The mailing list for users of the eduroam Configuration Assistant Tool (CAT)

[Ralf Jung <jung AT mpi-sws.org>]

Hi all,

first of all, thanks for the helpful replies :)
(And btw, my name is "Ralf", with an "f" at the end :D )

> And that was the *short* version? Wow :-)

I could probably go on for an entire talk like this. I never tried,
usually the people in my vicinity stop me fairly quickly because they
heard all this already ;-)

> So, effectively, right now you can't get the source, but this does not
> mean we are closed source!

Eh... I know that Apache does not actually enforce giving people who
receive the binary access to the source, but I can't think of a program
as open-source if the source are only available to a few selected people ;-)

> The version of the app that is currently on beta uses the Play Services
> API for location services - it suggests IdPs near you as a convenience.
> Of course on phones without PS available, this feature will be somewhat
> broken.

Actually, as I recently learned, all the APIs provided by Google Play
Services for locations are *also* available as core Android APIs. The
latter are just very badly documented, possibly because Google wants
people to depend on their proprietary API. (This would also explain why
new APIs are typically added to Play Services only, even though there is
nothing in there that could be abused, had people access to the source.)

As a consequence of this (a) the open-source Play Services
implementation [1] has a very easy job implementing those location APIs,
it just forwards them to the core APIs (so this all should work just
fine on my phone), and (b) App developers can easily avoid using Play
Services by using the core APIs directly.
I am not an Android developer myself, but I could ask for the details
here and forward them to you if you are interested.

<http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/app-microg-gmscore-floss-play-services-t3217616>

> 
>>    The latest APK is on SVN and available for direct download. Or you can
>>    compile it with Android Studio.
>>    I'm on my phone now so dont have links to hand. I'll forward them to you
>>    tomorrow when I return to work.
> 
> they arent obvious.  worth putting info on the eduroam WIKI ?

> I will have to email you the APK instead for now.
> Let me know if you are happy for me to do this.
> And if you want the latest beta, stable release or both.

I am a little confused now, is it just a matter of putting stuff into
the Wiki or is this all behind a login?

I wouldn't be very happy about installing an apk I got from someone I
don't know via email (you know, that's one of the things parents tell
you not to do, like getting into the car of a stranger... ;-). But if
you could send me the sources, that'd be great. They are Apache 2.0
after all :D

Kind regards,
Ralf