I think cloud IDE and Cloud Flashing are great! However on some cases where you are working hard on some code, it is a hassle to wait for all that time it takes to flash…
I know that this can be mitigated by doing your own local dev. The Spark IDE does not solve the issue because the delay and bottle neck is in flashing not on compiling… This apart that I don’t know how but every 5 or 6 flashes my spark device stop responding to flash requests and I need to reset it and refresh the IDE. This in local dev IDE also has a ton of bugs in the Atom implementation.
I think that spark should put an effort on making local USB flashing and IDE easier and solid. The seconds and minutes spend waiting add up after a while and productivity is hit… My request is that some resources be assigned to this since you now have a bunch of devices of whom not all are required to be connected to the cloud all the time.
I truly hope that we see some improvements in this arena of local flashing, IDE and compiling. No matter how fast the cloud get’s it’s never going to be as nimble as local USB flashing…
Just to be sure you know it exists: you do realise you can flash your firmware using the Spark CLI, right? It’s really not that hard to do once you’ve got it set up properly, and it’s really fast.
I’m not saying it’s the permanent solution, but it’s one that’s already out there, and isn’t that difficult. In time, I’m sure the Spark DEV will improve, and local flashing will be added. I think they’re just really busy working on the final touches of the Photon, and resources are needed there. In the mean time, the CLI is an excellent alternative. You can even download the .bin file from the web IDE.
Also, the firmware guys are working really hard to separate the user code from the other code, meaning that only the user code will have to be flashed. This will make OTA flashing A LOT faster (~10s if I’m not mistaken). I’d prefer that over the local solution, although it’d be best to have both
