View Development Paradigm - which one?

[#1]

Hi All,

I suspect this has been discussed before but I can't see the wood for the trees at the moment...  I'm taking my first proper steps in SAPUI5 development in anger and wondered if there is a preferred view type?  Is there a pro's/con's document or some sort of decision tree to help decide which paradigm to go for?

If it helps, I'm more used to working with JavaScript and HTML so would naturally tend towards one of those.  JS looks especially similar to how many other SAP UI technology has worked in the past in my mind so looks to be easier for me to get into but am happy to be guided...

Thanks,

Gareth.

[former_member182048]

Hi Gareth,

Better late than never.

If you are developing a desktop application JavaScript views IMO are the way to go.

Desktop applications will more than likely require lots of views. The views may not be form based and may need dynamic content or use conditional rendering, use data from multiple models, from multiple backends, use controls from multiple libraries.

I know that all of those things can be catered for outside of the view.

For me the compelling reason to use javascript views on desktop applications is I can debug the code at runtime, seeing the code allows you to quickly understand the intent of the developer when it was written.

cheers

jsp

This blog is worth reading http://scn.sap.com/community/developer-center/front-end/blog/2013/03/19/how-to-build-testable-sapui5...

[Former Member]

Hi John,

Thanks for this further input to the discussion.

In my head, I agree wholeheartedly with your comment about desktop app's suiting JS development better.  It just feels more natural even with my very limited early meddling so far.  I guess that as I've worked with BSP, JSP, Web Dynpro, HTMLB, etc. it is also familiar in places too which helps.  Countering that though, I agree with DJ's recommendation of following SAP's Fiori like approach of using XML views.  Ultimately I suppose there is no 100% right or wrong answer at the moment, and may never be with this technology.

I was working on a dummy app and corresponding blog post last night, that hopefully will make use of dynamic and conditional rendering and content as you mention, which I'm building in JS as I couldn't figure out where/how to start with XML views!

I've seen that blog posting before but will re-read it.  I'll also hopefully chuck my blog posting up (really a collection of random questions and naive optimism ) later today too!

Cheers,

Gareth.

[former_member182048]

Hi Gareth,

Look forward to the blog.

I agree with DJ for Fiori like apps XML views are the preferred approach.

With every iteration of the UI5 library developing mobile applications feels more and more like developing native applications, I think that is a good thing as IMO the 2 paradigms are likely to converge.

What I have noticed with the OpenUI5 library is the Fiori2 developments have been taken away, the ushell, scaffolding, launchpad, dashboard, catalog etc. I can kind of understand why. I really hope they get put back, its one thing to develop an application that looks like Fiori, its another to develop an app that works like Fiori, I think everybody wants an ecosystem where thirdparty developers write Fiori apps.

Btw before they dissapeared from the sdk the launchpad, dashboad, catalog etc looked like they were written in jsViews.

Cheers

jsp