TWRP's effectively bugged split backups
TWRP has definitely revolutionalized Android's recovery battlefield, with all touch GUI and several other new features to the field. Lately, there has been some debte going on about the changing trend of TWRP's recent versions. I am, however, not to continue this debate, but rather to "argue" about one feature which, in my opinion, is effectively bugged and not the best choice.
TWRP, just like CWM and some other recoveries, does split tar balls for partitions larger than 2GB, since FAT and FAT32 has a limit of 2GB for a single file size. This, in practice is a wonderful idea without which most newer devices, with their large data partitions, would be unable to survive a nandroid backup. Now, let's look at how this is implemented by CWM and TWRP.
In CWM, it just splits the tar ball into several blocks of 1GB each. These chunks are not full tar balls themselves, but need to be joined consecutively, in the order they were split, in order to form a full tar ball. CWM pipes these individual chunks to tar while restoring. This guarantees one very important point of the idea of split backups. Each chunk file is exacly 1GB, irrespective of file sizes inside the tar ball.
In TWRP, this works differently. My best guess is that they have deliberately tried to be different from CWM, which is acceptable and would be better, given that it does not break functionality of the idea behind splitting backup files.
TWRP creates a list of files, with 1 file in excess of 1GB and creates a tar ball of the list of files. Unlike CWM's split chunks, these are comlete tar balls. This process continues until all the files in the specific partition are backed up. If the list gets over 2GB, TWRP warns that the filesystem contains a file over 2GB and thus the backup might not restore properly. There is a chance that a single file in a file system can be over 2GB. Some might argue that this is just theoratical, but in today's Android world where app sizes are touching the skies, it is very much practical. There are even some apps that I know of, whose sizes are well over 2GB. In such a case, at least one of the split tar balls would be over 2GB. TWRP would definitely emit an error stating that it might not restore properly, but this is of no help for the user. The user does not have any other way of performing a proper nandroid backup which would properly restore, except perhaps going for TWRP's competition.
Some might argue that the individual backup files should be complete tar balls, which can be readable and editable by users, rather than chunks of a full tar balls, which are not readable and not editable, unless joined together. My argument is that nandroid backup files are not meant to be edited by users and if they are to be read or edited, the user or software should also possess the resorces and knowledge of how to joing the individual chunks.
To conclude things, TWRP has tried to be different from the competition and also make individual split files readable, both of which are good ideas but failed and defeats the original purpose behind split backups.
I urge the TWRP team to take this to drawing board again and re-think about it. I am not asking to do it the same way as CWM and other competitive recoveries, but to do it in a more practical way which fulfills the original purpose of split backups, ie; split file sizes not being over 2GB AT ANY COST.
At times, developers (read, human beings) make wrong decisions in the development cycle. Winners are those who do not fear to change the wrong decisions made by them.
Champions of the web
The web has been excellarating its growth since its starting and ever since. It has become such a basic necessity for most of us and on its way to today, several innovations and new technologies have influenced its shape, as we see it today. I am referring to those as the champions of the web, which has defined the turns the web has experienced in its life. Below is the list in alphabetic order.
- CSS - CSS has played THE major role in separating styling from HTML. Any sane web developer would agree on this as one of the best decisions taken by the W3C and the web community as a whole.
- Firefox - Undoubtedly, firefox is the first browser to challenge the eternal blessings of Internet Explorer and gain a significant market share. Firefox saved an ever collapsing web by then. It has renewed the dreams of developers who foresee a unific web which are rendered identically in all browsers. This is not a disrespect for any other alternative browsers like Opera and Safari.
- Flash - You might be thinking, "Oh! Why flash! It's bad for an open web after all!" But the reality remains, that flash has filled an innumerable gaps in the web, starting from simple animations in web pages to moving advertisements to displaying videos in browsers. It would be lame to not include flash in this list, thus!
- Gmail - Gmail brought alive the reality of web mail, back to the web. Since its inception, Gmail has influenced many other leading web mail providers to be serious about web mail and has truely shown that web mail can be intuitive, efficient and useful. And maybe even fun.
- Compression - This includes all forms of compression relating to the web, including but not limited to (as if a disclaimer) web page compression, file compression and image compression. All this together has contributed so much for the web in terms of so much of saved bandwidth and web traffic, not to mention the speed improvements for users.
- HTML5 <audio> and <video> - This championship is yet to happen (maybe happening now). This brings to the web, a flash killer which is both open and far easier to implement across browsers.
- JavaScript - JavaScript has served the web for years. It is regarded to be one of the most vital innovations for the web.
- JSON - A data format which is easier to serve and has the minimal overhead, JSON has gained widespread support among web developers of all kind. It has phasing libraries in almost all languages, despite being a late comer.
