I continue to bounce back and forth between self-hosted web UI and WPF UI for implementing simple user interactions.
WPF is likely to be easier to build the right sort of thing with but is a bit less flexible and more ‘backward looking’. Web interfaces require a self-hosting solution if they’re going to be stand-alone and cross more lines of language and environment.
On balance the web UI path is better as a learning experience and aside from a few corner-cases (OpenGL say) likely to result in a better user experience in the long run.
I’m still looking for the right self-hosting solution and UI framework solution. I’m going to have to settle on one shortly so that I can being experimenting in the ninecrows sandbox and getting a feel for the technology.
Current links of interest on the self-hosting front:
- Self-Host ASP.NET Web API 1 (C#)
- Use OWIN to Self-Host ASP.NET Web API 2
- Is there a way to create a “Self-hosted” Web Site in .Net?
- How to self-host an ASP.Net Web Api on a home server
- SELF-HOSTING A .NET API: CHOOSING BETWEEN OWIN WITH ASP.NET WEB API AND ASP.NET CORE MVC 1.0
There also seem to be some hard choices between versions of the framework…classic and core in particular.
More to learn as things move forward. I expect I’ll wind up doing things with both/all before I’m done as they have different strengths. The sorts of things a WPF/WinForms/MFC UI can do in terms of digging into the system and being screen real-estate aware along make them of great interest.