desktop apps running on browser: XAMPP+sqlite+PHP. is it a good idea?

Question

We are about to start to develop relatively small db desktop apps, running on a browser (analogous to a cashier system).

We think the app could be distributed with a standalone webserver (XAMPP) + PHP + sqlite. Source code can be encrypted via ionCube.

We already have web-apps and we wish to port them to be used locally, almost with the same code. That's the main idea.

We think it is a good solution. But in this question it doesn't feel like it.

Is there some trouble we have not seen/missed? Are there problems that we should consider further?

update: * the installation of XAMPP consists of unzipping a folder * to update I can replace/patch the folder containing my code (automatically, the user doesn't have to do anything) * unistall is deleting the folder * backups are not a problem...

Thanks.

Answer 1

The question you mention discusses something else: The use of PHP for real, native standalone desktop applications using a toolkit like GTK.

What you are planning to do strikes me as similarly problematic, though. What comes to mind straight away:

• A webserver installation is a relatively "big thing" where a lot can go wrong (e.g. ports already in use by other applications; firewalls and security suites blocking things). Manual installation would be mandatory

• You'll have updating troubles (what if you need to update the client installation to a new version of PHP or mySQL?)

• The application must be uninstalled manually

• Updating the application and making backups is difficult

it's not impossible - it just feels very, very kludgy compared to a standalone .exe installation.