Progressive Web Apps, new Microsoft Edge

[dpkenny]

Any advantage of running programs as PWA in the new EDGE?

[Scott Klement]

I don't know very much about PWA, but from what I understand it provides several advantages

• Discoverable, so the contents can be found through search engines.
• Installable, so it's available on the device's home screen.
• Linkable, so you can share it by simply sending a URL.
• Network independent, so it works offline or with a poor network connection.
• Progressive, so it's still usable on a basic level on older browsers, but fully-functional on the latest ones.
• Re-engageable, so it's able to send notifications whenever there's new content available.
• Responsive, so it's usable on any device with a screen and a browser — mobile phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, fridges, etc.
• Safe, so the connection between you and the app is secured against any third parties trying to get access to your sensitive data.

However, this isn't as simple as just "turning PWA on". You will need to write the application in a manner that is compatible with PWA. For example, to have a unique URL, make it work offline, etc, you'd need to make it stateless. (i.e. no using the EXFMT opcode in RPG, or display.execute() in Node.js) If you're coming from an RPG OA background, this probably means rewriting the application. (The display should still be usable, though.)

But, again, I'm not an expert, this is just what I figured out from a couple of quick Google searches.