Rethinking the logic of how Kotatsu parse content

[galpt]

I'm talking about this, a good read for me
https://xdaforums.com/t/youtube-vanced-synced-with-google-account.4086073/

basically vanced is like kotatsu, just a wrapper.
but microG is a separate apk that help vanced and make it possible for users to login yt with their own acc

so I thought kotatsu might be able to make a parser with logic like that

[galpt]

so the parser will listen on localhost:<some port>, and kotatsu send instructions to that address, locally.
now you're solving the static IP issue

here's a summary:

1. there are 2 APKs (kotatsu apk & parser apk) installed on your phone.
2. parser apk, act as a local server, that's listening for instructions/requests from kotatsu apk.
3. when we need to fix sources, we only need to update the perser apk, not the kotatsu apk.

in that ytvanced case, microG is the apk that doesn't get frequent updates, while vanced gets new features very often.
in kotatsu case, the kotatsu apk isn't pushing new features daily, and instead it's almost daily to see sources stopped working.

---

so I think content updates & feature updates are good to be separated.
feature updates should be separated from content updates, that's how apps like instagram, etc. work

content = what you read inside the app (in this case, manga images)

[galpt]

in the case of source updates, just need to update the parser and not the kotatsu.
since I don't really see fixing sources as a new feature, basically nothing new in the app, we're just trying to make already existing source work again - which doesn't need to increase the apk version for that

imagining it will give you headaches so I suggest trying to build a diagram or something before writing the code, and simply ask gemini or chatgpt maybe to lessen the headaches

---

moving the discussion here from discord, and I don't really expect koi to really make it happen.
it sounds like a big hassle so just take it as a reference..

[dragonx943]

i really dont know what else to say because im not the creator of Kotatsu

i just want to say that this idea doesnt really work (in my opinion, one has tried Tachiyomi and its forks), it has a lot of possible limitations like we cant change source domain flexibly, cannot use proxy directly,...

instead, we have plugin-sdk, its like any "Extension repository" for Tachiyomi and its forks, it can build many sources, divided into many APKs but its practicality is quite "limited"

[dragonx943]

and its completely different from MicroG, a Framework that Vanced applications depend on for account logging (previously, without it, Vanced App would not have any effect)

[galpt]

i really dont know what else to say because im not the creator of Kotatsu

i just want to say that this idea doesnt really work (in my opinion, one has tried Tachiyomi and its forks), it has a lot of possible limitations like we cant change source domain flexibly, cannot use proxy directly,...

instead, we have plugin-sdk, its like any "Extension repository" for Tachiyomi and its forks, it can build many sources, divided into many APKs but its practicality is quite "limited"

The current Kotatsu (to the users) seems like the main APK needs to be updated whenever you fix even just one source. When you're parsing a website, it's basically just getting the image links from the HTTP response, and Kotatsu only needs to wrap these image links using the webtoon scrolling style or other scrolling styles.

If a source is broken, shouldn't you just update the broken part of the code and not the whole APK?

Here's an example scenario to illustrate this:

1. The latest version of Kotatsu is now 7.7.8.
2. You notice that a source is broken immediately after pushing v7.7.8.

Condition: In this example, let's assume this one source is annoying. You've only just pushed v7.7.8, but this source breaks right afterward. For the sake of this example, maybe the website simply changed some HTML, and it's a simple fix to make this source work again.

Questions:

1. Do you need to update the entire APK to 7.7.9?
2. Or do you just need to update the part of the parser that handles the logic for parsing that specific broken source?

Possible Solutions:

The solution to question 1 is probably how the current Kotatsu works. No need to change anything; just keep updating the version. That's it.

The solution for question 2 would probably look like this:

Kotatsu APK <--> Parser APK <--> A manga source

Whenever you fix a source, only the parser APK version is updated, and not the main APK.

What I see right now is that users need to wait quite some time to finally be able to use the sources they love. A source update is delayed by the feature update from the main APK. For how long? I'm not sure. It probably depends on how the developer perceives the importance of the broken source to the users.

There could be a way to separate source fixes and feature updates. If there's no feature update or bug fix, it shouldn't really prevent the developer from pushing source fixes immediately.

It's just that if we're talking about "rewriting" something, we shouldn't get fixated on the old/current logic of how the app works (especially if we must use a completely different approach). If it's not that, then we should just call it "updating," not "rewriting."

