Pocket code build variants

Abstract

This case study is about Pocket Code's build variants. Pocket Code is a free and open source integrated development environment (IDE) for the brick based visual programming language Catrobat. It is released in various flavors for different partners and projects (e.g., Create@School, Phiro and Standalone). All flavors use the same code base but slightly differ in design and functionality. If different flavors are maintained as separate projects, all projects require proper maintenance. Any feature introduced or updated in one project must be ported to all others, for that they dont diverge. With an increase in the number of flavors, efforts to maintain will also increase which renders the project unmaintainable. If all flavors are maintained in one project, it is challenging to release more than one version of an application with a different set of functionalities and different user interface (UI) enhancements. In this paper, Pocket Code's different build variants are discussed particularly the standalone build variant. To build a standalone version of any app hosted on the Pocket Code sharing platform, the user has to trigger the build via the web interface on the remote Pocket Code server. Resource files and app configuration are generated based on user input. This paper can be of interest to organizations dealing with dynamic build variants triggered by external actors.