Comparison of Clients
This page can contain obsolete information, the swing client is no longer supported
This page should allow to campare the strengthens and weakens of both of the iDempiere-Clients. So new Users know what the have to expect.
Executive Summary: In general both Clients are very equal and have the same features and capabilites. The Web client is better suited to a Cloud installation (but is also usable on your LAN if you prefer), the Swing Client is suited for a local LAN installation and is better for Power Users and for the fast entry of much data.
Swing
Pros
- Performance while working with data
- There is a very short way between the code and the user. You can switch fields, tabs, etc. very fast. Reaction to a button click is immediately. It has its flaws if you translate much data over a long wire (open a big table from a cloud server is not recommended).
- Fast Context-Switch
- Changing from one Register to another or from the List View to the Form View and vice versa is fast. You can switch for an blink of your eyes and back just to catch up one small piece of information
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- There are shortcuts for every reasonable functions. (I don't know about the web client)
- Good for Power-Users
- If you have an experienced Accountant or a long-employeed Call Center Agent he will love the ability to work fast with the keyboard.
- You can open more than one window at any time (much more...)
- You can open more than one instance at any time (e.g. SuperUser and normal User)
Cons
- Platform dependency (it will never run on your android tablet or phone)
- Look - I have to admit: It's not as nice as the zk ui :-(
Security
The Webclient runs locally on the user's computer. It has an account on the PostgreSQL database without access restrictions. This is an architectural flaw because Restrictions are implemented inside the Client. The password is in an sometimes obscured (encrypted with a well-known password) file in the user's home directory. This is a big security issue and I would not recommend to run the webclient over the Internet.
see http://wiki.idempiere.org/en/Swing_Client_Security
missing small features (todo-list)
See the page of the Swing Maintenance Team.
Webclient (zk)
I personally do not know very much about the web client because I do not use it very often. So feel free to enhance this paragraph.
Pros
- Performance in the Cloud
- There is a very short way between the Data and the Code. So dealing with big data is very fast. (The GUI self is rather slow if you compare with swing)
- integration with Google Web Calendar
- No installation - just a decent browser needed
- The security seems almost good. Some people use it over the internet. Known security flaws are improved fast. There is no architectural flaw in this client.
Cons
- Slow User Interface
