There is already an Android client for Tryton that I've used, but I find
the idea of a platform-agnostic mobile solution appealing, so I will
jump in...

On Tue, 2014-03-04 at 12:30 -0800, Emma wrote:
>         The goal of this method is to have an exactly the same
>         behavior between 
>         the tryton and sao.
>         
> 

If that is a stated goal (which makes sense for general desktop use I
think) then there could be a lot of friction in terms of accommodating
mobile.  Making a full featured, richly functional app that is a drop in
replacement for a native desktop app conflicts in many ways with
mobile-friendly responsive design.  The native client is not
"responsive" so making SAO responsive conflicts with the goal of "native
look and feel"


> 
> 
> Well, with this patch, the behavior of sao stays EXACTLY the same
> (it's just a poc so far, of course it needs tweaking) as the desktop
> until you reach the trigger minimum sizes.
> 
> In the poc:
> 
> - less than 992px wide: single column
> - less than 768px wide: menu disapears (A toggle button would be
> needed)
> 
> 
>         It useful to users 
>         to see some information from mobile
>         
> 

I think this is an interesting "hack" or proof-of-concept as you say,
but not the approach I would take. Firstly screen resolution is not a
reliable way to determine the nature of a device on its own; my mobile
has only as 12cm screen but the resolution is full HD (1920x1080) and so
you would have to query for other information (pixel density, physical
size...).

Second I think the needs of the desktop and those of mobile diverge
enough that a specific interface for mobile/responsive environment is a
better solution.


> 
> So since it's usefull for users on mobile, why not make it comfortable
> as well?
> This patch so far doesn't change any logic on the js side, it just
> replaces a table with div's (colspan implemented but not xexpand nor
> xfill)
> 

I think using the "engine" of sao to provide an alternative interface
can minimise duplication, but I think the best approach (though more
work) is to make a set of templates/front end from scratch in a
"mobile-first" design.  Doing client-sniffing and then applying mixins,
substitutions, etc. to the full client interface would result in a
sub-optimal experience and make maintenance troublesome.

So my preference would be to use the sao architecture but do a "clean
sheet" responsive client (perhaps called "sao-lite").  Note I say
"Responsive" and not "mobile" because I think such a client would have
its uses on both mobile and non-mobile applications (kiosks,
point-of-sale, front-line employees, etc) where the full layout and
content of the Tryton client are not required.

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