Nice job with the updates. This app has come a long way in a really short time. I have a couple of points for discussion and one possible bug to report.
The possible bug first. There may be a problem with how the app is calculating the amount of time the rain sensor has been active. I had a couple of days where my rain sensor had disabled my unit. In the corresponding log entry what I found is that the time stamp was changing for the same rain detection event while rain was detected. Over the course of 2 days I saw the time stamp change to more recent times when I checked the log. This behavior started when the code to calculate rain sensor time, while the sensor was detecting rain, was implemented. Now here’s the complicating factor, I updated the code on my server while the rain sensor was active, and I did NOT clear my log file. I won’t be able to do any more trouble shooting for a couple of weeks, but I thought I’d get this out there in case anyone else has seen similar behavior or is able to test using a rain sensor.
Some feedback on the UI. Most of these points are observations or points for discussion so please chime in and offer counter views. The app works quite well as it is, I look at the items below as opportunities for improvement.
1) I like having current weather displayed on the main screen, but I wonder if there isn’t a better way to do it. The problem is one of wasted space on either side of the Icon / text. On larger displays it’s probably ok, but on a small phone display (or even a larger phone display) it seems like space could be better utilized. I do like the fact that the Program control and System Information Groups fit perfectly on my screen.
2) It seems like the items in the “system control” section may be better placed on a separate page. It’s too easy to hit one of the buttons when swiping up or down. Also, I don’t think there is a need to have quick access to any of these setting. I’ve already accidentally turned off the Operation toggle while swiping. I can easily see my self accidentally hitting one of the toggles and not realizing it. Both will disable automatic operation of the controller.
3) On the program preview screen. I think it would be useful to have arrows on either side of the date to advance the day. I saw that there was some discussion previously on how different browsers handle different date entries in the context of the NaN error, but I don’t think we’ve explicitly requested the arrows to advance the date. Is it even possible? Is that something that others would find useful?
Ok That’s it for now. Keep up the good work.
-m