UI Builder Containers

UI Builder
1

Hi,
I am curious about the Container capability in the UI Builder. After searching the documentation (i watched the Preview and Publish video) and topics on the support site here, i have seen that applications are published by container. And that navigating between pages of different containers is possible by using the Open Web Page codeless block.

What is the intended purpose of the containers?
Is it to segment a larger application into different parts? Or to create a web versus a specialized mobile version of an application? To separate common pages into a separate container (like the systems container that is created for new apps)? …

Any hints would be great to help using this feature correctly.
Thanks!

Thomas

2

Hello @Thomas_Wirth

The main idea of the container is a separate app, that could be published anywhere.
Different containers can be published in different places and will be independent of each other.

Regards, Dima.

3

ok thanks - makes sense. Appreciate the comment!

4

Can you expand on your answer @Dima? If they’re separate apps, why does the system container have pages like login?

You already offer multiple apps, why have those features in containers as well?

Thanks,
Tim

5

Think about an app that has multiple frontends. For instance, Uber. There is an app for the drivers, an app for passengers and one for customer service. A UI container let’s build a separate UI app that communicates with the same backend. Every UI app may have its own login.

Likewise, if you need to create a separate version of your UI app, you can easily create a new UI container.

I hope this clarifies the idea behind “UI containers”.

Mark

6

Thanks, @mark-piller! The web app I’m working on has a customer and employee side to it. I was planning on using the same login page with redirects to the respective user home page based on the user role.

In my instance, it doesn’t sound like breaking out the pages by containers is the right call.

Thanks,
Tim

7

Does this also mean Mark that when you have an app where some pages are public and some are behind login, that separating this with a separate container for public and one or more “behind login” containers is the right way to go?

8

In order to secure some pages you can add logic to the page in the “On Before Page Enter”, if there no current user just redirect to login page

9

Thanks @vladimir-upirov, understood.

One more thing, that @Tim_Jones asked about earlier in this thread but that went unanswered:

Does the system container have a special meaning, so that it can be reused across different containers to handle login, or does it just contain example code with no strings attached to anything? I am thinking here about confirmation links etc. Or do I need to either rework these or make separate similar pages to handle various scenarios? Can’t find any doc on this…

10

The system container has the pages that are needed to handle basic login cases if you use everything that Backendless provides for user management. That fast solution for development purposes.

it can be reused across different containers to handle login

It can be reused, but you don’t have to do that.

Or do I need to either rework these or make separate similar pages to handle various scenarios?

Unfortunately, we can’t answer this question, as we don’t know your scenarios.

I consider, if you use everything that Backendless provides for user management without 3d party services - you could work the system container. If not - maybe there is a variant to look into custom pages.

Regards, Dima.