Offline App Architecture
Offline-First App Architecture can be described as building an application in offline mode. The purpose of offline-first apps is to design your app for when you do not have a stable or fast Internet connection. If you plan on building an offline-first app, you need to consider the following features.
Prefetching
Offline apps can use prefetching to ensure that the data they need is available to use immediately. Prefetching works by predicting the user’s preferences and sending data to a local cache when the user’s network connection is available. This strategy works well for apps that have significant amounts of data to download. It can even be used as the only data exchange channel, sending notifications to the user when relevant information is available.
Service workers
Service workers are useful for offline apps, but they need to manage cached resources. One way to do this is by using the fetch event. This event occurs whenever a document in the scope of the service worker is fetched, a resource is added, or an API call is made. The service worker can attach a listener to this event and then call the respondWith() method when the event occurs. This helps it manage HTTP responses.
Writing to the local data source first
Writing to the local data source first is an essential design principle for any offline-first app. While most user interactions correspond to a request to the backend server, writing to the local data source first keeps the data locally accessible. By using local data storage for offline data, you can avoid the loading spinner and reduce the amount of time the app takes to load.
Caching
Caching in offline apps helps applications that require a connection to the Internet store data. For example, applications that type, plan, or fill out questionnaires may be useful to store these data while offline. Similarly, apps with state information can be cached when not in use.
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Visual modelling of the resolution with microflows
Offline-first apps synchronize with the backend whenever they are offline. These apps are conscious of the battery life and only request data when the conditions are optimal. This allows them to present information when the user is charging or using WiFi, and to store user input.
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Using a disk-based cache
When building offline-first apps, the primary goal is to minimize the reliance on network data. By using a cache to store data locally, the application can avoid network problems and poor user experience. Offline-first apps also can maintain state without constant network connectivity. This means that users can use the app whenever they want, regardless of their connection quality.
