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  • 🚀Get Started
    • What is JourneyApps Platform?
    • Tutorial: Build your First App
      • 1. Introduction
      • 2. Create a new App
      • 3. OXIDE IDE Overview
      • 4. Hello World app
      • 5. The Data Model
      • 6. View Components
      • 7. Queries and Data Sync
      • 8. Simple Navigation
      • 9. View Stack
      • 10. Input Validation
      • 11. View Parameters
      • 12. Data Manipulation
      • 13. Responsive Apps
      • 14. Styling
      • 15. Lists
      • 16. GPS Capturing
      • 17. Relationships
      • 18. Multiple User Roles
      • 19. Deployment and Users
      • 20. Version Control
      • 21. CSV and APIs
      • 22. Conclusion
    • JourneyApps Platform Fundamentals
      • Creating a New App
        • Git-enabled Apps
      • What are Views?
      • What is the Data Model?
      • JourneyApps Syntax Basics
      • Access the Database (DB)
        • Manipulate DB Objects
        • Query DB Objects
      • View Navigation
        • Deep Linking
      • CloudCode Overview
      • OXIDE (Online IDE)
  • 💻Build your App
    • JourneyApps Syntax
      • Syntax Basics
      • Access the DB
      • View Navigation
      • Async & Await
      • TypeScript Apps (Beta)
        • runtime-build package
        • TypeScript App Troubleshooting
      • What's New in V4
        • Updating to the V4 API
    • Configure your Data Model
      • What is the data model?
      • Reference: model
        • field
        • belongs-to
        • has-many
        • index
      • Data Rules
        • Data Buckets
        • Sync Rules - Limit data synced to devices
        • Data ACLs - Limit access to data
        • Real-world example for Data Rules
        • ❔FAQs
        • Migrate to Data Rules
      • App Indexes
      • Webhooks
    • UI Components
      • All UI Components
        • actionSheet
        • Attachments
        • button
        • button-group
        • capture-coordinates
          • marker
          • marker-query
        • capture-file
        • capture-photo
        • capture-signature
        • card
          • accent
          • action
        • columns
          • column
        • component
        • context-menu
          • divider
          • item
        • CSV
        • date-input
        • datetime-input
        • dialog
          • body
        • display-3d-model
          • 📖display-3d-model Guides
            • Guide 1: Initialize and layout a 3D model in a view
            • Guide 2: Control playback position
            • Guide 3: Troubleshooting controls
        • display-coordinates
        • display-file
        • display-image
        • display-photo
        • display-signature
        • heading
        • html
          • HTML Advanced Topics
          • ❔HTML FAQs
          • 📖Guide: HTML & JourneyApps iFrame Client
        • icons
        • info
        • info-table
          • row
        • journey.photos (capture multiple photos)
        • JourneyPrinter (print PDFs)
        • grid
          • cell
          • 📖grid Examples
        • list
          • list-item
            • accent
            • asset
            • pills
              • pill
            • action
        • multiple-choice-checklist
        • navigation (Navigation drawer)
          • general-section
            • item
          • section
            • item
              • item
          • ❔navigation FAQs
        • notification
        • object-dropdown
        • object-list
          • action
        • object-repeat
        • object-table
          • action
          • column
            • action
            • edit-boolean
            • edit-date
            • edit-datetime
            • edit-integer
            • edit-number
            • edit-select
            • edit-text
            • edit-time
            • edit-typeahead
              • action
            • header-action
          • column-group
          • empty-action
          • 📖object-table Guides
            • Actions
            • Cell callouts
            • Column groups
            • Columns
            • Controlled object-table
            • Controls
            • Copy & paste data
            • Edit cells
            • Filters
            • Frozen columns
            • Fullscreen object-table
            • Mode
            • State
            • Styles
        • optionList
        • PhotonSync (transfer data offline)
        • power-bi
          • 📖Guide: PowerBI Embedding
        • scan-barcode
        • shortcut
        • sidebar
        • single-choice-dropdown
        • single-choice-radio
        • template
        • text-input
        • time-input
        • toggle
        • view
      • JS/TS Events
      • Show / Hide UI Components
      • View Templates
      • XML Fields (Attributes)
        • align-content
        • align-controls
        • align-label
