Cross-platform Desktop Application Development: Electron, Node, NW.js, and React

Key Features

Build different cross-platform HTML5 desktop applications right from planning, designing, and deployment to enhancement, testing, and delivery
Forget the pain of cross-platform compatibility and build efficient apps that can be easily deployed on different platforms.
Build simple to advanced HTML5 desktop apps, by integrating them with other popular frameworks and libraries such as Electron, Node.JS, Nw.js, React, Redux, and TypeScript

Book Description

Building and maintaining cross-platform desktop applications with native languages isn't a trivial task. Since it's hard to simulate on a foreign platform, packaging and distribution can be quite platform-specific and testing cross-platform apps is pretty complicated.In such scenarios, web technologies such as HTML5 and JavaScript can be your lifesaver. HTML5 desktop applications can be distributed across different platforms (Window, MacOS, and Linux) without any modifications to the code.

The book starts with a walk-through on building a simple file explorer from scratch powered by NW.JS. So you will practice the most exciting features of bleeding edge CSS and JavaScript. In addition you will learn to use the desktop environment integration API, source code protection, packaging, and auto-updating with NW.JS.

As the second application you will build a chat-system example implemented with Electron and React. While developing the chat app, you will get Photonkit. Next, you will create a screen capturer with NW.JS, React, and Redux.

Finally, you will examine an RSS-reader built with TypeScript, React, Redux, and Electron. Generic UI components will be reused from the React MDL library. By the end of the book, you will have built four desktop apps. You will have covered everything from planning, designing, and development to the enhancement, testing, and delivery of these apps.

What you will learn

Plan, design, and develop different cross-platform desktop apps
Application architecture with React and local state
Application architecture with React and Redux store
Code design with TypeScript interfaces and specialized types
CSS and component libraries such as Photonkit, Material UI, and React MDL
HTML5 APIs such as desktop notifications, WebSockets, WebRTC, and others
Desktop environment integration APIs of NW.js and Electron
Package and distribute for NW.JS and Electron

About the Author

Dmitry Sheiko is a web developer, blogger, and open source contributor, living and working in the lovely city of Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

Dmitry got hooked on computer programming in late 80s. Since 1998, he has been in web-development. Over the last few years, Dmitry has been creating desktop applications with NW.js/Electron. The very first solutions were made with JavaScript/Backbone, but then he switched to TypeScript/React/Redux.

Dmitry has authored dozens of projects at GitHub, including: nw-autoupdater, Pragmatic CSS, and a CommonJS compiler.

Table of Contents

Creating a file explorer with NW.js: Planning, Design and Development
Creating a file explorer with NW.js: Enhancement and Delivery
Creating a chat system with Electron and React: Planning, Design and Development
Creating a chat system with Electron and React: Enhancement, Testing and Delivery
Creating a screen capturer with NW.js, React and Redux: Planning, Design and Development
Screen capturer with NW.js, React and Redux: Enhancement, Testing and Delivery
RSS aggregator: Planning, Design and Development
RSS aggregator: Enhancement, Testing and Delivery