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I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

debuggerdotbreak.judahgabriel.com

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Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#31

Post by osrec »

judah wrote: post #26
osrec wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm interested to know how did you actually integrate with the lock screen? Did you use a wrapper of some kind to access native functionality?

I describe that in the article, but here's the short of it: iOS: You have to use Cordova plugins. I used RemoteCommand[0] and NowPlaying[1] that lets me write JavaScript that calls into native iOS functionality. Once the Cordova plugins are installed, you write JS to talk to them. Source code for that here[2]. Android: Google has submitted a web standard[3] for this. Integrating with it is simple[4]. Windows: Microso…

Thank you! That was very informative (sorry for only skimming the article earlier). So Android and Windows don't require a wrapper, but iOS needs Cordova. I'm sure iOS will catch up soon enough...

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#32

Post by jarsin »

jbob2000 wrote: post #9

I know your pain about the D&B issue. That was a huge slap in the face when I saw that. Apple, one of the largest companies in the world, has presented some random company as the face of their Developer portal? "Couldn't be... No way... wait a sec they are that stupid... goddammit". Then, at the end of the day, all it ended up being was a phone call that verified the information I entered on the D&B webpage. Stupid w…

On top of that DnB sales the shit out of your info. Then if you setup a private llc with a registered agent it allows a way for people(patent trolls and attorneys) to find out who you are etc.

Way to focus on privacy Apple!

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#33

Post by judah »

cm2187 wrote: post #19
judah wrote: post #2

Author here. Thanks all for bringing this to the HN front page. The jist of the article is getting a PWA into the app stores is harder than it needs to be, especially on iOS. Between Google, Apple, and Microsoft, I found Google's Play Store to be the simplest and quickest store to get a PWA published in. Another interesting bit is that web technologies haven't caught up to native. My PWA isn't super complex -- it's a…

I excited by the combination webassembly+pwa, which should enable truly cross platform, language agnostic, client development.

I think PWAs will win in the long run, regardless of WebAssembly. Both are exciting technologies, though, and WebAssembly will help bring performance in line with native.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#34

Post by rrdharan »

rhacker wrote: post #18

We're definitely at the point in history where we have to get out of these app stores . I get it if you're doing a game or something that's fine, stay in the app store. But I don't know how many times I've been extremely frustrated with a website telling me to get their app. * They break my in-browser password store * They introduce extremely complicated "app-only" device links for Oauth * Updating your UI for most a…

FWIW with iOS 11 re: your 1st point, the Safari/iCloud Keychain password store is available to native apps as well.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-use-ios-11s-password-auto...

I've found it quite useful.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#35

Post by judah »

rhacker wrote: post #18

We're definitely at the point in history where we have to get out of these app stores . I get it if you're doing a game or something that's fine, stay in the app store. But I don't know how many times I've been extremely frustrated with a website telling me to get their app. * They break my in-browser password store * They introduce extremely complicated "app-only" device links for Oauth * Updating your UI for most a…

Yep, I hear you. Unfortunately, the status quo today is, that's where the users are.

I love the free and opened web. I want it to win. I think it will win and eat native apps (PWAs are already making that happen.)

But the barriers to this right now are 1) app stores are where users are and 2) some mobile platforms (read: Apple) have a perverse incentive to cripple web apps so that submitting native apps to their store (and thus, paying them $99/year + 30% in-app purchases) is required to have a first-class experience.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#36

Post by millstone »

> Mobile platform vendors, like Apple, are totally cool with apps that use your phone to its fullest. Access your location, play background audio, get your GPS coordinates, read all your contacts, play videos or audio without app interaction, read your email, intercept your typing, play more than one thing at a time, use your microphone and camera, access your pictures, and more. Apple’s totally cool with that.

Apple is certainly not "totally cool with that:" each of these features comes with strings attached. For example, apps are forbidden from attempting to de-anonymize users via facial recognition.

On the app store, abusive apps can be removed; there is no equivalent enforcement mechanism on the web. This IMO is the primary reason for restricting these capabilities to reviewed apps. Though the fee may be a secondary reason.

99% of websites do user-hostile things, like track users. What will prevent PWAs from extending this to e.g. ultrasonic beacon tracking? Honest question, it's important that it gets solved.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#37

Post by throwaway_80bf3 »

rhacker wrote: post #18

We're definitely at the point in history where we have to get out of these app stores . I get it if you're doing a game or something that's fine, stay in the app store. But I don't know how many times I've been extremely frustrated with a website telling me to get their app. * They break my in-browser password store * They introduce extremely complicated "app-only" device links for Oauth * Updating your UI for most a…

One of the ones I hate most is Reddit, which actually has a pretty good web interface. The worst part about their app is I can't search for words in threads.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#38

Post by iandev »

SeanLockItUp wrote: post #29
iandev wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the article: "Aside: I guess Apple won’t let you submit an app unless you have a registered, legal company?" Although it does seem to be this way, you can submit an app to the store without being a registered, legal company. The most common route is to just mark yourself as a sole proprietorship using your own name. No need for an LLC or anything. However, this may vary from country to country.

I don't think that's true? I had to get a DUNS number to apply to the app store. And it had to be an LLC (I think?) and not a sole proprietorship. I initially just wanted to use a "DBA" (doing business as) but they don't allow those anymore, they used to in the early days but no longer.

According to this: https://developer.apple.com/support/enrollment/

A DUNS number is only required for organizations, not individuals.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#39

Post by shinratdr »

From a user perspective, this is why I love iOS.

* Barrier to entry. If your project is more than a hobby, you can jump through a couple hoops to reach the iOS userbase. If the difference between $99 and $25 is make-or-break, you're probably trying to publish a hobby/low quality app anyways. There is a reason the Microsoft Store and Google Play are absolutely filled with trash, and this is part of it.

* Forcing you to use native controls. Thank god. I hate webapps. The only people who like webapps and their encroachment on good, native apps are webapp developers because it allows them to use their skillset to build something they don't know how to build. Everyone else wants native apps back, even if they don't know it. Case and point: the hatred for all the apps moving to Electron and the ridiculous amount of resources they consume. Most people don't know what Electron is, but they can tell you how much they hate the new Skype.

* Requiring a Mac. This is similar to the "barrier to entry" one above, but seriously. I've never met a developer who complained about needing a Mac to develop for iOS that has put forth an even halfway decent iOS app.

Software development is already very, very easy. The barrier to wide distribution is almost nothing. This is an extremely developer-centric perspective, which is fair, but at the end of the day, your users pay the bills and it's hard to be developer-first without also being user-hostile.

This strikes me as the analysis of a developer I would never support, because they care far more about making everything as easy as possible for them rather than making the experience good for me. It's important to remember that while you are doing some consuming, you aren't the customer in this equation. The users are.

Re: I built a progressive web app and published it in three app stores

#40

Post by curun1r »

jbob2000 wrote: post #9

I know your pain about the D&B issue. That was a huge slap in the face when I saw that. Apple, one of the largest companies in the world, has presented some random company as the face of their Developer portal? "Couldn't be... No way... wait a sec they are that stupid... goddammit". Then, at the end of the day, all it ended up being was a phone call that verified the information I entered on the D&B webpage. Stupid w…

D&B isn't some "random" company. If you've ever been faced with a project that requires you to have a reasonably complete set of information on most businesses in the country, you quickly learn about D&B. Almost every large company is licensing D&B data in some form or another. Cataloging every business in the US isn't an easy problem to get right, even for a company as large as Apple.
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