        • bind
        • clear-button-visibility
        • control-order
        • disabled
        • error-message
        • icon-position
        • id
        • hide-if
        • modifier-text
        • label
        • label-case
        • label-color
        • on-change
        • on-press
        • placeholder
        • required
        • show-if
    • JS / TS APIs
      • Attachment
      • Bluetooth (Beta)
      • Broadcast
      • component
      • CSV
      • DB
      • HardwareBarcode
      • journey
        • journey.config
        • journey.container
        • journey.device
        • journey.diagnostics
        • journey.dialog
        • journey.files
        • journey.hardware
        • journey.photos
        • journey.runtime
        • journey.sensors
        • journey.viewStack
      • JourneyPrinter
      • KeyboardBarcode
      • LocalDB
      • NFC
      • OnlineDB
      • PhotonSync
      • SerialPort
      • ShortcutManager
      • TCPSocket
      • user
    • Extend your App with Custom Code
      • App packages
        • App packages overview
        • PDF report package
        • TypeScript library & unit tests
        • Manage External Dependencies
      • Custom HTML
    • Style & Customize your App
      • Style & configure UI components
        • Overview
        • Understand extendable themes
        • Use themes on a view
        • Theme specific components on a view
        • Examples
        • Debugging
        • ❔FAQs
      • Change your App Font
      • Custom Branding
        • Custom Container Features
        • Special Requirements for iOS Containers
    • Integrate your App
      • Backend integrations with CloudCode
      • Barcode Scanning
        • Barcode Scanning using Keyboard Emulation
        • Hardware Barcode Scanning
        • scan-barcode
      • Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
      • Broadcast API
      • HTTP requests (Fetch API)
      • JourneyApps Print (Android)
      • Maps and navigation
      • NFC
      • Opening external links/apps
      • Serial Port
      • TCP Sockets
    • Design Intuitive Apps
      • UX Guidelines
      • Write Effective Copy
  • 📱App Features
    • RealWear® Voice Control
      • Automatic Voice Commands
        • Automatic Voice Commands - Advanced
      • Manual Voice Commands
    • App, Runtime and Container Updates
    • Batch Operations (App)
    • Call JS/TS Functions from XML
    • Capture GPS Locations
    • Push Notifications
    • Translations
    • XML Format Strings
    • Webhooks (External)
  • 🌐CloudCode
    • CloudCode Overview
    • Trigger a CloudCode Task
      • Trigger CC with a Schedule
      • Trigger CC via a Webhook
      • Trigger CC from an App
      • Trigger CC from Another Task
      • Trigger CC via HTTP
    • Attachments in CloudCode
    • Timezones
    • Advanced CloudCode Topics
      • Access Multiple DBs in CloudCode Tasks
      • Batch API (CloudCode)
      • CloudCode Dependencies
      • Configure HTTPS in CloudCode
      • Deployment environment variables
      • Local CloudCode Development
      • PDF Reports using CloudCode
      • Shared CloudCode Tasks
      • Translations in CloudCode
  • 📥Backend API
    • Introduction
    • API Reference
      • Retrieve All Objects
      • Query Objects
      • Sort Results
      • Limit and Skip
      • Count Objects
      • Create a New Object
      • Retrieve a Single Object
      • Update a Single Object
      • Delete a Single Object
      • Batch Operations (v4 API)
      • Oplog API
      • Retrieve the App Data Model
      • Manage App Users and Sessions
      • Field Representation
      • Error Responses
    • API Limits
    • Update to the V4 API
  • ⚙️Technical
    • Data Synchronization Priority
    • Device Diagnostics
    • JSON1 Query Engine
    • Improve App Performance
    • Security Measures
    • Supported Platforms
      • Web Container
      • Windows Installer
    • Domain Whitelist
  • 🖥️OXIDE
    • Get started with OXIDE
      • OXIDE Overview
      • Components of OXIDE
    • Configure Testing Deployments
    • Edit and Manage Files
      • How to Navigate to a Function
      • Manage External Dependencies
    • Create and Manage App Containers
    • Debugging & Troubleshooting
      • Common Troubleshooting Pointers
      • App Diagnostics Reports
      • Build Logs
    • OXIDE Workspaces
      • OXIDE Trees
  • ❕Deprecated Features
    • Deprecated Features and Components
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On this page
  • Designed for Enterprise Apps
  • 100% Cloud-Based
  • PowerSync: Global Automatic Data Sync
  • PowerSync Allows Apps to be Used Offline by Default
  • CloudCode Serverless Engine
  • JourneyApps Platform Building Blocks
  • Environments and Staged Deployment
  • An App Consists of a Data Model and Views
  • The JourneyApps Platform Approach to Building Apps
  1. Get Started

