Upload a Gwt Project to the Cloud
Launched in 2012, FileCloud has distinguished itself in the industry as an efficient system for Enterprise File Sharing, Sync, Backup and Remote Access. The system was built using the GWT Web Toolkit based on Coffee; nonetheless, after nearly ten years of growth and evolution, FileCloud was due for a UX revamp. We decided to rebuild the UI from scratch with a completely new framework: Vue.js. The reasons were simple:
- Vue.js offers a smoothen and slick user experience,
- Vue.js is user- and developer-friendly, with tons of useful libraries, a solid customs, and a great toolset.
The Need for a UX Revamp
To transform the classic UI to a new arrangement, many challenges came up, mainly addressing backward compatibility. How will UI 2.0 communicate with the Apache server? Volition the erstwhile shares exist compatible with the new vue.js URL mechanism? Tin can the new organization efficiently replace FileCloud solutions without alienating long-term customers?
With all these uncertainties, in that location are a few central points that make the task of reimagining FileCloud, an already existing solution used past customers, worth the trouble.
- "GWT is a great web toolkit in the marketplace for writing AJAX applications" is a statement that would've been true a decade agone. However, GWT has been showing its age for a while now. Debugging takes significantly longer, due to falling market place interest and industry support, equally well as non-updated documentation.
- Recruiting and onboarding new employees is a pain due to a comparatively small-scale talent puddle for GWT.
- Switching to a newer framework offers an improved user experience that leverages the benefits of modern technologies; for use cases like this, Vue.js is arguably the "all-time" choice.
The Talent Behind the Scenes
The well-nigh meaning driving forcefulness behind the success of the rewrite was the excellent team of engineers and developers. They were well aligned with the company vision, and their level of experience and expertise shone through. The rapport within the team helped everyone reach a deep understanding of the task at manus, which helped the whole process conclude successfully. Nosotros started by reimagining and designing the expect and experience of the new system. The new design was a major improvement, but translating that design into a live user experience required extensive teamwork. Four UI developers kicked off the development process with enthusiasm and momentum, aiming to deliver this extensive project in a short timeframe.
Agreement the Existing System
The primary prerequisite for a complete lawmaking rewrite is to have a thorough agreement of the existing arrangement organization. This is easier said than washed – information technology is extremely difficult to evaluate the scope of an existing project without looking into different user interfaces and examining how the organisation behaves under various configurations. When it comes to FileCloud, the organization integrates smart options that govern functions, e.g. a file has security rules like DLP and Smart Classification associated with it that might allow or deny a user download based on different factors. Taking great care to note these kinds of details and filtering through classic GWT code, with aid from the original contributors, helped map the original code and arrangement organization.
It is easy to overlook all the work invested in edifice and debugging the original GWT code. Rewriting the lawmaking inevitably atomic number 82 to new bugs that had to be found and stock-still.
Projection Planning
A job well planned is a chore half done.
For a project with such a multifaceted scope, it was important to prioritize the important objectives. It was also helpful to tackle the tougher aspects of the piece of work early on on, so developers could proceeds a better handle on subsequent tasks. This is also an constructive strategy to counter unexpected issues later on, which means more than time tin can exist allocated to polishing the codebase.
Planning in advance helps to mitigate factors that can adversely touch on a projection's stop outcome. Having a well-designed, realistic and transparent plan distributed evenly for the team is a must for a smooth operation throughout the duration of the projection.
The team made use of several task management tools to track progress and manage the various tasks involved in FileCloud's new UI development. Trello and YouTrack were specifically implemented to present the proposed workflow in a graphical and intuitive manner.
Agile and Continuous Development
Continuous evolution and feedback from the squad and users were immensely instrumental during the UI revamp. A staging environment with the capacity to back up a larger grouping testing the user experience ensured that product improvements could be implemented on the go. The Agile approach proved to be useful for phase-wise development, rather than trying to push all the changes at once to users. Following the pre-planned evolution path through a series of sprints ensured that we met our timeline and reduced problems or risk factors.
Retrospection
Planning a UX revamp of a widely used service similar FileCloud comes with its own set of challenges.
Start, reviewing old code and understanding the purpose of each module is not an piece of cake goal to master in whatsoever situation, and FileCloud presented unique elements that demanded specific and conscientious attention to particular.
Second, incorporating feedback from users and trying to see objectives within a predetermined timeline was difficult, but we were prepared to resolve these issues and relied on user feedback to inform the design of refactored and new elements in the revamped FileCloud.
Concluding, the migration strategy from the onetime to the new organisation involves meaning planning. When implementing a UX revamp alter like this ane that has a great bear upon, a gradual alter makes for a gentler transition. Users tin access the new FileCloud, even as their quondam data, shares and URLs are maintained. Clients tin can even switch back to the archetype UI whenever needed from the user dropdown on the elevation header.
In retrospect, the new FileCloud has been a challenging yet fulfilling experience. We at FileCloud hope that you love the new experience and provide feedback to assist us improve further.
Commodity written by Niharika Sah
Source: https://www.filecloud.com/blog/2021/06/the-new-filecloud-experience-migrating-from-gwt-to-vue-js/
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