Top Automation Testing Tools That Will Simplify Your Software Development Process

Hi, everyone! I am Mohd. Shaheer, Computer Science undergrad in freshman year. I am a GSoC contributor working on the project “Finish the web interface” for Kodi. I have been working on this project for the past 3 months. This blog post contains my experience through phase 2 (Final evaluation) of GSoC and an overview of my work during that period.

In my previous blog, I wrote about my work up until the mid-evaluation of GSoC. You can find it here.

Phase 2 (July 25th — September 5)

This phase turned out to be more challenging than the previous one.
During this phase, the first functionality I worked on was “Implementing the Video playback” which involved working on the following pages — Music Video, Movies, Tv Show, Seasons, and Episode.

I started with the videoid_int page, which contains information about a music video. Before that, I noticed that we didn’t have a working Music video page (previously implemented). There were some inconsistencies with its routing, with the json-rpc calls which fetched the metadata and with elm json decoders. So, I fixed these issues first.

I worked on the front end and created its UI from scratch which included rework of the music-video card UI. The basic approach in order to implement video playback functionality was by using JSON-RPC Files.PreparedDownload method, we can get a PreparedDownload path for the file which we want to play by making a request in this manner :

{"jsonrpc":"2.0", "id":1, "method":"Files.PrepareDownload", "params":{ "path": "/home/xyz/Videos/test.mp4" }}

We can expect the returned PreparedDownload path to be something like – "vfs/%2fhome%2fxyz%2fVideos%2ftest.mp4" which we can be fed into the src of the html5 video player
(“http://localhost:8080/vfs/%2fhome%2fxyz%2fVideos%2ftest.mp4”)

An issue arose when we tried to do so — CORS Policy. Since we were sending an HTTP request to fetch the JSON data from the Kodi RPC server, we were facing issues with it. Therefore to work on it during development, I suggested using an extension in a browser that allows CORS. Web sockets, which were used to retrieve json data, could have made things much simpler, but during development, things don’t always go according to plan :).

Videoid_int page

In Chorus 2, the video playback was done through a pop-up window that had an HTML5 Player. To make the user experience better, I implemented a modal for it.

In a similar manner, I implemented the video playback functionality for the movideid_int page where I implemented the page’s UI from scratch, worked on its routing, modified json decoders, and created new ones from scratch.

movideid_int page

Tvshow pages required more time and effort than others. I implemented its UI, front-end, and backend from scratch. I also had to create two new pages from scratch — The seasons and the Episode page. I created new objects and decoders for each of them and wrote JSON RPC calls to fetch data for them.

Tvshowid_int page

Season page

Episode page

Another functionality that I worked on was “Filter functionality” for all the pages. I created a fully working front-end and wrote filter methods that would filter the objects based on particular fields such as genre, artist, album, etc.

Filter functionality + reworked Movie card UI

While working on the functionalities, I also reworked the UI of previously implemented cards and pages. For example:

Top Music Page

Before

After

Album page

Before

After

On September 5th, the official coding phase of GSoC ended. It was a great learning experience and my first internship in freshman year. I learned a lot and would love to keep contributing to Kodi on this project and help in any way possible.

Again I would like to thank my mentor – Razze 😄 – and Kodi Community for being so supportive, and helpful, and for making sure to give positive feedback about my work which kept me motivated.

This post was originally published on Medium.

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Are you eager to improve your home? If so, then you might want to explore the different types of technology available to invest in. There are lots of examples here worth exploring. The trick is to find the right option for you which will provide the greatest value. Here are some ideas to consider right now. 

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Smart Home Systems 

First, you should think about adding a smart home system to your property. These are budget friendly and easy to install. However, for a completely seamless level of interaction, you may need the support of a contractor for the initial setup. 

Smart home systems are available from a range of different brands including Samsung. As such, it’s worth exploring the different options that are available on the market today. For instance, some systems provide you with the opportunity to set smart routines. This essentially means that the tech will respond seamlessly to perform connected results at certain times of day. In the morning, this could include bringing your lights on slowly or raising the blinds in your bedroom. In the winter, it might mean turning on a heated floor system. It all depends on your personal needs and what you require. 

Security Tech 

You might also want to think about upgrading your home with the right security technology. Believe it or not, crime rates are on the rise right now. So, it does make sense to ensure that your family is protected with the right systems in place. In terms of the different types of systems that you can explore, you might want to store with a CCTV setup. 

CCTV systems act as useful deterrents and may prevent criminals from considering breaking into your home. Systems like this are also useful because they can provide peace of mind. You just need to set up your system the right way. For instance, it’s important to ensure that they are not recording anyone else’s property without their permission. This can result in a legal headache that you will definitely want to avoid. 

Other security options worth exploring include smart locking systems. Smart locking systems provide homeowners with more control over entry points. You can even use systems like this to check when someone has arrived home. This is useful if you have independent children and you want to make sure that they get back home from school at the right time. Research also suggests that these smart locking systems provide greater benefits compared to other similar alternatives. 

Entertainment Choices 

In terms of entertainment choices, there are countless tech options that could be worth exploring. For instance, you might want to set up a home entertainment system in your property. This can be the perfect space for watching movies and enjoying shows on the best screen possible. If you are interested in this option, then you will need to choose between a TV and a projector system. Both options provide significant benefits. However, the latter is a lot more expensive. This is due to the fact that you need to purchase everything separately. The good news is that you can get the tech that you need for less than you might imagine with solutions such as Net Voucher Codes. This will allow you to save a fortune when you are upgrading your home entertainment technology. 

