrong (start)! MobileScannerException: code genericError, message: Called start() while already started"

Zxing:

• Feels about the same as MLKIT, maybe a little slower and more picky about angles
• Unlike with the test app mentioned earlier in this topic, I can scan barcodes at almost any angle

[monsieurtanuki]

Thank you @chk1 for your positive feedback! About the red snackbar, it's being dealt with in #3782 #3787. The only problem seems to be the initial non-display of the scanner after onboarding: I'll have a look at it again.

[monsieurtanuki]

@chk1 Could not reproduce the "no scanner after onboarding" bug with the latest code, with mlkit as default. Perhaps it's a side effect of the new (and temporary) mlkit/zxing test switch. I'll keep that bug in mind, hoping (?) I will reproduce it.

[raphael0202]

I just installed the new version (4.6.0) using internal release on my cellphone (OnePlus 7T), it works really well using MLKit, scanning is superfast, good job! :tada:

[monsieurtanuki]

@raphael0202 Sounds good but unfortunately there's a possible confusion with versions, so please test with https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R2b_rbQuq9Lv-vGErU-8xdvmumQYwhcz/view?usp=sharing

[juliansteenbakker]

Hi all, as the developer of the mobile_scanner package i am happy to help with any issues regarding the package.

A quick note about some people having trouble getting the correct barcode from a scan: The MLKit framework decides which resolution is used for an image to be analyzed, and i have found out that this can be to low on some devices.

I'm currently trying to find a solution by using some kind of 'quality presets', so we can improve scan accuracy on all devices.

[monsieurtanuki]

I'm currently trying to find a solution by using some kind of 'quality presets', so we can improve scan accuracy on all devices.

Thank you @juliansteenbakker! If you could make it optional we'll have a better assessment of the actual impact of that fine-tuning.

[monsieurtanuki]

This issue is closed now: we do have 2 barcode scanners (mlkit and zxing) working on flutter 3.7. Changes and improvements can be dealt with in different issues.