Unrecoverable Crash

[PilotFlying]

Hi Neal,

I'm in the middle of a pairing, and seem to have experienced some sort of an unrecoverable crash. After my last entry (the completion of a flight previously saved as pending) I closed the app as usual and then, on the subsequent launch of the app a few hours later, it crashed on the splash screen. This has happened before, but usually will work again on the next attempt; this time, however, nothing I do will get the app to launch. I've tried closing it from the mutli-tasking tray and also resetting the iPhone, all to no avail. Every time I try to launch it, it sits on the splash screen for a while, then the screen dims and the app crashes.*

Do you have any suggestions other that deleting and re-installing the app so I don't loose all of my saved fights?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Neal Culiner]

Chris,

Two options:

1) Delete and reinstall which will clear the bad data
2) Wait for 1.0.5 to release which may fix the issue. A problem was found related to synchronization where some table data was missing that the sync system was looking for. It's an easy fix which is in the 1.0.5 update which may resolve your issue. 1.0.5 will correct the problem and you won't experience any data loss.

Hopefully 1.0.5 will be out by the end of the week. If you want to send me your crash logs send them to support@nc-software.com and I'll see if it reveals anything.

 

[Neal Culiner]

Chris,

A little more background on the issue so you can better understand what the problem most likely is and how it's fixed in 1.0.5.

When the app syncs it runs a routine that removes all data that it doesn't need to send to the server, i.e. your previously synced data so that only new data goes to the server, this makes it very fast to sync. In that same process we append a record to a table in the database that has additional information one of which is your database version, which should be 18 as of 1.0.4. We were getting bug reports from time to time and seeing that the database version was reporting -1 which means unable to determine. I originally thought this meant the database was corrupt so I put in a check for this in 1.0.5 (initially) that simply rebuilt your database but the side effect would be all data lost in this process.

A bug report came in Friday morning (the morning after I submitted the 1.0.5 update to Apple) and he had the same issue, database reported -1 for the version. All data was intact but I noticed the one record that holds the database version information was missing. So I pulled the updates from Apple while I reviewed this situation. I don't know what caused this but I do know it was a simple fix. As I mentioned every pre-sync we write this information, in fact what I was doing was editing the existing record to update the data. This is where the problem lies and where you're probably getting your crash. When trying to edit that record and it doesn't exist, the app could crash. So I changed the routine to first clear and then add instead of edit and update. And I reviewed all code that referred to this scenario and updated it as well. Using the customer's data that had this same issue with the new code in 1.0.5 (2nd build) it was resolved, the missing data got added and sync worked, etc. etc.

So long story longer, a new "1.0.5" was uploaded Friday afternoon as I felt this was an important find and I wanted it fixed now rather than wait for Apple and republish 1.0.6, a 2+ week turn-around from the original 1.0.5 submit. I think this was a great find and I'm very happy how it played out so I could finally resolve the cause of this database version showing -1. I think the same issue may be causing your problem with startup if there is any chance it's trying to sync, etc. and this data is missing. It is a self-healing situation, whenever the app starts or resumes it verifies the database and this is where it will fix this problem if found.

I would go ahead and make sure the app is not suspended, if so kill the suspended app and when 1.0.5 is released, install it and then start Logbook Pro and hopefully the problem will resolve itself with this included verification check.

FYI

 

[PilotFlying]

Hi Neal,

Thanks for the detailed explanation. That all makes sense; the only thing is, since we were dealing with the freezing on start-up issue, I've since disabled 'sync on start' as you suggested to avoid the sync time-out and resulting crash. So, since I don't sync on start, could this still be the explanation for my unrecoverable crash?

I ended up just deleting the app and re-downloading. I had to re-enter the remaining flights on my pairing, but that wasn't so bad. Luckily, most were already synced up to the 'cloud' and were safe (another huge pro to this system!); strangely, however, my first three legs were missing when I got home and synced to the PC. That remains a mystery to me.

One more question: since re-installing the app, I now receive a sync error message that lists possible causes any time I'm in airplane mode and the app tries to sync. This makes sense, as obviously the sync won't work in airplane mode. What's curious to me, however, is that I've never ever seen this before. Is this supposed to be there?

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Neal Culiner]

I've since disabled 'sync on start' as you suggested to avoid the sync time-out and resulting crash. So, since I don't sync on start, could this still be the explanation for my unrecoverable crash?

No, but the same table data that's missing could affect other areas. I'm not sure what caused it to go missing but I do know the 1.0.5 checks will resolve it.

One more question: since re-installing the app, I now receive a sync error message that lists possible causes any time I'm in airplane mode and the app tries to sync. This makes sense, as obviously the sync won't work in airplane mode. What's curious to me, however, is that I've never ever seen this before. Is this supposed to be there?

Yes, there are conditions such as a commanded sync (tapping Sync) that will provide you the sync failed message. Version 1.0.5 uses an updated system with the My Sync portal that will actually tell you why it failed, if you're reaching the cloud, but if you don't have a connection you'll get the standard warning to check Internet, credentials, app is up-to-date, etc.

Hopefully we'll get a quick turn-around on v1.0.5, I'm very happy with all that was accomplished in this update and the further finds and fixes as a result of this database version reporting -1 issue - a big relief! Thanks for your understanding and patience while we await the fourth revision of this new app.

 

[PilotFlying]

Thanks, Neal. I'm looking forward to v1.0.5 - hopefully sometime this week!

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Neal Culiner]

Hello Chris,

1.0.5 went into review tonight, finally, so we should be releasing the update in the next 24 hours, unless they reject it for some reason. Haven't had a rejection yet so fingers are crossed!

 

[Neal Culiner]

App is approved and should show on the App Store in the next few hours!

 

[PilotFlying]

Thank you!!!

App is approved and should show on the App Store in the next few hours!

Outstanding!!!! After your second-to-last post I was about to come on here and give Apple a hard time for taking so long, but I guess they sorta redeemed themselves by getting the review done quickly. Actually, it's probably more so a testament to your well-designed app that didn't require them to fish around for too long looking for potential problems.

Once again, a very impressive list of fixes and new features!!! Custom text auto fill - this is something I've been wishing for for years, since my PocketPC days. THANK YOU!!! Great to have the crash on start-up issue fixed, as well as the date/timezone issue. Also, lots of other great little improvements, like showing the spinner on all syncs and rearranging some entry fields for a more logical layout.

I'm really looking forward to taking this one for a test drive. Unfortunately - well, fortunately - I'm off for a week or so. I'll report back when I blast off on my next pairing.

Thanks again for all the outstanding enhancements and great support! Another 5-star review!

Cheers,

Chris