Create offline mode.

[beijbom]

This needs to be fleshed out, and it is not a huge priority. But it has been requested several times.

[StephenChan]

Think it's at least worth leaving this open as low priority.

The main application is for researchers in the middle of field-work who are at remote areas or areas with inadequate internet infrastructure (Belize, Solomon Islands, etc.). In some cases the researchers may be able to go to a nearby 'main island' or less remote area to periodically process their work online, but having to do so less often would obviously be more convenient.

Implementation wise, this would require more modularity in the CoralNet codebase generally. I think our planned API will be an excellent first step in modularizing everything. After that, we might have better ideas on the work needed to support an offline mode.

Also, I believe Squidle+ either already has, or is planning to have an offline annotation mode.

[StephenChan]

MERMAID has an offline mode which is described in their documentation - for example, in these pages:

• Preparing for offline use
• The Collect page
• Entering a transect
• Validating & submitting data

In a nutshell, it appears that any entered data is first saved on the client side (perhaps using window.localStorage or similar, and there is the option of backing up to a file). Then at appropriate times, data must be 'validated' and saved on the server side. Even when offline, the interface appears to be 100% in the browser, no other desktop applications involved.

So this is a potential source of inspiration, as judging from the number of documentation pages that have to mention offline vs. online modes, they seem to have it up-and-running and figured out. However, at the same time, this scheme seems to add a fair bit of complexity to the whole app.