Built on the technologies of Chromium and Node.js combined into a single environment, Electron has been used as a major building block of modern and widely popular applications such as Discord, Evernote, Slack, WhatsApp, and Visual Studio Code. Cad Crowd has the skills, resources, and experience to help reinforce your team with professional Electron developers, empowering your business to build world-class applications.
Electron is neither a programming language nor a runtime environment. It’s a feature-rich desktop application framework that handles both client-side and server-side developments in one package.
Developed by GitHub in 2013 and now maintained by the OpenJS Foundation with contributions from a big community of developers, Electron was initially built as Atom Shell and used as the backbone of the Atom editor. The Beta version came out in 2014, and it only took about a year until Atom Shell saw major growth and was adopted by small and large companies for their app projects (some notable early adopters include WebTorrent, Slack, and GitKraken).
While most of the features were based on the Chromium engine and Node.js, Atom Shell was ultimately built from the ground up as a complete alternative to the existing web-based desktop frameworks at the time, including the Chromium Embedded Framework and node-webkit. What came up from the venture was a groundbreaking piece of digital invention that provided a desktop runtime for web technologies. It was almost a revolutionary feat that Atom Shell made it possible (and practical) to implement web technologies in desktop application development environments.
In 2015, it was renamed Electron. Within just two years of development, Electron went from a mere budding framework created by enthusiasts to making a name for itself with an impressive set of functions, such as automatic app updates, crash reporting, Windows installers, notifications, and a whole bunch of native features, all of which were exposed through JavaScript APIs.
Ever since the renaming, Electron has been busy expanding its capabilities, compatibilities, and user base. Now, more than a decade after its birth, nearly all the initial features simply get better. Some of the major highlights include:
Coding is far from the easiest thing to do in the world. Even for professional developers, it's really difficult to get everything right in the first attempt. Much of the difficulty revolves around the need to simplify installation, packaging, notification, support for native menus, updating, dialogs, and crash reporting. Electron handles all those essential steps, allowing the developers to give more time and thought to the design, functionality, and overall user-friendliness.
Thanks to the modern Chromium engine, Electron essentially gives developers a clean sheet to build apps. They have the freedom to choose and integrate their preferred frameworks and libraries from the front-end, including but not limited to Vue.js, Next.js, Bootstrap, React, TypeScript, and Angular. If you have some experienced developers on the team, they can even build custom HTML code.
Electron takes the features and functionalities from some of the world's most popular web technologies. Developers with experience in building apps using JavaScript, Node.js, and React should find themselves at home in the Electron ecosystem. Assuming they have written an app or two with those three technologies, they already possess about 80% of the knowledge required to use Electron effectively. Since those developers are well-versed in Electron's foundational programming language, libraries, and runtime environment, they can basically hit the ground running from Day 1. For businesses, quick adaptation to new technology stack helps eliminate unnecessary training costs and reduce development time.
As far as the speed of development is concerned, the characteristic is situation-dependent and certainly a subjective measure in most cases. That being said, Electron-based desktop app development is arguably faster than some other approaches, partly because of the availability of pre-made templates and the wide range of web technologies developers can integrate with the framework. But let's not forget that technologies only make up half of the equation; developers' skills and creativity account for the other half.
Electron, despite a desktop application framework, is powered by web technologies. This means developers have access to a vast repository of documentation and support all over the Internet from online forums and communities at large. For instance, GitHub has a lot of templates, code examples, and libraries, whereas Stack Overflow offers good answers to all sorts of questions ranging from general troubleshooting to highly specific issues developers might encounter.
The cross-platform nature of Electron applications means developers can build the same app that works for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Some of the most heavily used cross-platform desktop applications developed using Electron include Twitch, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Dropbox, WordPress Desktop, Slack, Discord, and GitHub Desktop.
A common criticism of Electron is the concern that the app almost always carries a sizable software bloat, even for a relatively simple program. In the Linux operating system, Electron-based apps are notoriously resource-intensive. On the other hand, such a limitation is to be expected in a cross-platform app designed with easy maintenance and cost efficiency in mind.
An update for the app, which can be delivered automatically to the client side, doesn't necessarily mean an update to the Chromium engine as well. Failure to update the engine itself may lead to some stability issues and security vulnerabilities. Automatic app updates aside, it's just common sense that users implement basic security practices like installing anti-malware programs on their computers.
There’s one major hiccup when hiring electron developers: desktop application development is not nearly as popular as mobile app development today. Only a small percentage of developers specialize in Electron, so it’s going to be a bit difficult to find one, but far from impossible. Experienced developers won’t have difficulties picking up and learning the framework as they go, especially if they have a strong background in JavaScript along with working knowledge in Node.js API.
Every company has specific preferences when hiring a developer who specializes in web technology of any kind. When it comes to Electron developers, Cad Crowd focuses on finding a professional with the following skills and qualifications:
But at the end of the day, Cad Crowd works on your behalf, and the selected developer works for your company. We offer flexible staffing solutions with a range of custom services to cater to your needs. We can always include additional qualifications in the screening process, such as educational backgrounds, certifications, and work history, to the list of requirements as you see fit. Cad Crowd is willing to adjust and collaborate with your internal hiring manager throughout the process to ensure transparency and efficiency.
Cad Crowd connects you with talented developers well-versed in the latest web and app development technologies. We maintain an extensive database of talented developers from all over the world, with varying experience levels and expertise in Electron, but what we do is much more than just sending a pile of untested resumes to your inbox.
Despite candidates' familiarity with common web technologies like Chromium, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, Node.js, and WebAssembly, our recruiters conduct proper technical assessments to gauge the candidates' skillfulness in a variety of coding challenges and thorough evaluations to see their adeptness in situations that need inventive problem-solving skills and good communication. Not only do we deliver a full package of custom staffing solutions, but we also make sure that the candidates we deliver are both technically competent for the role and culture fit for your company.
Cad Crowd takes pride in being part of your company's journey to Electron implementation, and that's why we'll pick only the developers with in-depth expertise in the framework and a comprehensive understanding of the tech stack. Give Cad Crowd a call any day of the week for a free quote, and we'll assign our most Electron-experienced recruiter to answer your every question about the hiring process, the custom staffing services available, the timeframe, and everything else, from general recruitment management inquiries to technical issues related to our collaboration.
Ready to bring your application to life? Leverage the expertise of our highly skilled electron JS developers and accelerate your project timeline today. Whether you're launching a new application or improving an existing one, our talented professionals are ready to help. Get started now by contacting us for a free quote. Don't delay; bring your vision to reality with Cad Crowd.
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