Electron newbie needs just a little push

#1

Hello all,
I’m trying to evaluate electron for our needs which are as follows:

  • OS X and Windows desktops platforms support
  • ability to launch local external executable (our installer)
  • support a rich UI, at least image background, image buttons, retina display etc.
    The result should be a nice wrapper to our installation program (which will run in silent mode).

So, the first question is the electron is the right technology to support the minimal requirements above?
If yes, where can I find the example how to run the local executable? I was unable to find one…
And how can I pack the application to get a single .exe for Win or .app for Mac? I looked in electron distribution documentation, but was unable to achieve the desired result.

Thanks!

#2

Hi ztavor,

I am also new to Electron. However, from what I have found so far it looks promising. For your specific needs I think it’s a good candidate.

  • it’s mainly used for creating one app across all platforms like Windows, Mac, *nix. In fact if you can have it on mobile platforms also with some kind of a tweak…I am still trying to figure that out. However, in my case I am trying to have my mobile app developed using Ionic2 to be embedded in Electron and make it available for all desktop platforms.
  • Using Electron you have access to native libraries I believe so your second point should be covered. Haven’t tried it myself.
  • You can develop your app using any UI technologies and embed that app in Electron to make it as a Desktop application. I have tried Angular 2, Bootstrap. Works perfectly fine. Right now, as I mentioned above, I am trying to make my Ionic 2 app work in Electron with no luck so far.

I would suggest searching on Google and Youtube for some videos for your needs. There quite a few good ones. Look for YouTube videos from Raja Yogan he has some good short videos for Electron.

Hope this helps.