Any hints / suggestions for a new SmartClient project?

[Blama]

Hi Isomorphic

It's Christmas time and I want to start a new hobby/pet project using SmartClient 13.0d.
I think I'll use the LGPL version, if there is not a good reason to use another.

The goal is to create a Drag&Drop Backgammon game using your Drawing module.
First step is a 1:1 game, no computer opponent, so this is just about rolling dice, allowed moves, moving the stones, etc.
Do you think SmartClient is suited for this and do you have any pointers?

• Any pointer to project setup with Visual Studio Code + Typescript? If not, I already have this one here from pavlo.
• Shall the stones be SVGs or shall I draw them myself?
• Would I profit from Reify here (I don't think so, and it would mean using EVAL instead of LGPL, I assume)
• Perhaps out of scope: Any suggestions for local or GitHub/BitBucket/GitLab if it comes to build & test (Selenium) & deploy for such client-only project?

Anything you think might be worth sharing is highly appreciated.

Thank you & Best regards
Blama

[Isomorphic]

Like SmartGWT, SmartClient is designed around business applications, so building backgammon is definitely not going to be showing the framework's core strengths, but might be a fun project nevertheless.

If you wanted something that was quite suited to building backgammon, you might check out Tabletop Simulator, which allows extensions in Lua.

If you want to get familiarity with SmartClient but still do something kind of fun, you might try to replicate a recipe/shopping list tracker (like Paprika) or personal finance app (like Mint), both of which could benefit from Reify (Backgammon wouldn't), and getting familiar with Reify would help you with SmartGWT projects as well. Building a Paprika replica is one of our test cases for Reify.

Reify can be used with the LGPL version - see Reify for Developers. However, if you are using a Power license, you can just take a Reify project and instantly have it working with a real database. If using LGPL you'll have to implement DataSources yourself.

For the coding aspects, yes, we'd recommend VSCode for IDE assistance since you are used to SmartGWT. However, we would recommend writing in plain JavaScript (not TypeScript) and just using the tool for its Intellisense features, not as a transpiler.

GitHub and GitLab are good choices. We don't use them because we have a heavily customized internal process, but they would be good for new projects.

[Blama]

Hi Isomorphic,

this is about using SmartClient and Drawing (and doing something Backgammon related), so if this is just not showing the framework's core strengths, this is OK for me.

Thanks for the hint on Tabletop Simulator, good to know such a thing exists.
Also thanks for the IDE, JS and git Repro tips.

Best regards & Merry Christmas
Blama