- Web fonts - The days when web developers did not have the freedom to use their favourite fonts in web pages, are over. There were two options by then; stick to Sans Serif and Hevletica or draw an image with the text in your required font. Those days are over and soon be long gone. Not to mention the possibility of a web with multiple languages, without the users having to "install" every other font on earth.
Turning on Comment Moderation
I have been getting a lot of comment spam in the past couple of months. I tried to tackle the situation with various method (including, but not limited to) disabling anonymous comments and enabling CAPTCHA. However, as nothing seems to have worked reliably, I am left with nothing but enforce comment moderation. Keep in mind that this blog isn't a democracy, but a dictatorship and I am the dictator. So, don't ever think about complaining of the moderation, whatsoever! This is my first and last decision. Well, at least for now. ;)
Edit: Almost all the spam comments have been cleared!
Edit: Almost all the spam comments have been cleared!
The Web is Getting Smaller in Size
The World Wide Web is indeed getting smaller and smaller day by day. I know that any of you aren't ready to agree. Indeed, you would say that I started talking nonsense. Unfortunately (or fortunately) it is the truth. The web is getting smaller in size, I mean in byte size.
The number of web pages and web sites is an ever increasing number, infact an exploding number. So you would say that the web is growing and thus getting bigger in size. Well, I am rambling about the various technologies which are being innovated and those which are already in action which exists to reduce the size of web pages smaller and data transfers lesser. Some of the popular ones include web page compression, caching, proxying, etc, etc...
Compression, for instance, is one of the most wide-spread and fastest growing technologies which contributes to making my statement valid. Compressing web pages largely reduces the size of data transferred between server and clients. One of the most common methods of web page compression include gzip. Almost all of today's servers and browsers support gzip compression. Some of the browsers used in mobile phones also supports gzip compression. Gzipping a web page effectively reduces its size by over 50% in most cases and even over 80% in some not-so-rare cases. Gzip is being adopted by an increasing number of websites, day by day.
There are some other forms of compression technologies like sdch which has even higher hopes. There are also other technologies such as minifying JavaScripts, CSS and HTML, caching web pages in browsers, caching proxies and ISPs. Some ISPs even implemented gzipping content within their local networks.
All these combined, contributes to my statement that the web is getting smaller in size, day by day. It is a totally winning concept for a healthier and ever growing web.
The number of web pages and web sites is an ever increasing number, infact an exploding number. So you would say that the web is growing and thus getting bigger in size. Well, I am rambling about the various technologies which are being innovated and those which are already in action which exists to reduce the size of web pages smaller and data transfers lesser. Some of the popular ones include web page compression, caching, proxying, etc, etc...
Compression, for instance, is one of the most wide-spread and fastest growing technologies which contributes to making my statement valid. Compressing web pages largely reduces the size of data transferred between server and clients. One of the most common methods of web page compression include gzip. Almost all of today's servers and browsers support gzip compression. Some of the browsers used in mobile phones also supports gzip compression. Gzipping a web page effectively reduces its size by over 50% in most cases and even over 80% in some not-so-rare cases. Gzip is being adopted by an increasing number of websites, day by day.
There are some other forms of compression technologies like sdch which has even higher hopes. There are also other technologies such as minifying JavaScripts, CSS and HTML, caching web pages in browsers, caching proxies and ISPs. Some ISPs even implemented gzipping content within their local networks.
All these combined, contributes to my statement that the web is getting smaller in size, day by day. It is a totally winning concept for a healthier and ever growing web.
More News About Opera Mini 5
Further to my previous post about new features expected in upcoming releases of Opera Mini 5, there are couple of more features to expect. The source code of Opera Mini also references to mailto: links which could mean that Opera Mini 5 will support some form of handling mailto: links, which the previous versions of Opera Mini has simply ignored. This has also been referenced in the request header "features" of Opera Mini.
The request header "features" also references to something named "native bidi" which could mean introduction of native bidi (bidirectional typing). This would be an indeed useful feature for users with phones capable of right to left typing.
By the way, this is the first blog post from my all new Nokia N85. ;)
The request header "features" also references to something named "native bidi" which could mean introduction of native bidi (bidirectional typing). This would be an indeed useful feature for users with phones capable of right to left typing.
By the way, this is the first blog post from my all new Nokia N85. ;)
Opera Mini - Secrets Revealed
It has been Opera's common practice to only include a few new features in the first beta and add more features in the second beta and then also to the final release. It is also quite consistent that they release two betas of a browser before they release the final release. This has been their trend in Opera Mini as well as the Opera desktop browser. With the current Opera Mini 5 beta, I would project this to be the trend as well.
Getting back to the topic, I found some references in the source code of Opera Mini, which could reference to the new features coming in the next beta as well as the final version. So, here are some noteworthy references I found.
