Electron

Electron is an open source framework that enables the development of cross-platform desktop applications for Mac, Windows and Linux. It combines the Chromium rendering engine, which enables compatibility with the latest web standards and a modern user interface, with Node.js, making Electron a powerful solution for desktop applications.

With Electron, developers can write desktop apps using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, which shortens development times and lowers development costs by building on existing web development skills. In addition, Electron takes care of the complexity of platform differences, allowing developers to focus on the actual application while relying on an up-to-date Chrome version. Electron was developed by Github as the basis for its Atom text editor and is now the basis of the desktop apps of Discord, Twitch, WhatsApp and many more. Here we present the four different types of app solutions. Which one suits your company?

The most important things at a glance

1. Electron is an open-source framework that allows you to develop cross-platform desktop applications using web technologies such as JavaScript, HTML and CSS and simplifies the development process by handling platform differences.
2. Electron’s cross-platform capabilities make it possible to create applications for macOS, Windows and Linux with a single code base, reducing development costs and increasing efficiency.
3. Electron provides tools and libraries that support the development process, such as Electron Forge for packaging and distribution, and enables the integration of automatic software updates and the use of GitHub to collaborate and contribute to open source projects.

One of Electron’s greatest strengths is its ability to work across platforms. Electron apps are compatible with macOS, Windows and Linux and run on all supported architectures of these platforms. This opens up a huge advantage for developers, as they can use a single code base to develop applications that work on all major operating systems. You write your code once and Electron takes care of the rest, significantly reducing development costs.

Developing with Electron: tools and libraries

Electron is not just a framework, it also offers a range of tools and libraries that simplify the development process. Electron Forge is one such all-in-one tool for packaging and distributing Electron applications, providing a complete build pipeline including code signing, installers and publishing artefacts.

Through its plugin API, Electron Forge:

• The addition of custom build logic
• Create custom makers and publishers for build and save targets
• Use first-party templates, such as a webpack template, to bundle JavaScript code for production and include a development server for a better developer experience.

The advantage of the Electron framework is its versatility and shorter development times. Particularly in projects that offer a web and desktop solution, large parts of the code can be used for both. This saves time in the development and maintenance of native apps. This enables a faster market launch of applications and offers the opportunity to react flexibly to changes or customer requirements.

Thanks to the use of Node.js and the ability to incorporate C++ into the source code, the framework becomes a powerhouse solution for desktop native projects. Our developers can integrate server-side functions directly into their desktop applications. This enables seamless communication between frontend and backend. By using Electron, an organisation can reduce development costs as it can build on existing web development capabilities rather than needing separate teams for different platforms.

Automatic software updates

Another important aspect of developing Electron applications is the implementation of automatic software updates. Electron enables this for macOS and Windows users through the autoUpdater module, which is supported by Squirrel.

For example, soxes used the framework for the complex management and communication solution s.Guard by Swissphone to implement the desktop client. Electron was used as a “container” for the Angular code. The embedded Angular app communicates with the underlying operating system via the interfaces. Thanks to the use of Electron, the s.Guard desktop app could be implemented efficiently and in a short time. You can find the complete project description here!

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