Homebrew Wii Browser

[newo]

I thought about doing something like that...

yeah but now its actually possible since wiibrowser works.

 

[gave92]

Its really just a web page for downloading homebrew from directly wiibrew

May be a good idea, but how it would differ from this one?

 

[newo]

May be a good idea, but how it would differ from this one?

I think if a page was made especially for the WiiBrowser then it would be more user friendly. And people could do all the downloading on the wii without using that long page. It would be like a homebrew appstore/dashboard that is easy to navigate and has different pages for; recent apps, search form, favourite apps and links that when clicked download directly to the apps folder. And since a page built for WiiBrowser there can be custom UI hooks.

 

[drakorex]

I think if a page was made especially for the WiiBrowser then it would be more user friendly. And people could do all the downloading on the wii without using that long page. It would be like a homebrew appstore/dashboard that is easy to navigate and has different pages for; recent apps, search form, favourite apps and links that when clicked download directly to the apps folder. And since a page built for WiiBrowser there can be custom UI hooks.

Just wait. Give it a couple weeks. A month, tops. Things are being worked on...

 

[newo]

Just wait. Give it a couple weeks. A month, tops. Things are being worked on...

I have a website, so I can do the web part, creating the page, search form etc. It would not take much work on his side since WiiBrowser already works.

 

[gave92]

It would be like a homebrew appstore/dashboard that is easy to navigate and has different pages for; recent apps, search form, favourite apps and links that when clicked download directly to the apps folder

Ok that's nice but I'm concerned about the "download directly to the apps folder" part:
once downloaded an app (in zip format) it must be decompressed in the right directory, so a common folders structure is needed (I mean each archive must have a structure like "apps"/"nameoftheapp"/boot.dol).

However apps are not provided in such a 'predictable' form (some contain just a "nameoftheapp.dol", others "nameoftheapp"/boot.dol and so on) so you would need to prepare the packages of every app by yourself, as teknecal does for hombrew browser (actually he asks to app developers).

What I'm trying to say is: create the page is not enough, someone should continuosly take care of adding/updating the packages :-\

 

[newo]

I understand that part about the folders.

However when it comes to the file extract problem. Lets say you get a zip file. First step; extract it to a empty temparary folder. After the zip is completely extracted you could look in this temp folder and check if it has a "app" folder in the root or just a "boot.dol". There are about 5 different scenarios if none of the scenarios match up then just abort and show a error "file has to be downloaded manually". If no error occurs then you will know what files/folder out of the temp folder to copy to the SD/USB. final step: empty temp folder.

And another problem is that some homebrew do not provide "direct" links to the the zip file (I don't see any solution to this problem). However I could hide all homebrew which is not a direct link to http://*.zip or http://*.rar.

 

[drakorex]

gave92 With all due respect, this sounds all very similar to the project I'm working on, which is also slated to include many popular homebrews. With your further modifications (cleanup after unzip, confirmation of download/unzip, and what I tried to propose earlier, auto device detection) it will be capable of downloading virtually anything you could want on your wii.

Here's the basic concept of my project.
A mediafire account is set up with a zip folder containing shortcuts. As the shortcuts keep getting more added to them, if you launch a shortcut that will be provided in the initial package, it will download and thus update your shortcuts.

Each shortcut will be a download link to various things for your wii, from wiiflow themes, dm/devo/quadforce, emulators, forwarder channels, wii menu themes, and homebrew games... The list goes on and on. Each shortcut will have a predetermined download path where the files will be unzipped and then ready to use.

 

[newo]

my concept is really only geared towards providing an alternative to the homebrew browser by using a web based portal that I would make using my website. that is really all it will do. It is very limited concept which would only work for small homebrew apps. but gave92 doesn't answer his gmail.

 

[gave92]

drakorex Now I get the "auto device detection" thing
Basically you would like to have shortcuts with relative paths as "DownloadFolder" (i.e "/apps/downloads/" instead of "sd:/apps/downloads/").. if that's the case is definetly possible and easy to do.

newo I'm sorry I didn't answer you , I'll do it now.

 

[drakorex]

gave92 I would try to compile the latest version, but I don't know if it would be the app or the source. Would you care to update the download after your next revision?

 

[gave92]

@drakorek here is the boot.dol of the upcoming plugin version: I didn't test it on real wii, but you can give it a try.

 

[drakorex]

Awesome, you're the best, man! So what changes have been implemented, and what do you still have to get around to?

 

[gave92]

It has support for 7z, rar, zip files plus "cleanup after unzip, confirmation of download/unzip, and what you tried to propose earlier, auto device detection"
Also it automates the download process if a "DownloadFolder" is specified.

 

[drakorex]

It has support for 7z, rar, zip files plus "cleanup after unzip, confirmation of download/unzip, and what you tried to propose earlier, auto device detection"
Also it automates the download process if a "DownloadFolder" is specified.

VERY nice! I'll try this bad boy out and get back with ya in a minute.

 

[drakorex]

Ok, I tried an old shortcut I made before, with

DownloadFolder = sd:/apps/wiibrowser/
and it worked, but when I tried removing the device
DownloadFolder = /wiiflow/
it asked me if I wanted to download, and when I clicked download, it went to the url input screen. No download or anything. Am I doing something wrong?

Also, it would be nice if an unzip progress bar were shown in the download manager. If Download manager could be set to pop up when it starts, that'd be a plus too!

 

[gave92]

Try to download it again, same link as before .

 

[drakorex]

Ok, but do I need a /before, after, or can I just have the name of the folder, or what?

 

[gave92]

/apps/wiibrowser/, /wiiflow/ are ok.
"/" both before AND after

 

[drakorex]

Very well done. I just downloaded a theme and source menu in one shot. Will test 7z/rar in a moment. But yeah, unzip bar and maybe download manager autopop and we'll really have something here. I trust path generation if path not there works as well? Will try that too.
...So you do have a wii, right? Thought about sending you a test version in a few minutes when I get it set up.