Pocketpedia syncing behavior

[Gabe]

Hey guys,

I was wondering what would happen if this scenario happened: Everything is in sync with DVDpedia and pocketpedia. Later on I add 5 titles on pocketpedia and 2 different titles via DVDpedia without syncing. A couple of days pass and I add other titles on one or both of the app. When I sync back eventually, what should happened? Will the added titles be merged (the titles on PPedia are added to DVDPedia and vice and versa).

Or the sync will ignore the titles added on PP?
This is what was happening to me a couple of months ago. I don't know if this is the normal behavior or a bug. I have everything is up to date and I'd like to start adding titles to pocketpedia again and was wondering if I could do that without worrying about losing the added data if I don't manually sync every time or often.

[Nora]

That is a bug - thanks for letting us know! The problem is not doing a sync between adding entries in both DVDpedia AND Pocketpedia. Conor has already fixed it but it'll take a few days for the review process again so in the meantime, make sure you either add entries only to one program or do a sync before adding any entries in the other program to avoid problems.

[Gabe]

I haven't tried to do it since a few months back so I can't tell if there is indeed a bug.
I simply wanted to know if we should be able to add titles and expect the sync the merge the entries. Even if the platforms don't sync for weeks.
Or that should be avoided as it may lead to issues because of the way the syncing is done?

[Nora]

Yes, the sync will merge the two databases every time it is performed, regardless of the time elapsed between syncs. The problem (which will be fixed for the next release, currently in review) appears only when you add entries to both DVDpedia and Pocketpedia and then do a sync. In that case entries may overwrite each other because they received the same internal ID from the programs. But as long as you sync the programs after you're done adding entries to one, you're all good.

[Gabe]

Hi Nora.
Yes this is what I was referring to. I want to be able to add titles on any platform and trust the titles will be merged when synced, without the Mac platform deleting the changes made in pocketpedia.

Also if I edit a title present on both platforms, the sync will throw away the changes in pocketpedia and keep only the change in DVDpedia.
Will the new version also allow to merge titles data/field changes?
If there is a conflict (the same field was editing on both platforms differently) a popup could appear during sync to allow us to choose which field we want to keep or decide to merge the text in the fields.

Will this issue be resolved soon? I haven't been using pocketpedia because you can only add titles with it if you're 100% sure you've just synced. There's nothing worse than seeing all your added titles and your notes (I use DVDpedia to catalog the movies I see and my reviews or appreciation of the film or notes) disappear after a sync with the Mac!

[Gabe]

Also in case a sync goes bad, would there be a way for pocketpedia (and DVDpedia for that matter) to keep one or two versions of previous databases so we can revert back to them if a sync hasn't worked properly?
Of course the ideal thing would for the data to be in the cloud and the changes are pushed automatically. I assume this is in the pipeline?

[Conor]

We are currently waiting on the Apple review process to be able to release the fixed version that will let you add movies on both devices simultaneously without needing to syncing between additions. Editing existing movies on both devices will still only result on the data from the latest change being the master. It uses the edit date to decide which change to keep. The Pedias currently don't track date edited on a per field basis but only on the entire entry. So the merge has to be done at the level of a movie when deciding what data to keep. There is no way to tell that the notes were edited in one program and the comments in another and merge those changes together into a single entry. It is an enhancement we want to make for a future version. As you say likely when we change backend completely to iCloud that should be able to track these changes.
Syncing have improved in the iCloud world with the release of Mavericks, so will be looking at that again.

[Conor]

I forgot to mention that after a sync your previous Pocketpedia database is available in your data folder with the Pocketpedia data before the merge as the file Pocketpedia.dvdpd. This file is interchangeable with Database.dvdpd as of version 3 of Pocketpedia as they both run on the same backend structure. You can also duplicate the Database.dvdpd file as a backup. Although if you are using Time Machine it would be doing this versioning for you automatically.

[Gabe]

Hey guys,

It seems I had neglected to thank you for your last input. Thanks for the info and I was looking forward to the new version.
I have been running 3.1.4 (and the latest Dvdpedia for mac) for a while and I have been having the same issues as before: When I enter an entry on both the iOS version and the Mac version one of the entry gets deleted instead of the entries being synced across all devices. (it does now seem to retain the most recent entry whereas before it would always discard iOS' entries.)

In one occurrence, as a test, I had entered indiana Jones and the last crusade on a mac and then Brave on my iphone and performed a sync. Strangely it merged the two items, keeping indy's poster and Brave's description. (https://www.dropbox.com/s/bysd2pqazjghh ... 2%2041.png)

Had I misunderstood your post in October where you said in the next release we would be able to add titles to different platforms and the entries would be merged when synced?
What does it seem to be that tricky? I understand it could be tricky to track changes made to the SAME entry but syncing a multitude of individual entries shouldn't be too much of a headache, unless the way the pedia apps create their databases makes it harder than it seems?

[Gabe]

Oh and I noticed a little bug too.
Posters don't seem to appear anymore when searching doghouse.

see: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wt0gefzkgmcnv ... 9%2034.png
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4q98t4yoljhyh ... 9%2019.png

[Conor]

Thank you for al the information and details. The syncing issue should be fixed in the latest version, but I will add you to the beta version of Pocketpedia so that you can help us make sure that is the case. Can you still repeat the missing thumbnails issue in Pocketpedia? I did both searches "Star Wars" and "Moneyball" and got all the images. If that is the case more reason to have you in the beta to find out what might be going on there. I'll send an invitation your way for the beta.

[Gabe]

Great thanks!
You can PM if you don't have my email address for the invite.

Weird indeed about the images.

Also you've been able to do what I'm trying to achieve with success? Add different titles on different platforms and when synced they will be merged and none will be discarded?

thanks!

[Conor]

I can merge from iPad, iPhone and Mac simultaneously but I have been running a beta version for quite a while. I would have to look through my commit logs to find out if the fix is in the currently shipping version. But as mention on the other thread this beta is nearing super beta state for wider testing and then should be out in a couple of weeks. It's not a complete overhaul, it's a medium change. We are quite happy with the interface but this is the first step in moving to iOS 7. Subsequent updates will add more animation and updated navigation. We don't want to hold up the release by including all in a single update. To give you a hint about what feature already made it, the tab bar to switch between Collections and Doghouse (taking up space at the bottom) is gone on the iPhone.

I sent the invitation to the email registered at the forum, do let me know if you have not received the TestFlight invitation, as you are listed as pending on the TestFlight system to add beta devices. I have resent it just in case.

[Gabe]

Hi Conor!
Thanks for all the information. I have not received the beta invite. I'll PM you my email.

thanks!