Hack the HTML or start from scratch?
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2016 6:23 pm
I've been trolling on this board for months while I saved to buy/install all the (Insteon) devices I needed to build the system of my dreams and I'm finally ready to build the interface/UI for my control pages. Trouble is that I'm a UI designer and HTML/CSS hacker and I'm not going to be happy with my system unless the UI is a little more polished and fancy than what I've seen from Indigo so far. Specifically, I'm looking for the kind of animations, pop over effects, transitions and expandable containers (etc) that have been standard on the web and in App/UI design and I'm trying to figure out how to get that from a control page.
I'm planning to use a mix of wall mounted iPads and/or Android tablets to control everything I'm thinking that HTML is the solution because:
What I'm trying to figure out is the best way of accomplishing this. My thoughts are:
Option 1
Compose most of my control panels in the Indigo interface then export/render them to HTML and then tear them apart and hack the rendered HTML back together again with CSS/HTML/JavaScript overrides as needed. I read in a previous post that this is possible, but dicey because server updates will likely break any custom work and require a rebuild/restore of the revisions I've made.
Option 2
Use the REST API and build the HTML from scratch. This sounds like the best solution, but I'm not sure where to start? I found the Indigo RESTful Overview (http://wiki.indigodomo.com/doku.php?id= ... ful_urls&s[]=restful&s[]=api) but I'm stumbling to get out of the gate.
I guess I’m wondering if anyone has attempted either option and can provide any guidance or suggestions about the best approach to take?
Are there any performance issues that stem from using HTML instead of control pages?
Additionally are there any red flags that stand out or reasons that make this idea/plan bad?
I'm planning to use a mix of wall mounted iPads and/or Android tablets to control everything I'm thinking that HTML is the solution because:
- 1. it's device agnostic and easy to build responsive layouts
- 2. there's already a mature set of Javascript/CSS modules to borrow from for animation
- 3. there's opportunity to extend the interface easily -- not that I need to, but I could iFrame a Netflix window or include (and style) some widget built for the web with dynamic data
- 4. I'm already familiar with most of the tool set
What I'm trying to figure out is the best way of accomplishing this. My thoughts are:
Option 1
Compose most of my control panels in the Indigo interface then export/render them to HTML and then tear them apart and hack the rendered HTML back together again with CSS/HTML/JavaScript overrides as needed. I read in a previous post that this is possible, but dicey because server updates will likely break any custom work and require a rebuild/restore of the revisions I've made.
Option 2
Use the REST API and build the HTML from scratch. This sounds like the best solution, but I'm not sure where to start? I found the Indigo RESTful Overview (http://wiki.indigodomo.com/doku.php?id= ... ful_urls&s[]=restful&s[]=api) but I'm stumbling to get out of the gate.
I guess I’m wondering if anyone has attempted either option and can provide any guidance or suggestions about the best approach to take?
Are there any performance issues that stem from using HTML instead of control pages?
Additionally are there any red flags that stand out or reasons that make this idea/plan bad?