Setting up your development environment for the Moodle App
Overview
The majority of your development work will be done using the browser. You will likely begin to use an emulator once you need to simulate a real mobile device.
Requirements
Install a browser for development
We recommend Chromium browser (Google Chrome open source version) https://download-chromium.appspot.com/ Please, read Moodle_Mobile_development_using_Chrome_or_Chromium for more information
Install git
https://git-scm.com/book/en/v2/Getting-Started-Installing-Git
Install Node.js
For Mac users we recommend to install NodeJS via Macports.
Node 6.9.1 has been verified to work fine with the app. If you're having problems with later versions you might want to check if it works with 6.9.1.
"note": if you also need later versions of node for other projects, use Node Version Manager aka "nvm" here. Linux and OSX is supported, and the site has pointers to windows alternatives. Simply type:
nvm install 6.9.1 nvm use 6.9.1
Install ionic:
npm cache clean npm install -g cordova ionic # (If it throws an EACCESS error, run it again with sudo)
Install the npm required packages
sudo npm install -g gulp # (This will install gulp in a folder that should be in the PATH)
Native build dependencies for Windows
node-gyp requires native build tools for your platform. If you're developing on Mac or Linux, you'll probably have these already (refer to the docs if not), on Windows, run the following command as administrator (in cmd or Powershell):
npm install --global --production windows-build-tools
Push notifications for Mac
Phonegap plugin push 1.9.0 requires CocoaPods to work. The installation steps can be found in https://cocoapods.org/
Please note that for compiling the app in Mac you need to open the .xcworkspace file, more information here: MOBILE-1970
Clone the app base code
Clone the code base into a local directory in your computer.
git clone https://github.com/moodlehq/moodlemobile2.git moodlemobiledirectory cd moodlemobiledirectory git checkout v3.5.0
Setup the environment
Please, note that if you are creating a custom app with a custom URL scheme, you should edit the /package.json and /config.xml files and specify there your custom URL_SCHEME (replacing the existing value) and your GCMPN SENDER_ID.
The following command must be run in the project's root folder:
npm setup
Open the app in the browser
First start Chromium via the command line using the custom parameters as is mentioned here: Moodle Mobile development using Chrome or Chromium
and then, start the Ionic server:
ionic serve --browser chromium
If you don't want to open any browser you should run:
ionic serve -b
Updating ionic and cordova
sudo npm update -g cordova sudo npm update -g ionic
Update project platforms:
ionic platform remove android ionic platform remove ios ionic platform add android ionic platform add ios
Updating plugins
cordova plugin remove your_plugin_id cordova plugin add your_plugin_id
Building for Android and iOS
Please see this guide to be able to build for Android and iOS using the command line:
http://cordova.apache.org/docs/en/5.0.0/guide_platforms_index.md.html#Platform%20Guides
Common errors when building
- com.android.dex.DexException: Multiple dex files define XXX
Open the file platforms/android/build.gradle and add this code at the end:
configurations { all*.exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'support-v4' }
- Could not resolve all dependencies for configuration ':_debugCompile'.
Open the Android SDK Manager and make sure you have installed: Android Support Repository, Android Support Library, Google Play Services and Google Repository.
- Could not find com.android.support:support-v4:XXX
Open the file platforms/android/build.gradle and add this code at the end:
configurations.all { resolutionStrategy.force 'com.android.support:support-v4:24.0.0' }
Troubleshooting
Error: libsass bindings not found. Try reinstalling node-sass?
Please read: http://fettblog.eu/gulp-and-node4-first-aid/, alternatively you must be sure that you installed Node v0.12
node-gyp\src\win_delay_load_hook.c(34): error C2373: '__pfnDliNotifyHook2': redefinition; different type modifiers
Try updating npm to the latest version using:
npm install -g npm@latest