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What PWA Can Do Today

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Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#121

Post by k__ »

bob1029 wrote: post #117
thekingshorses wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 2D barcode Which JS library do you use? I couldn't find a single library that can reliably scan PDF417 barcodes.

https://github.com/zxing-js/library Media constraints are the #1 reason it won't scan in my experience. You need at least ~1000px horizontal to reliably decode PDF417. If the resolution is 720p or lower, you aren't capturing enough information for a decode.

I tried zxing too.

Scanning 2D barcodes only works reliable on smartphones with good camera and with good lighting.

I needed it for a ticket scanner used on an old phone at night entries for concerts.

Went and bought a hardware scanner (for 30€ or something) that connects itself as a "Bluetooth keyboard". Works like a charm.

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#122

Post by jr19mi »

thekingshorses wrote: post #64
bob1029 wrote: post #38

We push PWAs to iPads & Surface Go devices via Microsoft InTune for some of our clients today. This path started out very nightmarish (circa 2020) but it's going much smoother today. One of our customers actually came back to us with a slightly improved process based upon the one we gave them. They switched from iPad to Surface Go and used some extra endpoint management to make the PWA experience into a sort of kiosk…

> 2D barcode Which JS library do you use? I couldn't find a single library that can reliably scan PDF417 barcodes.

Full disclosure: I work for Scanbot SDK, but we do offer PDF417 scanning for JS. It's a commercial solution that comes with a not-insignificant price tag, but it might be what you're looking for. You can check out the demo and documentation here: https://scanbot.io/trial/demo-web/barcode-demo/ , https://docs.scanbot.io/barcode-scanner-sdk/web/introduction...

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#123

Post by JumpCrisscross »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #81
onion2k wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The whole point of PWAs is to provide cross platforms apps so if a feature isn't available on all/most platforms, I don't think it's fair to say that it's really usable at all in your PWA. You should be delivering the best possible experience for the user based on what their device can do, not the lowest common denominator of some arbitrary set of features. Progressive enhancement, API detection, and polyfilling are…

> Progressive enhancement, API detection, and polyfilling are all common strategies that can be used to mitigate almost all device differences. Keyword being "almost", and that in some cases if the platform doesn't support your feature, you're shit outta luck. By far the thing that prevented PWAs from bigger uptake earlier was Apple dragging their feet on push notifications support on iOS. There was simply no workaro…

> By far the thing that prevented PWAs from bigger uptake earlier was Apple dragging their feet on push notifications

For me, it was developers trying to push Android design language via PWAs. In others, it was what should have been a website being packaged as a PWA, which is just clunky. That combination made PWAs feel cheap compared to native apps or sites.

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#124

Post by [deleted] »

janci wrote: post #79
scarface_74 wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes I really want random websites to have access to Bluetooth

No, they do not get access unless you allow it and explicitly selet a bluetooth device the page is allowed to connect to. The bluetooth dialog is handled entirely by the browser.

[deleted]

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#125

Post by Tepix »

Several of the features in this demo app are broken (not just not implemented on iOS 17). That's how Apple likes it, i guess.

On the other hand i have been using the Eclipse Emulator PWA https://eclipseemu.me/ on iOS for a few days and it works really well! The only issue i've had so far is choppy sound when emulating SNES.

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#126

Post by jampekka »

palata wrote: post #80
sberder wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for putting it in context, the Bluetooth API has been a big source of frustration in my exploration of PWAs. So many simple setup apps wouldn't need to be native. A cross platform Bluetooth API for the web would provide really easy PoC with MCUs.

> So many simple setup apps wouldn't need to be native. If they are simple, why not making them native?

Because in native even simple is complicated?

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#127

Post by asystole »

bodantogat wrote: post #78
aquova wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't you? You just hit Share->Add to Home Screen, granted that's two clicks, but it seems pretty straight-forward.

Not really. Not for non-tech savvy users. Try it on an iPhone. First you'll have to find the share button on the browser bar, then scroll down and find the option 'Add to home screen'. I don't think its very obvious. Most users don't know about it, and need a how-to guide - similar to what the posted link does.

The "share" button is massively overloaded on iOS and has been for ages. It does a bunch of stuff that isn't really related to sharing in any reasonable sense of the word. It's really IMO one of the worst UI elements in what overall is a pretty nice and consistent system

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#128

Post by bodantogat »

MBCook wrote: post #114
bodantogat wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its not intuitive for the average user. "Share" does not usually imply "Install" , and the add to home screen option for me is way down in the menu.

You’re not wrong. But at this point Apple has buried EVERYTHING inside the share sheet. Adding bookmarks, finding on the page, printing, triggering extension actions/scripts… it’s a junk drawer. It’s not hard to explain to users at least. It certainly could’ve been much worse. Not high praise but it is what it is.

Not on the list of Apple's priorities I guess. If you have an app, you can include a meta tag on your web page and Safari will show users an Get from app-store banner at the top of the page. (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/webkit/promoting_a...) Would it be nice if they did that for PWAs.

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#129

Post by bob1029 »

k__ wrote: post #121
bob1029 wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://github.com/zxing-js/library Media constraints are the #1 reason it won't scan in my experience. You need at least ~1000px horizontal to reliably decode PDF417. If the resolution is 720p or lower, you aren't capturing enough information for a decode.

I tried zxing too. Scanning 2D barcodes only works reliable on smartphones with good camera and with good lighting. I needed it for a ticket scanner used on an old phone at night entries for concerts. Went and bought a hardware scanner (for 30€ or something) that connects itself as a "Bluetooth keyboard". Works like a charm.

> Scanning 2D barcodes only works reliable on smartphones

We wont even fully certify iPhones for use with this solution because we have seen consistent failure to autofocus on the barcode for "some weird reason". iPads work like magic though. I have to go out of my way to not get a quick scan on recent generation iPad camera.

We went down the hardware scanning path w/ keyboard emulation in the browser, but its kind of clunky when you are considering the overall solution stack in a B2B setting.

Re: What PWA Can Do Today

#130

Post by heax »

mvkel wrote: post #103

As soon as I tapped into this site, the browser's back button got hijacked and half of the features don't work. This is why (imo) PWAs should not try to replicate native app functionality, but instead recognize the web for what it is and play to its strengths.

That it can break my back button is also what i took away from this before closing the tab and reopeing hackernews.
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