Building a new app seeking advice on where to start looking

[BradHenderson]

I am creating a mobile app for our "operators" to access a database held in our Dropbox.  I will need them to access their database file, download it to their tablet, modify the file during their work day then replace the file in the Dropbox.  I have made the file available offline in the Dropbox app on the tablet and copy it to an internal directory where I can read it.  However when I try to save it and copy it back to the Dropbox folder, within my app, it saves ok but Dropbox doesn't treat it as modified and doesn't update the file in the cloud.  If I use the Dropbox edit option and save, it then updates the file in the cloud.  I am wondering if I am using the correct method here or whether I should be communicating directly with Dropbox using token, secret & app key and bypass the Dropbox app on the device.

I'm hoping someone in the community can advise me on the best way to proceed.

Regards

Brad

[Здравко]

Hi @BradHenderson,

The keyword in your description is "copy" of your database that every operator will use. Let's imagine 2 operators work. The first operator makes some change in database and upload it to Dropbox. After that, the second operator does the same. What would be the database state and is that what you expect? 🤔

It's matter of your application conception. The answer of above question and keeping in mind that Dropbox mobile application just provide access to the data but doesn't sync will lead you to the right decision. There is no universal answer to your initial question (in spite using Dropbox API and optionally SDK is advisable way for third party applications integration).

Hope this gives direction.

[BradHenderson]

Thank you for your assistance each operator will have their own database so there won’t be a conflict. So SDK is a preferred method?
Thanks again

[Здравко · Accepted solution]

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@BradHenderson wrote:
... each operator will have their own database so there won’t be a conflict. ...

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Oh..🙂 That makes the thing easy. In such a case you're not limited in any way and can use whatever you want and convenient for you (including not to change anything done up to the moment).

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@BradHenderson wrote:
... So SDK is a preferred method? ...

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Yes, whenever possible (and when it doesn't disturb you) usage of SDK is a good idea. In spite currently not something mandatory, this will let you easy extend the functionality in the future if at some moment you would need to make a sync between different databases, for instance. Pros are that you wont need installed Dropbox application (your application will not depends on the other) and usage of SDK (compared to direct API) makes the things easier, since many parts of trivial coding are already done and ready for usage. So, select appropriate SDK(s) according to the platform(s) you will run your application on and go on.

Hope this helps.