What is JourneyApps Platform?

NextTutorial: Build your First App

Last updated 4 months ago

JourneyApps Platform is a cloud-based software development platform to build and run custom enterprise apps. It allows you to rapidly build apps in an online IDE (called OXIDE) which are instantly deployed over-the-air and dynamically rendered as a hybrid app on various different devices (desktop, mobile, web, RealWear®).

Designed for Enterprise Apps

JourneyApps Platform is intended for building enterprise apps, including Business-to-Employee (B2E) apps and Business-to-Business (B2B) apps. This is ideal for giving employees and customers access to business processes within an app.

JourneyApps Platform is therefore a very focused platform, and not aimed at building mass-market or "consumer" apps (B2C). If you intend to build consumer apps, JourneyApps Platform would not be a good fit for your requirements.

100% Cloud-Based

Developing apps on JourneyApps Platform happens 100% online, in your browser: You don't have to install an IDE or do a complicated development environment setup on your computer. To develop apps, you link a device to our online IDE (called OXIDE), and then all changes that you make to your app are pushed to the device via the cloud.

PowerSync: Global Automatic Data Sync

A major part of the power of JourneyApps Platform lies in its global automatic data synchronization capability (PowerSync), which is the way that apps work by default. What this means is:

  • The cloud datastore in the Backend serves as the centrally-accessible location in which your app's data is stored.

  • User devices running your app automatically synchronize the data from the cloud data store to their local storage memory for offline access.

  • Whenever any changes are made to the data in the cloud data store via the Backend Portal (see diagram below) or APIs, the changes are immediately synchronized to each user running your app. This process happens automatically in the background without any user intervention.

  • Similarly, whenever any changes are made to the data from a particular user, those changes are immediately synchronized to the cloud data store (Backend) using store-and-forward.

  • Each app generates its own REST API on the Backend that can be used to create, read, edit and delete data on the cloud data store.

PowerSync Allows Apps to be Used Offline by Default

Because of the PowerSync capability described above, JourneyApps Platform applications can be used fully offline by default. Users can continue to use JourneyApps Platform applications even if they do not have network connectivity.

CloudCode Serverless Engine

You can build and run serverless JavaScript or TypeScript tasks through CloudCode. CloudCode is a full Node.js environment, allowing you to include any NPM packages in your tasks. Typical use cases for CloudCode tasks include:

  • Basic integrations with external services

  • Bulk operations such as archiving data

  • Generating reports, such as CSV files, PDF reports or Excel spreadsheets

  • Sending emails

JourneyApps Platform Building Blocks

JourneyApps Platform primarily consists of the following building blocks:

  • OXIDE: The online IDE where developers build JourneyApps Platform applications.

  • Backend: This is the cloud backend to which apps are deployed. It serves as the cloud data store for your app and also provides user management.

  • JourneyApps Container: Available for mobile (with support for Android and iOS), desktop (Windows), web browsers as well as wearable devices (RealWear®). When initially installed, it is simply an empty generic container. Once you link it to a specific app, your app customizations are deployed to the device over-the-air, and the app is dynamically rendered. This means that deploying new versions of your app to users is extremely easy: Once the container is installed, all app changes are deployed over the air.

Environments and Staged Deployment

JourneyApps Platform is used both for developing and deploying/running apps. For that reason, it is necessary to keep your real-world or live data and users separate from the data and users that you use for testing purposes during the development process. For this purpose, JourneyApps Platform provides 3 different environments of the Backend:

  • Testing: This is what app developer(s) use for iterative testing while apps are being developed. When you link a mobile or desktop device in OXIDE for testing/development purposes, it is enrolled to this environment, and any changes that you make are automatically deployed here so that you can immediately test the changes on a device.

  • Staging: This can be used by other stakeholders to test a new version of an app before it goes live.

  • Production: This is the live environment where your real-world day-to-day users operate and data is kept.

An App Consists of a Data Model and Views

Building an app on JourneyApps Platform involves the customization of two kinds of things:

The JourneyApps Platform Approach to Building Apps

The diagram below shows a typical high-level approach to how you would build an app on JourneyApps Platform. This approach is very similar to a standard software development methodology, however, take note of the following key differences with JourneyApps Platform:

  • Go directly from idea to app creation: Normally when developing apps, much time is spent creating specification documents and wireframes to design the application before development commences. It's so easy and fast to develop apps on JourneyApps Platform that often it's best to go directly from idea to the first version and put it in someone's hands.

  • Iteratively test on a device, all the time: OXIDE automatically deploys your app changes to the Testing environment as you are developing them, and the app on the device updates dynamically. This means that iteratively testing changes directly on a device is much easier and faster than it is in a traditional software development context, and therefore is the recommended approach to use.

  • One-click deploy to production: In a traditional mobile development scenario, releasing the app to live users is often a risky and laborious process. With JourneyApps Platform, deploying to production is simply a one-click process. Once you are satisfied with a change that you've developed in OXIDE, you click a single button to release this change to the Staging or Production environment of the Backend, and JourneyApps Platform takes care of the rest.

: This describes the data that your app makes use of (in more technical terms: object types with their attributes and relationships)

: This defines the layout and logic for the actual screens in your app.

🚀
Data Model
Views
OXIDE, the online IDE where developers build apps
An example of an app running in the JourneyApps Container on desktop.
The simplified JourneyApps architecture