- Tools (Could this be a settings page called tools or a menu called tools? Below are the options that come right after tools.)
- always show navbar (You could guess what this means. It's probably an option to always show or hide the navbar - the bar that has back/forward/reload/exit buttons.)
- addressbar progress (This could be an option to show the progress bar in address bar instead of the status bar. This option is already available in Opera desktop browser. So it makes perfect sense to include it in Opera Mini as well.)
- save session (This is yet another feature that's available in Opera desktop browser and with the introduction of tabs in Opera Mini, it's quite likely for them to implement this. I guess it would become a favourite for me.)
- addressbar on page (As of now, as soon as you load a page, the address bar disappears. This option could be to avoid it and always show the address bar.)
- javascript (Could this be an option to enable and disable javascript.)
- TabBar (Well, there already is a tab bar in Opera Mini. So this could be an option to toggle it on/off.)
- passwordmanager (No, there isn't a real password manager in Opera Mini yet. It's just that you can save passwords and clear saved passwords. You cannot actually manage passwords as you cannot delete individual passwords. So this could be the solution invented.)
- inline (It's probably the option to toggle the inline text editing capability.)
- bream virtual keyboard (Could someone have a thought about what this could be?)
The below are probably the different internal pages of Opera Mini:
- t_bookmarks (The bookmarks page.)
- t_history (The history page.)
- t_savedpage (The saved pages page.)
- t_downloadmanager (Download Manager page?)
- t_settings (The Settings page.)
- pa_findinpage (Find in page. It's not a page actually. Note the "pa_" in front.)
- t_help (The help page.)
- t_exit (The exit page. Probably a page asking if you really want to exit, when you press the exit button.)
- t_extensions (Are they going to implement extentions or probably plugins?)
There is an option under advanced settings, called zoom and the values are 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, 140%, 160% and 200%. This could mean that the infamous page zoom feature in Opera desktop is finally coming to Opera Mini. There are also options for plugins (perhaps a toggle to turn on/off plugins) and an option named turbo and Use Turbo Mode as a child option.
There are also references which say "net,org,com". These are TLDs that are commonly used. There are further more references to "userTLDs" and "uk, il, nz, za, co.". This could mean that users would be given the option to save their own TLDs in the next releases of Opera Mini.
Well, that's probably too much I have spit out. Now this is the end of it. Keep waiting for there features to emerge in the upcoming beta 2 and the final version of Opera Mini 5.
Getting back to the topic, I found some references in the source code of Opera Mini, which could reference to the new features coming in the next beta as well as the final version. So, here are some noteworthy references I found.
- Tools (Could this be a settings page called tools or a menu called tools? Below are the options that come right after tools.)
- always show navbar (You could guess what this means. It's probably an option to always show or hide the navbar - the bar that has back/forward/reload/exit buttons.)
- addressbar progress (This could be an option to show the progress bar in address bar instead of the status bar. This option is already available in Opera desktop browser. So it makes perfect sense to include it in Opera Mini as well.)
- save session (This is yet another feature that's available in Opera desktop browser and with the introduction of tabs in Opera Mini, it's quite likely for them to implement this. I guess it would become a favourite for me.)
- addressbar on page (As of now, as soon as you load a page, the address bar disappears. This option could be to avoid it and always show the address bar.)
- javascript (Could this be an option to enable and disable javascript.)
- TabBar (Well, there already is a tab bar in Opera Mini. So this could be an option to toggle it on/off.)
- passwordmanager (No, there isn't a real password manager in Opera Mini yet. It's just that you can save passwords and clear saved passwords. You cannot actually manage passwords as you cannot delete individual passwords. So this could be the solution invented.)
- inline (It's probably the option to toggle the inline text editing capability.)
- bream virtual keyboard (Could someone have a thought about what this could be?)
The below are probably the different internal pages of Opera Mini:
- t_bookmarks (The bookmarks page.)
- t_history (The history page.)
- t_savedpage (The saved pages page.)
- t_downloadmanager (Download Manager page?)
- t_settings (The Settings page.)
- pa_findinpage (Find in page. It's not a page actually. Note the "pa_" in front.)
- t_help (The help page.)
- t_exit (The exit page. Probably a page asking if you really want to exit, when you press the exit button.)
- t_extensions (Are they going to implement extentions or probably plugins?)
There is an option under advanced settings, called zoom and the values are 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, 140%, 160% and 200%. This could mean that the infamous page zoom feature in Opera desktop is finally coming to Opera Mini. There are also options for plugins (perhaps a toggle to turn on/off plugins) and an option named turbo and Use Turbo Mode as a child option.
