[kozmonaut]

hey guys. i am looking to add download and install functionality working on my good e-reader app store client. We got downloads working fine,i am wondering if its possible to get localbar or another solution working, so apps would auto install. anyone know the barriers or if its possible? obviously rim auto installs bar files, how do i do it.

[SifJar]

With LocalBar (which in my opinion is a viable option) you need to have a proxy server running on the same network (e.g. on a phone or PC), unless you have root. Basically it works by sending the install command (the same one used by all the PC-based installers) via the proxy. In older versions of the OS, you could just send that command to localhost and not bother with a proxy, but RIM blocked that by rejecting install commands that came from localhost. So then a proxy was required to make it appear the command was coming from elsewhere.

You also can't use a public proxy unless your network gives your playbook an external IP address. (Generally, only an internal address is assigned unless you mess with router settings etc., and so the PB can only be accessed from the local network, meaning a proxy on the local network must be used).

App World presumably gets special permissions from the OS for installing apps, seeing as it is a system app and doesn't require developer mode or anything like that. The only way to get those permissions would be to install a system app with those permissions in the manifest, signed with RIM's blackberry's official signing keys (i.e. not going to happen).

So it would seem your only option is to include some LocalBar-like functionality. For rooted users, it is possible to disable the localhost block put in place, and then apps can be installed without a proxy. For non-rooted users, a (local) proxy must be used.

The only problem is it may confuse some of your users (having to set up a proxy etc.)

[kozmonaut]

Yeah totally, i don't know if all of this proxy stuff will work. I mean, DDPB and that chrome plugin do a ok job when your in developer mode. I need functionality like that, where as long as your device is in developer mode, the apps would auto install. I mean, it HAS to be possible.

[SifJar]

Sadly there really isn't any way other than a proxy, with dev mode enabled.

The PB OS will reject all app install requests coming from localhost/127.0.0.1 (i.e. itself). It's only by routing it through another device that it can work.

[kozmonaut]

do you think there is a way to run a proxy in the background so users don't have to do anything? and the proxy auto initiates if they have dev mode enabled?

[SifJar]

Sadly, no. If the proxy were on the PB itself, the request would still be coming from localhost. The request appears to be coming from whatever address the proxy is located at. So if, for example, I ran a proxy on my phone with a (local) IP of 192.168.1.76, the request would be coming from that address. If the proxy is running on the PB, the request will come from it's own IP address, and will be rejected.

So unless you find some way to remotely activate a proxy on some other device, what you suggest couldn't be achieved I'm afraid.