The strength of a person is often measured not by their success during favorable conditions, but by how they react when facing adversity. Similarly, the quality of the software is not fully seen when it is functioning under ideal conditions, but when it is tested by unexpected events such as network instability. In a world where users can access software from anywhere, it is crucial to consider the reliability of software under adverse conditions, as it can greatly affect the user experience and ultimately impact a business.

One way to ensure software reliability is by asking the question “Will my software work when there is a sudden cut to the internet?” or “Will my software load fast enough when the network connectivity is poor, such as with 2G?”. While network instability used to be a significant issue in the past, modern technologies have made it possible to address such challenges.

There are various techniques that can be used to ensure software reliability, including

Service Worker

Service workers are JavaScript files that run in the background of a web application, allowing it to continue functioning even when there is no internet connection. Service workers can intercept network requests, cache responses, and serve content from the cache when the network is not available. This approach is particularly useful for static assets like CSS, JavaScript, and HTML

Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

Progressive Web Apps is a set of web technologies that allow web applications to behave more like native applications. PWAs can work offline, send push notifications, and even be installed on the user’s device. PWAs can be built with Service Workers and other web technologies.

Local Storage

Local storage is another client-side storage mechanism that allows web applications to store data locally. Local storage can be used to store user preferences, data that the application needs to function when the network is not available, and other information.

Lazy loading

Lazy loading is a technique used in web development to improve website performance and reduce page load times. It involves delaying the loading of non-critical resources, such as images, videos, and other media until the user actually needs to view them. This means that the initial page load is faster, as only essential resources are loaded, and subsequent resources are loaded on demand as the user scrolls down the page.

I will be explaining these solutions in more detail in my next blog