Remember, the best image is just one piece of the puzzle. There are other choices that are important here too. For instance, you need the right sound set up. In some cases, this could include a complete surround sound speaker system so that the sound hits you from every angle. This can provide an incredibly immersive experience.

Kitchen Tech 

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The kitchen is by far one of the most important rooms in your house. The right kitchen choices could add as much as 25% onto the real value of your property. This is great news, but what do buyers want from a modern kitchen? The majority of buyers will be keen to ensure that they have a kitchen filled with the latest tech.

For instance, you might want to invest in a smart fridge. A smart fridge will guarantee that you can check what you have in your fridge while you are out. It can also remind you to put certain items on the shopping list each week. You can also use a smart fridge to come up with recipes based on the ingredients you have available or the type of dishes that you might want to try. 

Another great tech choice for the kitchen would be a heat induction hob. Also known as a smart hob, a system like this will only heat the surface of the pan you are using. This can stop you from wasting a fortune on energy that you don’t need. 

Bath Tech 

Alternatively, you could think about exploring technology for your bathroom. Bathroom tech comes in all different styles. For instance, you could think about adding a smart shower to your home. As well as making your bathroom just a little more luxurious, a smart shower can give you everything you need for a great morning routine. A smart shower is even more eco-friendly. This is just one more way that you can keep your energy costs and specifically your water bill under control. A smart shower will alert you when it reaches the optimum temperature. It can also reduce the flow of water depending on your preferences. This tech can even play music for you while you shower, providing the perfect, peaceful way to wake up after a long sleep. 

Another great tech choice for the bathroom would be heated floors. These will be useful during the winter months when the floors can feel ice cold after you step out of the shower. It’s just a matter of ensuring that you hire a contractor to complete the work the right way. Low quality standards of work can impact the enjoyment and comfort that an addition like this will bring to your home. Ultimately, you can spend a little improving your bathroom and ensure that it’s a dream come true. 

Maintenance Tech 

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Finally, you might want to think about investing in maintenance technology for your home. A great example would be a smart vacuum. As the name suggests, a smart vacuum incorporates smart technology. Essentially, it will clean your home without you ever needing to lift the finger. Say goodbye to spending hours on the vacuuming. A smart vacuum will do all the work for you. The only issue you’ll need to bother yourself is with the stairs. This tech isn’t quite advanced enough to handle that job just yet. But upgrades are being designed every day. 

In terms of other maintenance choices, you could also think about options such as self-cleaning equipment. One example would be a self-cleaning oven. This does exactly what it says on the tin and will stop you needing to worry about cleaning your oven regularly. You can get similar systems including the dishwasher too. It’s just a case of finding the right choice for your needs and your budget. Ultimately, this type of maintenance technology will save you time and ensure that you have more to spend on your family, social life, or even your business goals. It can even help reduce stress levels too. 

We hope this helps you understand that there are countless types of technology which can dramatically improve your home and ensure that you are living the tech dream. These are just some of the options that we think are worth your time and consideration when upgrading your property. 

Hello – okay – new teeth, that’s weird. So, where was I? Oh, that’s right… Barcelona!

Well, we did it. After a couple of years of pandemic-induced isolation, we managed to get most of the team together in early April for the first time in forever. We successfully brought people in from as far afield as western Canada and Australia, from Europe and from India, for a few days of brainstorming, hacking, direction-setting, updates and, yes, beer. Without straying into politics, we had notable absences, of course, from our Russian and Ukrainian team members. Stay safe, guys: you were genuinely missed.

As a break from our normal day-by-day account, this year we’re writing this as a retrospective of the whole conference, so you get the flavour of everything all in one go. Think of it as a badly-consumed tapas, then… so, off we go.

As usual, topics were many and varied over the days, including:

• SAKE: Simple ASCII Kodi emulator – an emulator for Kodi add-ons that can run and debug all the basic Python stuff
• PVR multi-instancing – so you can have multiple copies of the same PVR addon (e.g. for different backends)
• v20 and release management – a general conversation about how we do releases, when, communications to the community, etc.
• Generalised timeshift – extending the existing PVR timeshift mechanism to a broader capability, perhaps to be rolled back into core Kodi code (instead of duplicating in every PVR addon)
• TheDataDB – a special guest slot from a former Team member, talking about more generalised metadata storage – lyrics, logo artwork, etc. – separate from e.g. episode listings
• Smart home – ideas and existing developments to integrate home automation into Kodi in various ways
• LibreELEC update – a broad update on developments around one of the major platforms for Kodi
• V4L2 status update – HDR, DRM, ffmpeg patches, and everything to do with core video display on Linux platforms
• Binary addon sandboxing – ideas around improving security and resilience by improving compartmentalisation of binary addons
• C++ 20 – options and plans to modernise our code to current standards
• Jenkins deep dive – an overview plus challenges and opportunities around the open source automation server we use to test/build
• Board stuff – internal governance and oversight of all things Kodi
• Android maintenance and Play Store – our ongoing issues with a lack of Android devs, and implications (e.g. our current inability to update in the Play Store because of API versions)
• Flatpak – how we maintain an support our Flatpak, general Flathub changes and how to improve the user experience in the future
• GSoC 2021+2022 – Google Summer of Code – updates on students’ work, plans, mentoring, and so on

There were also things we can’t really talk about – top secret plans, and bar bills, for example – but this gives a flavour of what we discussed. There’s enough here to keep us all busy for many years yet, and that’s before new stuff inevitably gets added.

In the meantime, please delight in a picture of your favourite open-source devs, relaxing in the sunshine after a hard day huddled around laptops and projector screens.

Onwards!

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