Yes, I know the logic I suggested above is probably completely different from the current APK, but we're talking about rewriting something. If someone suggested that I do a rewrite, I would interpret that as "So there are other solutions, eh?" and try to see what possible solutions can be implemented. I wouldn't be fixated on the current logic.

"If you know your shoes don't fit your feet well, are you fixated on getting the same model as your old shoes? Or can you just get any shoes that look good (or even better) than your old shoes and that fit your feet better? I bet you would try to find different shoes, even if it means the model is different from your old one."

Don't get me wrong, my suggestion probably gives more headaches than the current Kotatsu. There are different ways to implement how a manga reader works, and it's up to the maintainers of the project. So, I don't really have a say here; this is just my two cents.

Let's keep this open for a while. Maybe sometime in the future, an immortal, godly developer from China will come, take a look here, and suggest a far better solution 😂

[dragonx943]

i really dont know what else to say because im not the creator of Kotatsu
i just want to say that this idea doesnt really work (in my opinion, one has tried Tachiyomi and its forks), it has a lot of possible limitations like we cant change source domain flexibly, cannot use proxy directly,...
instead, we have plugin-sdk, its like any "Extension repository" for Tachiyomi and its forks, it can build many sources, divided into many APKs but its practicality is quite "limited"

The current Kotatsu (to the users) seems like the main APK needs to be updated whenever you fix even just one source. When you're parsing a website, it's basically just getting the image links from the HTTP response, and Kotatsu only needs to wrap these image links using the webtoon scrolling style or other scrolling styles.

If a source is broken, shouldn't you just update the broken part of the code and not the whole APK?

Here's an example scenario to illustrate this:

1. The latest version of Kotatsu is now 7.7.8.
2. You notice that a source is broken immediately after pushing v7.7.8.

Condition: In this example, let's assume this one source is annoying. You've only just pushed v7.7.8, but this source breaks right afterward. For the sake of this example, maybe the website simply changed some HTML, and it's a simple fix to make this source work again.

Questions:

1. Do you need to update the entire APK to 7.7.9?
2. Or do you just need to update the part of the parser that handles the logic for parsing that specific broken source?

Possible Solutions:

The solution to question 1 is probably how the current Kotatsu works. No need to change anything; just keep updating the version. That's it.

The solution for question 2 would probably look like this:

Kotatsu APK <--> Parser APK <--> A manga source

Whenever you fix a source, only the parser APK version is updated, and not the main APK.

What I see right now is that users need to wait quite some time to finally be able to use the sources they love. A source update is delayed by the feature update from the main APK. For how long? I'm not sure. It probably depends on how the developer perceives the importance of the broken source to the users.

There could be a way to separate source fixes and feature updates. If there's no feature update or bug fix, it shouldn't really prevent the developer from pushing source fixes immediately.

It's just that if we're talking about "rewriting" something, we shouldn't get fixated on the old/current logic of how the app works (especially if we must use a completely different approach). If it's not that, then we should just call it "updating," not "rewriting."

Yes, I know the logic I suggested above is probably completely different from the current APK, but we're talking about rewriting something. If someone suggested that I do a rewrite, I would interpret that as "So there are other solutions, eh?" and try to see what possible solutions can be implemented. I wouldn't be fixated on the current logic.

"If you know your shoes don't fit your feet well, are you fixated on getting the same model as your old shoes? Or can you just get any shoes that look good (or even better) than your old shoes and that fit your feet better? I bet you would try to find different shoes, even if it means the model is different from your old one."

Don't get me wrong, my suggestion probably gives more headaches than the current Kotatsu. There are different ways to implement how a manga reader works, and it's up to the maintainers of the project. So, I don't really have a say here; this is just my two cents.

Let's keep this open for a while. Maybe sometime in the future, an immortal, godly developer from China will come, take a look here, and suggest a far better solution 😂

If you intend to use your own plugin-sdk to replace Kotatsu-parsers, then every time your source breaks, you just need to fix your source (parser) in your workspace (repository), build a new APK file and install it over it without having to upgrade or downgrade Kotatsu app

Kotatsu app and your own source (parser) are completely independent, its just like an "add-on" for Kotatsu, without it Kotatsu will still work normally because Kotatsu already has Kotatsu-parsers inside it