Hello,
Any thoughts on when to design a windows (or other os) application instead of a web application. At what point does one decide ahead of time that a web app won't work.... and why won't it work?
I am asking in the case of an intranet so that band width is not as major of a factor as with an internet application.
Thanks,
John
Any thoughts on when to design a windows (or other os) application instead of a web application. At what point does one decide ahead of time that a web app won't work.... and why won't it work?
I am asking in the case of an intranet so that band width is not as major of a factor as with an internet application.
Thanks,
John
3 Answers, 1 is accepted
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Todd Anglin
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answered on 28 Nov 2006, 12:00 AM
John,
In my opinion, there are very few reasons in a Utopian environment why an app wouldn't be built for the web. Web allows easy deployment, easy application updating, eliminates desktop compatibility issues, usually reduces local security/permissions issues, and is very easy to scale.
In the read world, though, your limiting factors are usually talented resources (do you have people that can build for the web), money (do you have an internal chargeback rate in your Enterprise for web apps that exceeds the benefits I mentioned earlier), technical limits (do you need to build Photoshop or just a data browsing application), and management support for web (does your management like web apps or are they paranoid of security problems, access restriction, etc.).
We are increasingly seeing in the consumer market that traditional "desktop applications" can be done very well on the web (examples include Google Spreadsheets or Docs, Yahoo Mail, etc.). These apps also prove that the web still has limits (I think Spreadsheets can only handle a couple hundred rows vs. Excel's 65,000+), so it's just a matter of your unique requirements.
Do you have a specific scenario for which you have to make this call?
Thanks~
In my opinion, there are very few reasons in a Utopian environment why an app wouldn't be built for the web. Web allows easy deployment, easy application updating, eliminates desktop compatibility issues, usually reduces local security/permissions issues, and is very easy to scale.
In the read world, though, your limiting factors are usually talented resources (do you have people that can build for the web), money (do you have an internal chargeback rate in your Enterprise for web apps that exceeds the benefits I mentioned earlier), technical limits (do you need to build Photoshop or just a data browsing application), and management support for web (does your management like web apps or are they paranoid of security problems, access restriction, etc.).
We are increasingly seeing in the consumer market that traditional "desktop applications" can be done very well on the web (examples include Google Spreadsheets or Docs, Yahoo Mail, etc.). These apps also prove that the web still has limits (I think Spreadsheets can only handle a couple hundred rows vs. Excel's 65,000+), so it's just a matter of your unique requirements.
Do you have a specific scenario for which you have to make this call?
Thanks~
0
John S.
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answered on 29 Nov 2006, 03:02 AM
Hello Todd,
Thank you for the response. This was just a general question without a specific scenerio.
I like working on Web applications; however, sometimes I feel like it is a step backwards because of all the extra work I need to do to make the application snappy. There I times (probably when I wrote the original post) that things seem to be cumbersome and I wonder if I made the correct decision in a recommendation.
Thanks,
John
Thank you for the response. This was just a general question without a specific scenerio.
I like working on Web applications; however, sometimes I feel like it is a step backwards because of all the extra work I need to do to make the application snappy. There I times (probably when I wrote the original post) that things seem to be cumbersome and I wonder if I made the correct decision in a recommendation.
Thanks,
John
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Todd Anglin
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answered on 01 Dec 2006, 06:23 PM
John,
I know the feeling. Fortunately, telerik's controls make the difference between working with the Web and Windows much more bearable. And at the end of the day, I'd much rather spend a few extra minutes to do something on the web than building a Windows app I have to "deploy" (somehow) for others to use. It's definitely a trade-off, but I don't think you can go wrong with the web in most cases. It's worked well for Google and Microsoft seems to following quickly... =)
Thanks~
I know the feeling. Fortunately, telerik's controls make the difference between working with the Web and Windows much more bearable. And at the end of the day, I'd much rather spend a few extra minutes to do something on the web than building a Windows app I have to "deploy" (somehow) for others to use. It's definitely a trade-off, but I don't think you can go wrong with the web in most cases. It's worked well for Google and Microsoft seems to following quickly... =)
Thanks~