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So I'm taking over this client with the WinForms application.
I know this client wants some new software in the near future.
The thing is, he has some sales people who go and sell their product over at the customer, who are all farmers.
They also go out in the field where internet isn't always available.
I know they either have a phone or tablet where they want to enter the client's order.
They currently write it down on paper or enter it as plain text on a tablet and then someone else enters it into the WinForms application.
So I'm thinking, since internet is not always available, I'll have to go with a phone app.
It should work on iOS and Android and, if possible, also on tablets, which can also be Windows.
These apps are installed locally so they should always work, even without internet.
Entered data can be cached when internet is not available and synced once an internet connection becomes available again (which can be hours later).
Does anyone here know of a tool, library or framework that runs on phones and tablets on iOS, Android and Windows or am I doomed to write umpteen different apps?
I know PhoneGap works on iOS and Android (and in the past on Windows Phone too).
I've heard some good things about Xamarin too.
But I have no experience in either.
I know I'll need a Mac to build anything for iOS because Apple are a bunch of ... Well, if you can't say anything nice just don't say anything at all 
I've also read about actual offline web pages, but doing something like clearing your browser history or cookies will mess them up good.
It sounds like it's all kind of crap in 2019.
Any suggestions, ideas, experiences, tips?
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I hear that Notepad runs on most operating systems... 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
Mark Twain
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That's why they're using that now (that, or pen and paper).
It's also really not what they need 
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Sander Rossel wrote: I know I'll need a Mac to build anything for iOS
Apparently, you can use Xamarin.iOS[^] from Visual Studio on Windows.
Edit: Scratch that. You can develop on Windows, but you still need a Mac to build.
To build Xamarin.iOS apps with Visual Studio 2019 on Windows, you will need:
- A Windows machine with Visual Studio 2019 installed. This can be a physical or a virtual machine.
- A network-accessible Mac set up with Apple's build tools and Xamarin.iOS. Visual Studio 2019 accesses this machine over a network connection to use Apple's build tools, which are required for compiling native iOS applications.
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
modified 24-Oct-19 9:36am.
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Interesting 
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Unless stuff has changed you still need a Mac to do the build because Xamarin just wraps Apple's tool chain.
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, weighing all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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You're right. You can develop on Windows, but you still need a Mac to build.
"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."
- Homer
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That makes it a lot less interesting 
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There are services that will do the deployment, I forget the name of the one my company uses, that will compile the iOS version of the app for you and submit to Apple store etc.
That way you don't have to have a Mac. BitRise or DevOps I think might be the names or name of what they use.
B
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Now it's interesting again!
This thread is an emotional roller coaster 
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The last time I looked into it, you still need the Apple machine to do storyboarding, which I have found to be helpful.
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If MS would maker a XAML Designer on a par with the WinForms designer, the Storyboard would be superfluous. I don't use it. I muddle through with the UI tools provided for Xamarin XAML.
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To clarify, the VS in Windows handles the building on the Mac remotely, so you don't have to build on the Mac yourself. VS even builds it on the Mac, and runs it in an emulator on the Windows machine. All your development, building, and deployment takes place through VS on Windows.
It is only because of Apple's highly proprietary licensing that the Mac is required.
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There are cloud options where you can push your code to build ios for you. For example, we use Ionic and VS but push to a local Mac pc to build. Some folks even use VM's to do that which is fine, only issue we had was when you try to debug on a local device, VM didn't play well with USB.
Was a while ago though.
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You don’t “need” a Mac. You can use a hackintosh running under VMware. If your dev machine has enough memory, you can run the hackintosh on same machine as VS.
Jlo
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As long as it does not have 'basic' in the name it's ok, that explains why Python is such an overwhelming success 
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There'll be a time when people get nauseous when something is prefixed with Py 
Customer: "So we're looking for a vNext Basic developer."
Programmer: "Please no."
Customer: "Alright, we could really use someone who knows PyLibrary though."
Programmer: "Not a chance."
Customer: "Perhaps CFamily is your kind of language?"
Programmer: "Keep this up and you'll get some foul language from me."
Customer: "You'd fit right into our Java* team."
Programmer: "My fist would fit right into your face."
Customer: "We have this Language On Rails."
Programmer: *Hits customer in the eye.*
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Maybe the clue is in the title... "Offline web apps"... why not have a look into creating a HTML web app that works offline using local storage? Unless you have an issue with JavaScript, then it might not be such fun.
Then it should work the same on all device types.
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BecauseSander Rossel wrote: I've also read about actual offline web pages, but doing something like clearing your browser history or cookies will mess them up good.
I've also heard not every browser handles it well and not all web pages can be cached.
Of course, if it's the best option I'll use it.
But not before looking into some other alternatives.
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I guess I got bored of reading by that point, my bad. Personally I would probably only go for offline web app if it was a simple one page application. If you make it too good, you risk the danger of being asked to make it do everything the existing app does.
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musefan wrote: you risk the danger of being asked to make it do everything the existing app does
Risk the danger of months worth of work and getting paid accordingly?
Where do I sign!?
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Flutter might be worth a look. I'm sure there should be ways to store data locally and sync back later.
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I've heard about that one.
It's worth considering it, thanks 
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