Working on Article Advising Against Phonegap Desktop App

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First I should say there are very good reason to use Phonegap Desktop App. I will list those reasons in the blog.

However, like many Phonegap projects this one not only lacks documentation, but it lacks clarity. It is a daily event that someone asks a question on the Nitobi forum (for the first time) and invariable the response would be:


- Is this your first hybrid App?
- Are you using the Phonegap Desktop App?
- Are you using CLI, SDK or Build?


This follows with a canned answer, if the response is:
- Yes, Yes, (whatever)
- No, Yes, (whatever)
- (whatever), Yes, (whatever)

This means if I ever get Yes to Phonegap Desktop App, then major confusion ensues and a long winded answer follows.

I'm sick and tired of writing this. As I blog this, any input is welcome.

Jesse
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Posted 4 years ago

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Petra V., Champion

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I'm sick and tired of writing this
Firstly, I understand that feeling all too well, Jesse. Happens to me, too.

Secondly: have you considered NOT asking those questions.....unless there is something in the OP's question that makes one of those questions directly relevant?

Frankly, I have not seen many problems/posts/issues that couldn't be solved without knowing whether it's the OP's first, second or third app.
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The first question "is this your first hybrid App?" is to get context. If they say "Yes", then the odds are 1 in 3 that they don't even know that there is a Cordova and three sets of documentation. I can often give an answer without this question. However, without this giving the link to the FAQ is a waste of time, because they will ignore it. Giving them the FAQ reduces the follow-on questions by a factor of 3.

NOTE: on a rare occasion they will say, "what is hybrid?". In this case, they don't know the difference between native and Phonegap AND will be steered away from Phonegap as soon as they are ridiculed by the peers. This is because Phonegap has a false reputation for being slow and unresponsive.... Okay I'm ranting now.

The Sections I am adding.
- Where Most People Get Stuck
- What *Phonegap Desktop App* Is and Is Not
- Why You SHOULD Use It
- Why You Should NOT Use It
- What You Can Do Now

Jesse
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@Petra,
As you can see, I want to add What You Can Do Now. I would appreciate your review (and addition) on this subject. I think you have more experience on this _and_ i think this would be more valuable that whatever gibberish I might put in.

Jesse
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Petra V., Champion

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I'd be happy to review and comment.
Please feel free to post a beta version somewhere (as soon as you have finished such version). I'll be away from this forum next week several times for a day or so, though, so I might not immediately have time.
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@Petra,
Thanks. I'm hoping to have ready within 24 hours. If you are not available, i understand.
Jesse
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Petra V., Champion

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Thanks. I'll have a look later today.
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I just read your concept carefully. Here is some feedback in random order:

1. a. Glad to see you putting some effort in explaining what PDA is. I hope the final Blog gets read by beginners (and taken to heart).
b. If it was me, I would emphasize a bit more, that " a decent first start" can actually be made with the PDA (although simply pulling a recent HelloWorld.zip would have the same result) and after that a one-time conversion must be made to start using PGB. Your emphasys is rather on "don't use it if you want to build seriously".
That's why I would change this
Use one or the other use CLI or use Build, but forget about PDA.
into
Use one or the other. Use CLI or use Build, but forget about PDA, once you have made the necessary modifications to the app as generated by PDA. See ..... (section number describing the 'minor modifications'
Of course, a section 'minor modifications' (as in your canned message) should then be added.

2. You wrote:
IT IS – Phonegap Desktop App is a teaching and testing app. It is intended to show people how the system works. It is a sandbox environment

I have read all Blog entries about the PDA (numerous Blog posts), and never have I seen this intention expressed. I think PDA may have evolved, in our eyes, to a demo toy, but I don't think it was ever intended that way.

The first PDA Blog (Dec.2014) contains things like:
"It’s an alternative to the PhoneGap CLI,..."
You don’t need git, npm, or even node.js. We include all of the important parts for you, so that you can focus on creating your next app!
It’s now business as usual. You can now edit and immediately preview your project on a device.
This all indicates that PDA is supposed to support serious development work.

3. May I suggest you check your text for typing and spelling errors? I found about a dozen of them. None of them prevents the user from understanding what was meant, but it would look better if you corrected them.

Good job, Jesse.