Rockd desktop web app

[davenquinn]

The Rockd website currently has a web-app directory that contains a static build of Rockd's Ionic "progressive web app", compiled from an old-ish version of the same codebase that runs Rockd's app.

We want this exploration interface to continue to evolve, improve in performance (e.g., via UW-Macrostrat/rockd#327), and incorporate some of the modern features of Rockd's mobile app and Macrostrat's website (e.g., vector tiled maps).

Eventually we may want to have a desktop interface for editing checkins and trips.

The big open question on architecture is whether we should continue this as a version of the Ionic app optimized for desktop, or instead move towards a lighter-weight React app that is more aligned with Macrostrat's website. We don't have to solve this right now, but it's on the radar.

[davenquinn]

@jmjanisch since we hope to get you re-integrated into work on the Rockd app in the coming months, I am interested in your thoughts here (although this is not urgent).

[davenquinn]

#22 argues strongly for moving away from the Ionic/PWA route to achieve more flexible rendering and SEO for discoverability.

We have migrated to the Vike - Vite - React toolchain for Macrostrat's main website (UW-Macrostrat/web#73) for these purposes, so having Rockd's website mirror those design patterns seems useful.

[davenquinn]

@davidsklar99 this issue can track your progress on the exploration interface.

[davenquinn]

We've now made substantial progress on the exploration interface, so this question really begins to be about how capabilities to edit data (e.g. add new checkins) should be implemented on the desktop.