I am using Webswing for Java Swing Apps to the Web and Apache Wicket for Web Application building. A Web interface is really nice and often needed.
My problem is that there is in my case seldom the possibility of pwa while I need to be connected to Hardware. Therefore most Stuffs are running on Server. Written with Vaadin or Wicket.
Indeed, this is still very limited for PWAs. Luckily, beyond accessing the camera for e.g. barcode scanning (which is allowed), we currently do not need any access to other hardware. And if we do need access e.g. to physical production machines, we run a standalone BANanoServer (Jetty) on the device using WebSockets to do that kind of work. As client and server are all written in the same B4J code syntax and are in one project, that is quite productive for us.
Results in the same situation like I have with Wicked Java Servers. Also Jetty. But for Basic Developers B4J is in my eyes a real good way. Hope that Esel will provide the world with a MAC IDE for B4J somewhen!
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there are those
not having to deploy it to a multitude of desktops is, for this client, probably the biggest win
But deployment to multiple Desktop OSses is not really such a problem.
it just HAS to be done so IF we can avoid it by using an intranet based web app it _might _ be a good option
the business partners are still writing specs for the existing apps so weāll see
at least we have existing applications to write specs from
just no source code for them (long story)
so weāll recreate them based on what they currently have
I had one Customer which had a self developed App in VB6 from old times. We where speaking about and he needed new functionality and changes. He told me that one day his Computer was defect and somebody was throwing it away. With all the Source Codes. Ao we had to re develop. His Network was with macOS and Windows Computers. We wrote it as a Swing App while it was for him not that complex to distribute Java Software. It is still in use. But I would prefer in his situation to write a Web Application while that would be the better wayā¦no distribution stresses, all platforms including iPad and Android devices and Chromebook and so on. That was the fundament for using Vaadin and Wicket.
- Donāt pick a tool that has a small userbase (this can be broken down into many subcategories, but the main takeaway is, if lots of people used it, itās been well tested and there are plenty of people out there who can improve/support it so youāre not being held ransom)
- Donāt pick a tool that locks you into their ecosystem/support package
- Donāt pick a tool because a dev wants to learn the tool while working on your project, e.g. use someone with a proven record with that tool as they might not know that the tool isnāt a good fit for your project
- Donāt pick a tool that is inflexible
Iāve seen all these happen in real projects and it never ended well for the client.
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Just to answer the interesting introducing question:
Each criterion has itās background, questions welcome. I do not mind about the company or whatever. Software has itās lifecycle and we will create new stuff with new tools all the time.
One thing not mentioned here is reporting. How easy is it to create, display, modify, and print reports in a variety of formats? This was always a pain point for many of our clients (hence why we created Shorts to do all that). Obviously it depends on the type of app but most business apps have some level of reporting.
Many I have had the āpleasureā of using hand off the āreportingā capabilities to Crystal Reports or similar. Goddam awful piece of software.
Well, Crystal Reports is the gold standard (or at least was) in Windows. Not many options for Mac (or at least the last time I looked). Iām sure there are some Java reporting tools that would do the trick now for cross-platform apps.
Most large Xojo apps wrote their own reporting tool. All that work to reinvent the wheelā¦
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I was using List&Label all the years:
but then I stopped that because of their license conditions. Nice tool with editor for the customer, DLL driven. Now with a Web-centric reporting engine. Very good tool, PC only and expensive.
If I would have to do it again I would use your āShortsā - now not compatible with API2 
and held by someone else ā¦ 
ā¦ no update option ā¦
Yeah, Iām not sure even if I still had it Iād be in a rush for API 2 compatibility. Lot of work for minimal, if any, gain.
Y2K like work
Hurry up and update to get what you already have
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