Would you collaborate with a programmer if it meant sharing your system/research?

[Millionaire]

I'd say access anywhere is a premium feature I don't really need and would personally prefer a desktop solution, but both developers, particularly the private one preferred a web solution for other reasons beyond mere access.

I want to make sure I have a program/solution that can run locally without me needing any further support. I don't fully understand the web solution yet as I haven't really had time to look into it, but I imagine it's something that requires more from me if me and the programmer part ways further down the road.

Would that be correct?

You could run the web/app server on your laptop/desktop if you really wanted too, then it just becomes desktop solution that you view through your desktop browser.
In this instance there would be no web hosting, but the codebase would be a bit more complex and layered, i guess there would be hmtl/javascript/json and c-sharp in the codebase. Rather than just a pure c-sharp desktop app.

 

[rb7]

I'd say access anywhere is a premium feature I don't really need and would personally prefer a desktop solution, but both developers, particularly the private one preferred a web solution for other reasons beyond mere access.

I want to make sure I have a program/solution that can run locally without me needing any further support. I don't fully understand the web solution yet as I haven't really had time to look into it, but I imagine it's something that requires more from me if me and the programmer part ways further down the road.

Would that be correct?

Web solutions are trendy these days. That's probably the main reason behind this approach.
Mine is not web based and I can access it from anywhere and from any device.

 

[Laissez Faire]

You could run the web/app server on your laptop/desktop if you really wanted too, then it just becomes desktop solution that you view through your desktop browser.
In this instance there would be no web hosting, but the codebase would be a bit more complex and layered, i guess there would be hmtl/javascript/json and c-sharp in the codebase. Rather than just a pure c-sharp desktop app.

Right. I think I understand.

I think I still favor a desktop solution, though.

Web solutions are trendy these days. That's probably the main reason behind this approach.
Mine is not web based and I can access it from anywhere and from any device.

The head of the software/developer firm said it was convenient that I didn't have to run directly from my computer since there are many parts involved (DB, etc.) and also the convenience of being able to access it everywhere.

The 'private guy' in addition to convenience (where ease of updating code was an additional argument) seemed to suggest that he imagined having better access to particular solutions which would improve charting abilities (which I've told him isn't really that important).

Care to tell how you can access yours from anywhere and any device if it's not web based?

Thank you.

 

[ondafringe]

Quick comment/question:

Both developers suggest a web based solution/application for this and have a good idea for how to solve it.

While I can see the advantages with this approach it seems like a potential disadvantage for me further down the road if the collaboration should go sour.

Even if I have full access to everything, I assume such a solution is more demanding technically to maintain and something that could be beyond me to service on my own?

The current solution I have is 100 % local with everything located on my personal computer and it's run bug-free for the last several years without requiring any maintenance. Meaning I don't need any programming expertise or guidance to run it once it's functioning properly.

Any wise comments here?

Since your app has been running on the desktop all this time, and you don't need to access the app from anywhere but your home, it seems strange that your two developers are trying to push you towards a web-based solution.

 

[Millionaire]

Since your app has been running on the desktop all this time, and you don't need to access the app from anywhere but your home, it seems strange that your two developers are trying to push you towards a web-based solution.

Sounds like younger developers. They prefer to learn web stacks or how to build android/iphone apps. They might get taught about a desktop gui toolkit/api during a college course but they don't like to go delve deep into any desktop APIs, they prefer to concentrate on web and mobile stuff. This is where 95% of the jobs are.

And it also is now getting more common to use Electron style frameworks for standalone desktop development. This is where html and javascript is used to build the GUI of a native (non browser) desktop application. This allows for a single front end technology (html & javascript) to be used to build all versions of the same app, Web/Mobile/Tablet and native Desktop.

 

[Laissez Faire]

Since your app has been running on the desktop all this time, and you don't need to access the app from anywhere but your home, it seems strange that your two developers are trying to push you towards a web-based solution.

I wouldn't say they're pushing it. It's just their particular preference for solving it, I think. It might also be that it's trendy as @Millionaire suggests.

Keep in mind that this is a complete re-build - only keeping the logic/calculations/framework in what I already have.

But yeah. I think I'd be more comfortable with a desktop solution.

 

[Laissez Faire]

Sounds like younger developers. They prefer to learn web stacks or how to build android/iphone apps. They might get taught about a desktop gui toolkit/api during a college course but they don't like to go delve deep into any desktop APIs, they prefer to concentrate on web and mobile stuff. This is where 95% of the jobs are.

And it also is now getting more common to use Electron style frameworks for standalone desktop development. This is where html and javascript is used to build the GUI of a native (non browser) desktop application. This allows for a single front end technology (html & javascript) to be used to build all versions of the same app, Web/Mobile/Tablet and native Desktop.

Private guy is younger, I suppose, but still around 10 years of professional experience. Institutional guy is an older guy running his own software firm.

 

[rb7]

Care to tell how you can access yours from anywhere and any device if it's not web based?

Thank you.

I'm using a remote access solution called LogMeIn. I can access my Desktop/server from any iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows devices.
It's basically like Microsoft Windows 'Remote Desktop Connection', but on steroids.

 

[ondafringe]

I wouldn't say they're pushing it. It's just their particular preference for solving it, I think. It might also be that it's trendy as @Millionaire suggests.

Keep in mind that this is a complete re-build - only keeping the logic/calculations/framework in what I already have.

But yeah. I think I'd be more comfortable with a desktop solution.

Just make certain your developers aren't making recommendations based on what's best for them, instead of what's best for you. For instance, if a dev only develops for the web and has little-to-no experience developing for the desktop, that dev will have a tendency to recommend a web-based solution. And get references that are verifiable.

You mentioned bringing in and saving one-minute data, so how critical is uptime? If you lose 30+ minutes of data, will that just impact that one day, or will that loss screw you up from that point forward? If uptime is critical, then a web-based solution, such as hosting in the MS Cloud, might be preferable to a desktop app because any number of things can happen at home that could knock you offline for a while.

And for a web-based solution, don't forget to factor in the annual expense of getting a domain name, and the monthly hosting fees, not only for hosting the domain, but for hosting the database, as well.

And since you are doing a complete rewrite using C#, I wonder if something like Blazor WebAssembly would be beneficial, which, as I understand it, would give you the best of all worlds (Web, tablet, mobile, desktop), much like @Millionaire indicated?

I'm not a developer, by any stretch, just tossing a few things out for consideration.

 

[Laissez Faire]

You mentioned bringing in and saving one-minute data, so how critical is uptime? If you lose 30+ minutes of data, will that just impact that one day, or will that loss screw you up from that point forward? If uptime is critical, then a web-based solution, such as hosting in the MS Cloud, might be preferable to a desktop app because any number of things can happen at home that could knock you offline for a while.

Not critical at all.

And for a web-based solution, don't forget to factor in the annual expense of getting a domain name, and the monthly hosting fees, not only for hosting the domain, but for hosting the database, as well.

Correct. Not sure what the cost is, though. The developer did mention cost the obvious drawdown with a web solution, but seemed to suggest it wasn't that big. Good thing to keep in mind, though.

And since you are doing a complete rewrite using C#, I wonder if something like Blazor WebAssembly would be beneficial, which, as I understand it, would give you the best of all worlds (Web, tablet, mobile, desktop), much like @Millionaire indicated?

I'm not a developer, by any stretch, just tossing a few things out for consideration.

Appreciate that. I'll look into it for sure. Thank you.