Ipfs web apps architecture(s)

[dryajov]

I think we've got a great list of things collected here from the standpoint of the end user interaction as well as browsers vendors. What I haven't seen being captured in one single place, which IMHO is part of this effort, are the possible web application architecture(s), patters and guidelines and what is currently possible with IPFS in the browser from the stand point of building an app. I know this might feel unrelated to the current effort, but IMHO it is.

I see two points worth capturing and expanding:

• How would you build an IPFS enabled web app currently?
  • What can you serve from IPFS and what has to be served over good'ol HTTP
  • ...
• What would be the ideal support required from the browser and ipfs itself to build the next gen web apps?
  • This is heavily discussed in this repo, but not consolidated under an issue that someone evaluating the technology can use to gain a clear understanding of what this offers him/her as an app developer/vendor.

How is this relevant to browser vendors?

• Its relevant to know which primitives the browser already offers and how they can be used with IPFS, their possibilities and limitations - i.e. ServiceWorkers, etc...
• We need to be able to say what are the ideal IPFS primitives required and what the next gen apps would look like (pretty ambitious, but worth thinking about in this context)
• The above will also allow understanding better what would be the transition path web app developers would need to follow to get from whats currently possible without native support to what will be possible once native support is there.

If this sounds like something worth discussing, I suggest we get on a call to further discuss it and capture the outcome here later on.

@flyingzumwalt @lgierth @diasdavid @kyledrake @kumavis @Gozala @haadcode

(apologies if this has been already discussed elsewhere - I couldn't find anything in specific in this repo)

[dryajov]

Linking @kumavis solution #52.

[Kamelia2000]

hello possible to make realtime application like IM messenger based on IPFS ?

[lidel]

@Kamelia2000 yes, pubsub experiment was added last year:

• 2017-05: Take a look at pubsub on IPFS
• 2017-07: Distributed pubsub primitives for js-ipfs in the Browser

If you want to go in-depth, check additional pubsub resources suggested by @victorbjelkholm:

Everything pubsub in one comment!
How it got started: ipfs/notes#64 (2015)
Notes on simple initial implementation (floodsub): https://github.com/libp2p/pubsub-notes
The future of pubsub in IPFS: https://github.com/libp2p/research-pubsub
Check out both the notes and issues in the two last repos, as there is information there as well.
Some more links to further information is here as well: ipfs/js-ipfs#580

IPFS community is building realtime apps with it, quite successfully so far:

• 2017-07: Tutorial: How to build an application with IPFS PubSub Room
• 2018-01: Peer-to-peer chat example built with JavaScript IPFS
  • annotated sources (great for learning basics)
  • discussion at HN