[Evergreen-general] Planning the next EG Offline Interface

[Bill Erickson]

Hi All,

I'm thinking of turning my attention to porting the Evergreen Offline
interface as we continue our march away from AngularJS.  Unlike other
interfaces, where the end goal is pretty straightforward -- just migrate it
to Angular -- I think the Offline UI would benefit from some discussion.

I've long been a proponent of not requiring external software to use the
browser client.  Once an EG server is up, just open your browser, and
you're good to go.

Hatch is obviously external software, but I don't consider it a requirement
to use the client.  It smooths over some aspects of the workflow, but it
does not provide functionality that can only be done with Hatch.

However, I have also heard some comments in IRC to the effect that having a
purely web-based offline interface may be causing some consternation /
complications.   I don't recall the context or the specific concerns, only
the seed stuck in my mind.

Because of these conflicting ideas, I thought it best to get some feedback.

Here I propose two options to consider that I think cover the extreme ends
of the spectrum.  There may be middle ground or other options entirely.

1. Create a progress web app in Angular that performs exactly as the
AngularJS version.  There will be slight style variations and some
differences to how the offline code is managed (Angular has a nice set of
tools for progress web apps) as with the other Angular pages, but it would
essentially be a direct port.

2. Create a standalone application that's just an offline interface.  It
would be a separate program you run on your PC.  Because I don't like
showing up empty handed, I've created a proof of concept JavaFX app at
https://github.com/berick/eg-offline-jfx complete with screen shots.  (I
can explain the choice of JavaFX later as needed).

Both have pluses and minuses.  Before we get too into the weeds, though,
I'm curious if there is an obvious direction people feel we should take,
specific technology notwithstanding.  (Also, by all means, let's get into
the weeds :)

I welcome your questions and feedback!

-b
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