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hybrid_apps:alternative_architecture_notes

Notes for Alternative Architectures for Hybrid Applications

Server

  • Create test case(s) using PHP and/or Node.js to get an idea of app responsiveness and interaction issues.
  • Attach WebSockets, Server-sent events, long polling, or similar to determine multiple client behavior and scalability.

Notes/questions/issues

  • Persistence: config file or sqlite w/nice wrapper
  • Security model alternatives:
    • Accept connections only from localhost? CORS?
    • Password (in request) or API key (basic auth) property in app?
    • Notify and accept (cookie/session)?
    • Firewall
  • Embedded (i.e., one-and-only-app) vs. desktop app

PHP

  • Attractive because it facilitates a lot of web developers get into embedded development (i.e., lots of devs know PHP very well).
  • What server?
    • Is the built-in server good enough for a limited number of connections?
    • Is there a native PHP server that is good enough?
    • Bitnami?
  • What PHP?
    • Can “standalone” PHP be installed easily? Or is it best to use the global PHP? (Easy for Linux, dunno about Windows & MacOS.)

The above are not issues for embedded application as the machine's global Apache (or whatever) server and PHP can be used.

  • Frameworks
    • Silex
      • Good community support.
      • Good Composer and module support.
      • Documentation is a bit obtuse.
      • Out of the box twig support. Redbean support is available.
      • Has a good ReST code structure but you wouldn't know it from the docs.
    • Slim
      • Slim 3 has removed some functionality that might be good to have.
    • Fat Free Framework
      • Compact, more than what's needed.
      • Excellent ReST code structure.
      • Twig and Redbean support are available.
      • Not sure Composer is well supported.
    • Check cookies/session (secure) support.
  • Persistence

Node.js

  • Doesn't have the “which server?” issue as the script is the server.
  • There is also a “persistence” advantage in that app vars can be used to deliver same data to many clients.
  • Frameworks

Python

  • Python is attractive because RPi developers will know it.
  • Flask and Flask-RESTful are a good combination.
  • Has a development server that might be good enough for a limited number of clients.
  • Has the “persistence” advantage of Node.js (if run on development server?)
  • Config files and sqlite are TODO.

Client

  • To be served or simply loaded from file?
    • I suspect the former is better because of security/CORS/whatever.
    • If served, by a separate server or by the same server that's handling the API?
hybrid_apps/alternative_architecture_notes.txt · Last modified: 2016/07/22 21:46 by mithat

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