There are also references which say "net,org,com". These are TLDs that are commonly used. There are further more references to "userTLDs" and "uk, il, nz, za, co.". This could mean that users would be given the option to save their own TLDs in the next releases of Opera Mini.
Well, that's probably too much I have spit out. Now this is the end of it. Keep waiting for there features to emerge in the upcoming beta 2 and the final version of Opera Mini 5.
Opera Mini 5 beta - First Impressions.
Opera Mini beta has arrived and I have been using it for a couple of days. Here are the things that I liked and disliked.
Likes:
- New sleek ui (The new ui is simply great except that the scaling seems a little larger. I hope Opera Mini folks will fine tune it before the final release.)
- Tabs (This has been the feature that I have been eagerly waiting for long. Tabs are implemented quite magnificiently and Opera Mini has made me say wow again.)
- Copy and paste (This has also been a feature I have long awaited.)
- Speed dial (The speed dial looks more like a speed dial now and it rhymes well with a phone's keypad, thus serving more of its purpose well as the name.)
- Inline text editing (This is a feature that I almost new they would implement, after the auto-complete address bar in Opera Mini 4.2)
- Faster than 4.2 (Opera Mini 5 is indeed faster than its predecessor, despite some ramblings by users that its not. This is my observation and the results of my tests so far.)
- Password manager (or the so called wand in Opera's terms. I have never liked saving passwords anywhere I use a browser. Not at home, not in office, and not even in the portable browsers in my pen drive. But Opera Mini 5 has really changed my habits. I am starting to love the convenience of not having to type my username and password again and again.)
Dislikes:
- Download, Opera Link and feeds are disabled in beta. Will be added later. I could acess feeds by typing feed:list in address bar. I indeed have it as my 5th speed dial now. Also I am having the impression that they are going to implement a better download manager and not just the download page, when the final version comes out. Also I guess that more will be added to Opera Link. Could be searches and wand.
- Saved pages from 4.2 are not supported in 5. This is something that I really hate. Now I am not going to port the over 200 saved pages from Opera Mini 4.2 to 5. Instead I would have to keep a copy of 4.2 (perhaps renamed), until someone finds a solution (either Opera Mini folks make saved pages from 4.2 compatible with 5 or someone would find a way to convert them).
- No option to open page with images, while clicking a link. This was a feature that I loved and used often in Opera Mini 4.2. I hope it is not removed and would be back soon.
- Crashes. This isn't a dislike actually. As it is beta software, people should expect and accept crashes and bugs, which would eventually be fixed.
Overall, I like the new Opera Mini 5 beta and hope it would be final soon.
PS, I am posting this from Opera Mini 5 beta.
Likes:
- New sleek ui (The new ui is simply great except that the scaling seems a little larger. I hope Opera Mini folks will fine tune it before the final release.)
- Tabs (This has been the feature that I have been eagerly waiting for long. Tabs are implemented quite magnificiently and Opera Mini has made me say wow again.)
- Copy and paste (This has also been a feature I have long awaited.)
- Speed dial (The speed dial looks more like a speed dial now and it rhymes well with a phone's keypad, thus serving more of its purpose well as the name.)
- Inline text editing (This is a feature that I almost new they would implement, after the auto-complete address bar in Opera Mini 4.2)
- Faster than 4.2 (Opera Mini 5 is indeed faster than its predecessor, despite some ramblings by users that its not. This is my observation and the results of my tests so far.)
- Password manager (or the so called wand in Opera's terms. I have never liked saving passwords anywhere I use a browser. Not at home, not in office, and not even in the portable browsers in my pen drive. But Opera Mini 5 has really changed my habits. I am starting to love the convenience of not having to type my username and password again and again.)
Dislikes:
- Download, Opera Link and feeds are disabled in beta. Will be added later. I could acess feeds by typing feed:list in address bar. I indeed have it as my 5th speed dial now. Also I am having the impression that they are going to implement a better download manager and not just the download page, when the final version comes out. Also I guess that more will be added to Opera Link. Could be searches and wand.
- Saved pages from 4.2 are not supported in 5. This is something that I really hate. Now I am not going to port the over 200 saved pages from Opera Mini 4.2 to 5. Instead I would have to keep a copy of 4.2 (perhaps renamed), until someone finds a solution (either Opera Mini folks make saved pages from 4.2 compatible with 5 or someone would find a way to convert them).
- No option to open page with images, while clicking a link. This was a feature that I loved and used often in Opera Mini 4.2. I hope it is not removed and would be back soon.
- Crashes. This isn't a dislike actually. As it is beta software, people should expect and accept crashes and bugs, which would eventually be fixed.
Overall, I like the new Opera Mini 5 beta and hope it would be final soon.
PS, I am posting this from Opera Mini 5 beta.
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