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Interview Question :: What language should I use if I am to develop a web app that could be easily converted to a desktop app

Currently, I'm developping online training courses with different exercices (mainly based xhtml forms and flash movies). The content is all stored in a database. The data can easily be exported in an xml file.

I currently work with ASP, javascript and SQL Server to develop my projects. Often, we are ask to create a desktop version of the application. I took a look a previously converted web apps (on projects I didn't work on), and I don't want to do it that way. They created an installation cd for the app that configures IIS on the client's pc and then they run the application with their localhost. I really don't want to do that.

I tried to do an AJAX/XHTML version of the application, but with all the browsers security settings, i cannot be sure that it's gonna work for all users.

Now, what I'm looking at, is to create a java desktop application. If I was to let go ASP for JSP, would it be easier to convert the web-app to a desktop app? Or would it be as much of a pain than it already is?

Answers to "What language should I use if I am to develop a web app that could be easily converted to a desktop app"

RE: What language should I use if I am to develop a web app that could be easily converted to a desktop app?
If you use Java and properly separate and encapsulate your type model, 90+% of your code should be recyclable without revision. The aspects that will differ between a purely web-based app and a desktop version should lie in the View and Model layers, if you use the MVC architectural pattern. The Controller should change hardly at all. The View elements will create different actual objects from factory classes to accomplish their responsibilities with respect to the actual display, i.e., call on desktop widgets instead of browser (X)HTML objects. The Model elements will similarly require different handling of aspects related to the last-step, direct access to the datastore(s) and serialization objects (maybe XML and files, if a REAL relational database can't be applied?); again, a factory pattern can plug in to simplify the generalization. Note: I am NOT an ASP guy - I know Java. You don't want to apply JSP on the desktop. JSPs are compiled to servlets and appropriate to web-services...if this is to be a desktop app, that ain't gonna fly (without training users to install a local[host] web-server, e.g., Apache, and app server, e.g., Tomcat - those resources may be free, but your users' heads will explode).
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RE: What language should I use if I am to develop a web app that could be easily converted to a desktop app?
if you use Adobe's Flex to make the web app, it can run on adobe AIR which is a desktop framework without having to recode anything. just output it as an AIR application.
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RE: What language should I use if I am to develop a web app that could be easily converted to a desktop app?
I think in Flash cs3-cs4 you can export now to AIR for web and desktop apps.
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RE: What language should I use if I am to develop a web app that could be easily converted to a desktop app?
Visual Basic
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RE: What language should I use if I am to develop a web app that could be easily converted to a desktop app?
You could write it in Visual Basic since it is really easy to use. You could also use c#. It is also easy and sort of a mix between Java, VB and C++ so it might seem more familiar to you if you are already using javascript. If you want to shy away from microsoft and are going to publish on non-windows machines as well then Java might be your best bet. Most things can be done with any of them it just depends on what you are most familiar with. I love Visual Studio so I'm partial to Visual c# and VB.
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