07.02.2019

New solution for ViewApp operation under poor connection

The latest developments of ViewApp evolution and support were reported by the application’s architect Maxim Kiryushkin: “Our application has a permanent connection with the server in order to eliminate any fraudulent actions. Of course, you can also do inspections off-line. 

This feature is important for operation in countryside or any city area without stable Wi-Fi connection. We were ready for this challenge: we separated offline and online schemes – when the connection is broken, the app switches to the “off-line” mode. The reliability of the data decreased, but the app still operated well.

However, we were not ready for a bad connection, for example slow mobile Internet. The response time of the server could reach several minutes, while the device "reported" that the Internet is in order. The server was indeed available, but constant waiting turned the operation into a torture. The introduction of timeouts partially solved the problem, but the sensations that the application is too slow remained.

Our new solution is a kind of a hybrid. We tried to take all the best from deep caching and working in offline mode, and at the same time to preserve all the benefits of on-line connection to the server. We don't want the user to depend on the quality of communication, but at the same time need to protect data from fraud. We are sure that a simple solution to transfer the application completely to off-line work with periodical synchronization with the server is not correct. We have chosen a different way based on a simple solution. This is a more technological, difficult to implement hybrid solution. Bad scammers wanting to cheat the system will find it hard to do so.

The solution is already included in the update for the app’s version for Android. We haven’t yet managed to polish everything in this solution. Some screens need to be accelerated. In some spots the app can hang up. Nevertheless, the increased speed and fast response of the application will please those users who have been with us for a long time.

The new approach will be also introduced for iOS after we master it in Android. It will be included in one of the nearest updates."