This is the first release of Podcini.R version 6. If you have an older version installed, this release installs afresh in parallel with and is not compatible with older versions. Main changes are:
* complete overhaul of database and routines, ditched the iron-age celebrity SQLite and entrusted the modern object-based Realm
* export/import DB is supported for the Realm DB with file extension .realm
* DB from Podcini version 5 and below can not be imported, if you need migration, see migrationTo6.md file on github for instructions
* components rely more on objects for communication, unnecessary DB access is reduced
* remove feeds is performed promptly in blocking way
* feeds sorting is more explicit and bi-directional and in the same style as episodes sorting
* feed order names changed in English (other languages need update)
* grid view is enabled for Subscriptions and can be switched on in Settings->User interface
* in Subscriptions view, click on cover image of a feed opens the FeedInfo view (not FeedEpisodes view)
* in Subscriptions and episodes list views, corrected the issue of wrong images of episodes being shown when scrolling
* receiving flow events are strictly tied to life cycles of the components
* re-worked some events related to feed changes
* queue is circular: if the final item in queue finished, the first item in queue (if exists) will get played
* NavDrawer no longer gets updated in the background but only upon open
* player control UI is more efficient
* PlaybackController is further enhanced for multiple access
* non-essential instantiations of PlaybackController are stripped
* AudioPlayer view is hidden when there is no media set to play
* playback routines are extensively tuned and cleaned, less layered
* in any episode list views, swipe with NO_ACTION defined pops up the swipe config dialog
* date of new episode is highlighted in episodes list views
* in episodes sort dialog, "Date" is changed to "Publish date"
* added more garbage collections
* in preference "Delete Removes From Queue" is set to true by default
* added in preference "Remove from queue when marked as played" and set it to true by default
* added episode counts in Episodes and History views
* enhanced play position updates in all episodes list views
* added "Remove from favorites" in speed-dial menu
* on PlayerDetailed and EpisodeHome views the home button on action bar has a toggle
* FeedInfo view has button showing number of episodes to open the FeedEpisodes view
* on action bar of FeedEpisodes view there is a direct access to Queue
* tidied up the header of FeedEpisodes view
* media size is shown on episode info view
* net-fetching of media size for not-downloaded media is removed for episode list views
* there is a setting to disable/enable auto backup OPML files to Google
* InTheatre object is now the center reference for all currently playing stuff including the current play queue
* 5 queues are provided by default: Default queue, and Queues 1-4
* all queue operations are on the curQueue, which can be set in all episodes list views
* on app startup, the most recently updated queue is set to curQueue
* progressive loading in some episodes list views are more efficient
* on importing preferences, PlayerWidgetPrefs is ignored
* position updates to widget is also set for every 5 seconds
* in FeedEpisodes view, refresh only performs on the single feed (rather than all feeds)
* VariableSpeed dialog is no longer depends on the controller
* Tapping the media playback notification opens Podcini
* Long-press filter button in FeedEpisode view enables/disables filters without changing filter settings
* in wifi sync and episode progress export/import, changed start position and added played duration for episodes (compatible with 5.5.3), this helps for the statistics view at the importer to correctly show imported progress without having to do "include marked played"
* the Counter and its seetings are removed
* all RxJava code was replaced with coroutines, RxJava dependency is kept only for using fyyd search
* PlaybackPreferences using SharePreferences was removed and related info is handled by the DB as CurrentState
* decade-old joanzapata iconify is replaced with mikepenz iconics
* removed the need for support libraries and the need for the jetifier
* in wifi sync and episode progress export/import, changed start position and added played duration for episodes (available from 5.5.3), this helps for the statistics view at the importer to correctly show imported progress without having to do "include marked played"
* fixed text not accepted issue in "add podcast using rss feed"
* removed kotlin-stdlib dependency to improve build speed
* cleaned out the commented-out RxJava code
* added export/import of episode progress for migration to future versions. the exported content is the same as with instant sync: all the play progress of episodes (completed or not)
* this is likely the last release of Podcini 5, sauf perhaps any minor bugfixes.
* the next Podcini overhauls the entire DB routines, SQLite is replaced with the object-based Realm, and is not compatible with version 5 and below.
* likely fixed crash issue when the app is restarted after long idle
* fixed null pointer crash issue in when trying to report player error
* fixed null pointer crash issue when open player detailed view with online episode
* likely fixed the audio break issue when streaming some podcasts, particularly those related to "iHeart" (actually the server has some invalid settings, someone should notify them).
this should take effect with episodes in both subscribed or online feeds
* experimental (back up before use) release of instant sync between devices on the same wifi network without a server
* have media3 exoplayer taking over all audio focus controls to better cooperate with other media players. be mindful of any possible issues
* fixed some icon handling issues noticed on Android 14
* overhauled image handling routines, replaced Glide with Coil: efficiency improved, app lighter, and lots of exception issues eliminated, though appearance not fully replicated
* suppressed log.d messages in release app
* fixed search failure bug introduced with adding of transcript column
* fixed a null pointer exception when opening online feed providing null connection type
* fixed bug of episodes being mostly duplicated in online feed episodes view
* fixed play/pause button not correctly set sometimes
* fixed position not correctly shown sometimes
* fixed position not correctly set on starting streaming
* fixed issue with long-press on the Skip button
* player status has now a single point of reference
* player detailed view is only initialized at first open
* instant (or wifi) sync can be accessed from Settings->Synchronization, where an instruction is shown
* it syncs the play states (position and played) of episodes that exist in both devices (ensure to refresh first) and that have been played (completed or not) on at least one device
* so far, every sync is a full sync, no subscription feeds sync, and no media files sync
* migrated to media3's MediaSession and MediaLibraryService though no new features added with this. some behavior might change or issues might arise, need to be mindful
* when video mode is temporarily audio only, click on image on audio player on a video episode also brings up the normal player detailed view
* added a menu action item in player detailed view to turn to fullscreen video for video episode
* added episode home view accessible right from episode info view. episode home view has two display modes: webpage or reader.
* added text-to-speech function in the reader mode. there is a play/pause button on the top action bar, when play is pressed, text-to-speech will be used to play the text. play features now are controlled by system setting of the TTS engine. Advanced operations in Podcini are expected to come later.
* RSS feeds with no playable media can be subscribed and read/listened via the above two ways
* added ability to open podcast from webpage address, reduced the error of "The podcast host\'s server sent a website, not a podcast"
* allows importing podcast from a web address, either through copy/paste or share.
* Youtube channels are accepted from external share or paste of address in podcast search view, and can be subscribed as a normal podcast. A channel is handled as a podcast feed, and videos in the channel are as episodes. Drawbacks now are playing of the video is not handled inside Podcini, but in Youtube app or the browser, and the play speed is not controlled by Podcini.
* fixed bug of sort order not stable in feed item list
* in Subscriptions view added sorting of "Unread publication date"
* added preference "Fast Forward Speed" under "Playback" in settings with default value of 0.0, dialog allows setting a float number (capped between 0.0 and 10.0)
* added preference "Fallback Speed" under "Playback" in settings with default value of 0.0, dialog allows setting a float number (capped between 0.0 and 1.5)
* added new ways to manipulate play speed
* the "Skip to next episode" button
* long-press moves to the next episode
* by default, single tap does nothing
* if the user customize "Fast Forward Speed" to a value greater than 0.1, it behaves in the following way:
* single tap during play, the set speed is used to play the current audio
* single tap again, the original play speed resumes
* if the user customize "Fallback speed" to a value greater than 0.1, long-press the button during play enters the fallback mode and plays at the set fallback speed, single tap exits the fallback mode
