This is the next item on the “road map” for the TKController app and beta testers should get the opportunity to try it out in the next few weeks. This will become v1.4 of the app.

The current device definition file is a simple static file, served from the web site on demand. The app checks this file once every couple of days (when it’s launched) and updates itself. This was really only ever intended as a “quick fix” and in the longer term poses a number of problems, not the least being that the caching of the file can make updates unpredictable.

I am in the process of changing this static file into a web service that will also allow trusted users to log in and add/change the device definitions when needed. It will reduce the amount of data being transferred as only new/changed devices will need to be downloaded.

In the longer term this will also support the “pro” version of the app that is currently in the planning stages, allowing users to add their own custom devices through the app in a special customising screen. This will allow users to move the buttons around and define which commands they would like to have on the buttons.

In addition to the above, the next version of the app will be compiled against iOS 8.1. This should also mean that the app can be released to beta testers via the app store using the new Apple Testflight facility which means that I will no longer need to embed specific iPhone IDs into the test apps.