Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQ answers some common questions about MoSync. If you have other questions, please post them in our Forum.

Software

Yes, first we test devices that we know can be problematic. Sometimes we run large tests on hundreds of devices. We have access to many different devices. Please enquire if you are interested in our device testing services.

What should I do if my application fails to compile after installing a MoSync update?

This may happen if an interface was changed in the update. First check the MoSync API Function Reference to see if the function that stopped the compiler has changed. Alternatively, drop a message to our developers on our forum.

Is the latest update release compatible with earlier update releases?

As we are consistently upgrading MoSync, some releases have minor changes made to existing functions the API. Check the MoSync API Function Reference.

How often is MoSync updated?

New featured releases of MoSync happen around four times a year. The featured release is what you get when you click our main Download button. However, almost every day there is a new nightly build working towards the featured release. Our profile database is updated regularly - if you Register the latest profiles are automatically loaded by MoSync when it starts up.

On what platforms is MoSync available on?

MoSync runs on all versions of Microsoft Windows up to and including Windows Vista.

What do the releases contain?

Each release of MoSync includes the Eclipse-based IDE with debugger, runtimes for all the supported target platforms/OSs, build tools, compilers, linkers, API libraries, and other tools and utilities.

For an indepth look into MoSync, take a look at this interesting blog post by Ali, one of our core developers

Trademark and Licensing

How much is a commercial license for MoSync?

At the moment we have not given MoSync a commercial price since its an early version. Mosync will be sold under a Open Source Dual Licensing agreement like MySQL and QT(Nokia). Prices has not yet been set but we will charge per year in a subscription fee.
For large or complex organization we have other offers as well.

In early 2010 we plan to release a commercial agreement.

I you want to use MoSync now you can use it for commercial apps but you need to contact us at sales@mobilesorcery.com

How is MoSync sold?

We are working on publishing MoSync as Open Source with a Dual licensing model(similar to companies like MySQL or QT).
We still have some work to do, if you want to use MoSync for a commercial application please contact us.

Is MoSync free? Where can I get information on licensing?

MoSync is Open Source software under the GPL version 2 license, free for non commercial use. For commercial use please contact Mobile Sorcery at sales@mobilesorcery.com. You can read more about dual licensing here.

Installing MoSync

How do I install and register MoSync?

Take a look in our Getting Started guides.

I have registered but I didn't receive any email, what do I do?

Please take a look inside the Spam folder on your mail server, occasionally our confirmation mails get sent to that folder. If it is not there, please send an email to support@mobilesorcery.com.

Do I really have to register?

No, but we recommend that you to register for several reasons. The first is that registered users automatically get their installed device profiles updated when MoSync loads. Registering also enables you subscribe to news about new releases of MoSync (but you can still register with subscribing to news). Finally, registering means never seeing that registration pop-up window again when you start MoSync.

Where can I get the latest MoSync?

You can get the latest featured release of MoSync and the latest nightly builds from our Download page.

Using MoSync

Why does my application behave differently on different devices?

MoSync strives to provide as consistent behaviour as possible across all devices. However, there are essential differences that can't be handled automatically - screen sizes, performance characteristics, and availability of hardware features are a few examples. Additionally, there may always be bugs in the target platform/device that can't be fixed or that we haven't found yet. Whenever you observe inconsistent behaviour on a device, we would greatly appreciate being informed, so that we may attempt to fix it.

What does panic with code X mean?

See the Panics Reference Guide.

If I get the user panic "malloc failed", what should I do?

This usually means that you have run out of memory and the amount of memory allocated for the heap needs to be increased. The default heap size in a MoSync program is only 16k. To change this setting, right-click on your project in the Project Explorer view and select Properties > MoSync Project > Build Settings > Compiler Flags. There you can (carefully!) change the memory settings. For more information, see Build Configurations in our documentation.

Can I do it in Python, Java, or PHP?

We would like to do that too, that's why we are working hard here at MoSync to bring additional programming language support in the future.

Do you mean that I have to learn the "MoSync Language" to begin coding?

No! MoSync supports applications written in standard C/C++. However, due to the limitations of mobile devices, many of the standard C/C++ libraries are unavailable. There are also many MoSync-specific functions that you will have to learn about, but our tutorials and examples are here to help you with that.

How can I get started?

Read through our Getting Started guide and take a look at our General Tutorials and our Code Tutorials.