Packaging and distributing your app sounds simple in principle. It’s just software. But in practice, it’s quite challenging.
I’ve been working on a Python module called Sofi that generates user interfaces. It can deliver a desktop feel while using standard single-page web technologies. For flexibility, I designed it to work through two methods of distribution: in-browser and executable.
Running in the browser, it functions much like a normal webpage. You can load it by opening a file, or launch it from your shell. I also built an executable that runs as a packaged app, independent and without external requirements.
Over time, as I hacked at code in Atom — my editor of choice these days — I remembered that Atom is actually a browser. It uses Node.js as a back end, and the Electron framework for its user interface.This inspired me to start poking at Electron’s internals, hoping to find examples and best practices on how they solved desktop packaging.
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