Web Apps Compared to VoltBuilder Apps

Very interesting comparison here.
https://wiki.appstudio.dev/Web_Apps_Compared_to_VoltBuilder_Apps

I’ve looked at a LOT of development platforms. There just aren’t many client-side options. So I’m particularly enthralled with NSB/AppStudio.

Question: Going with the straight Web App configuration, in regard to, Where are apps stored on the device? It says, In browser’s sandbox. How long do apps typically stay in the sandbox? And… would it be possible to write data more permanently?

Each browser (Chrome, Safari, etc) has a dedicated storage area on disk with web pages (including web apps) use. They are cached there until the browser thinks the space is needed for something else, so - not persistent.

If you make your app a PWA, it gets permanently saved to that cache, not subject to being wiped out at any time. (It can still get wiped out…)

Data your app saves goes to the same cache, so it isn’t really persistent either. Browsers don’t support writing permanently to the user’s computer - it would be a glaring security error if this was possible.

Are you making a web app or a native app?

This is good. Right now I’m planning a PWA app.

1- So a SQLite database would remain permanent in the browser cache, at least until the user (or some utility) intentionally did a clear browser cache operation?

2- From the same comparison page (linked in my original post above), it says, “Apps from the same server can share SQLite databases (subject to 5 meg limit)” Does this mean a PWA app could create a SQLite database that all users could read and write to? In which case, could a table be populated from server side data? Or… does this mean that the SQLite file itself would need to be copied to the local client before the table was populated?

3- Would multiple 5 meg SQLite files be allowed on the server? And does that 5 meg limit apply to all SQLite files or just share files?

4- When a user does a right-click in their browser to save a photo, the right-click pop-up menu comes from the operating system. That’s why the user can save the photos outside of the browser’s cache. Theoretically, would it be possible for a PWA app to have the user do a right-click to save a SQLite file locally? And, could they (theoretically) upload a previously saved SQLite file to the server? (As allowed by the PWA app.) Also, Could a PWA app open and utilize previously saved local SQLite files?

Nothing about SQLite files is certain at this time, at least in the browser. The official position of W3 is that Sqlite is no longer supported. However, it still works in Chrome.

The safest way to use SQLite is in native apps, where there are native plugins which save SQLite data in the device’s regular file system.

If you are using SQLite, it’s advisable to sync it with a cloud database, so if the memory is lost, it can be reloaded.

Well, that rules out PWA Apps. So I’d have to build for a Native App and VoltBuilder.

What’s the best way to do this? Web Sockets REST? Is there any samples or documentation on how this could be done?

Yes, Web Sockets REST is what I’d use.

Sorry, no samples. There are just too many ways for the server side to be set up for a simple sample to work.

A webapp could write to serverside sql using php. I find it a bit more bullet proof with multiple users on an app.