Cross-Platform Dev Via Electron
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I reached that almost by accident. I really intended to port the applications to different UIs. It started out as ASP.Net Web Forms, was ported to WinForms, then WPF and last my own UI that runs in a 3D engine. By that last step I also got Linux (via MONO) and MacOs onboard, but I have not really tried them out. Universal platform independence will probably never come. Too different are the devices and their capabilities for that. Could you really expect to get anything to run on an old C64, even if you somehow got a .Net framework ported there?
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
CodeWraith wrote:
I reached that almost by accident. I really intended to port the applications to different UIs.
Yeah it's a challenge for sure. I always think about "how will I be able to give this program to someone who has OS XYZ and doesn't know anything about technology?" It leads me down the deployment path and that is the thing I really try to solve: how can someone install my app no matter what device they have and how can I make it easy for them?
CodeWraith wrote:
Could you really expect to get anything to run on an old C64, even if you somehow got a .Net framework ported there?
:laugh: We can hope! :laugh:
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Completely unrelated question - does DDG show images for you? Mine shows empty panels instead of the expected image...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013#realJSOP wrote:
does DDG show images for you?
I think I'm missing it. Not sure what DDG is. I did have a problem where my app's icon was not showing up when I ran it on Linux. THen I noticed that my configuration was using lowercase to reference the JPG that represented the app icon and of course on Linux files are case-sensitive. I think you're talking about something else but I'm missing it. Let me know and I'll try to answer. Thanks,
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CodeWraith wrote:
I reached that almost by accident. I really intended to port the applications to different UIs.
Yeah it's a challenge for sure. I always think about "how will I be able to give this program to someone who has OS XYZ and doesn't know anything about technology?" It leads me down the deployment path and that is the thing I really try to solve: how can someone install my app no matter what device they have and how can I make it easy for them?
CodeWraith wrote:
Could you really expect to get anything to run on an old C64, even if you somehow got a .Net framework ported there?
:laugh: We can hope! :laugh:
There is one thing that is absolutely independent of the processor, hardware, OS or languages. Algorithms. Choosing the right algorithm at least helps you to make most of whatever resources you may have.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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There is one thing that is absolutely independent of the processor, hardware, OS or languages. Algorithms. Choosing the right algorithm at least helps you to make most of whatever resources you may have.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
CodeWraith wrote:
Choosing the right algorithm at least helps you to make most of whatever resources you may have.
I agree 100%. I also found that some _real_ Architecture helped me to build my app on multiple platforms. The Domain objects in every solution are the same so I could simply convert my classes from one language to another and they worked just fine. It really sped development up. But, of course, the UI is the real challenge since every platform requires you to build it in a different way. Great discussion! :thumbsup:
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#realJSOP wrote:
does DDG show images for you?
I think I'm missing it. Not sure what DDG is. I did have a problem where my app's icon was not showing up when I ran it on Linux. THen I noticed that my configuration was using lowercase to reference the JPG that represented the app icon and of course on Linux files are case-sensitive. I think you're talking about something else but I'm missing it. Let me know and I'll try to answer. Thanks,
DDG = DuckDuckGo search engine
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013 -
CodeWraith wrote:
Choosing the right algorithm at least helps you to make most of whatever resources you may have.
I agree 100%. I also found that some _real_ Architecture helped me to build my app on multiple platforms. The Domain objects in every solution are the same so I could simply convert my classes from one language to another and they worked just fine. It really sped development up. But, of course, the UI is the real challenge since every platform requires you to build it in a different way. Great discussion! :thumbsup:
raddevus wrote:
But, of course, the UI is the real challenge since every platform requires you to build it in a different way.
Then unify that way the UI is built. The MVP (Model View Presenter) did that trick for me. Model and the Presenters have become independent and only the views had to be redone for each specific UI.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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DDG = DuckDuckGo search engine
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-----
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-----
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013 -
raddevus wrote:
But, of course, the UI is the real challenge since every platform requires you to build it in a different way.
Then unify that way the UI is built. The MVP (Model View Presenter) did that trick for me. Model and the Presenters have become independent and only the views had to be redone for each specific UI.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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CodeWraith wrote:
Then unify that way the UI is built. The MVP (Model View Presenter) did that trick for me.
:thumbsup: Great idea.
MVP pattern was especially well suited because the views are 'dumb' and contain as little logic as possible. So much less code that you have to implement again. Looks like I find a reason to post this link at least once a week. :-) This thing started out as ASP .Net Webforms: FoC UserClient - Under Construction - YouTube[^]
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats. His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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Completely unrelated question - does DDG show images for you? Mine shows empty panels instead of the expected image...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-----
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013I DDG'd for Linda Ronstadt and got an image on the right. Clicked the images link and got lots of images. hth
But I never wave bye bye
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#realJSOP wrote:
DDG = DuckDuckGo search engine
Oh, wow, I am slow. :) Yes, I use FireFox and if I click the images tab then I do see images on my search. Are you using a different browser maybe?
Firefox on Linux...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-----
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-----
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013 -
Firefox on Linux...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-----
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-----
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013 -
Firefox on Linux...
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
-----
You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
-----
When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013 -
Because I started running Ubuntu as my main desktop I needed my password creation app (C'YaPass - the WinForms version) on my Ubuntu desktop but wasn't sure of the best (or good) way to create a desktop app for Linux. I DuckDuckGo'd it and found Electron -- Electron is basically Node & Chrome engine that runs natively from your desktop. Visual Studio Code is an Electron app. Anyways, I had already created a very basic HTML5, JavaScript, Bootstrap version of my desktop app (C'YaPass : Never type a password again[^]) and that made the conversion to Electron very fast. Consistent on Windows, Linux, Mac The really cool thing is that when you run the app on Linux, Windows or Mac it looks exactly the same. Here's a snapshot : https://i.stack.imgur.com/yLq7E.png[^] Bootstrap It is interesting because Bootstrap helps create basic controls like we Windows Devs are accustomed to having. Installation Packages I just need to learn how to create an installation package for each platform now. It's really a simple idea (wrapping up browser so users think it is a desktop app) but it works really well. Completely Open Source FYI - You can get the source code at : GitHub - raddevus/CYaPass-Electron: The official C'YaPass desktop app built on Electron (runs on Windows, Linux, Mac)[^] Easy To Try Out You have to have Node (and NPM) installed. But if you do you just: 1. git clone https://github.com/raddevus/CYaPass-Electron 2. npm install 3. npm start
Very interesting, Raddevus, I'd look forward to an article about your work with Electron in the future :)
«One day it will have to be officially admitted that what we have christened reality is an even greater illusion than the world of dreams.» Salvador Dali
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Because I started running Ubuntu as my main desktop I needed my password creation app (C'YaPass - the WinForms version) on my Ubuntu desktop but wasn't sure of the best (or good) way to create a desktop app for Linux. I DuckDuckGo'd it and found Electron -- Electron is basically Node & Chrome engine that runs natively from your desktop. Visual Studio Code is an Electron app. Anyways, I had already created a very basic HTML5, JavaScript, Bootstrap version of my desktop app (C'YaPass : Never type a password again[^]) and that made the conversion to Electron very fast. Consistent on Windows, Linux, Mac The really cool thing is that when you run the app on Linux, Windows or Mac it looks exactly the same. Here's a snapshot : https://i.stack.imgur.com/yLq7E.png[^] Bootstrap It is interesting because Bootstrap helps create basic controls like we Windows Devs are accustomed to having. Installation Packages I just need to learn how to create an installation package for each platform now. It's really a simple idea (wrapping up browser so users think it is a desktop app) but it works really well. Completely Open Source FYI - You can get the source code at : GitHub - raddevus/CYaPass-Electron: The official C'YaPass desktop app built on Electron (runs on Windows, Linux, Mac)[^] Easy To Try Out You have to have Node (and NPM) installed. But if you do you just: 1. git clone https://github.com/raddevus/CYaPass-Electron 2. npm install 3. npm start
I've done some Electron development (a translation of a C++/Qt app I developed, just to see what developing for Electron was like) and had the following thoughts: 1. It can be a bit slow (I was extracting & displaying information from 8MB XML files - is that big?) 2. Installing NPM packages with native code was a pain (this was a couple of years ago, so might have improved since then) 2. Is it just me, or does installing Electron/any sizable NPM package pull down almost half the Internet? Felt like it... 3. I was using Javascript, not Typescript (or a similar statically typed language). I don't really like vanilla Javascript, probably because I've used it so little, so that's a problem for me... 4. Packaging the application for distribution yielded something like a 100MB installer, for what was really not that much more than a 'Hello World'. Compared to around 45MB for the C++/Qt apps (yes, that includes all the Qt DLLs - my code compiled down to a 1.5MB EXE). Having said all that, two of the apps I use (and enjoy using) most, VSCode and GitKraken, are based on Electron, so I have no issue with Electron as a technology from a user's viewpoint. Having said that, I know that [GitKraken uses a fair amount of C++ to get improved performance](https://cppcast.com/tyler-angwanek/) (does VSCode? IDK)
Java, Basic, who cares - it's all a bunch of tree-hugging hippy cr*p
