iOS/Android Syncing with Delphi/C# Desktop Application

Question

Not sure if this is the correct Stack Exchange website but here goes..

A client has asked me to look into the possibility of having a iOS or Android App for typing in information storing that in a SQLLite database and then syncing up with the main desktop application when plugged in by cable or something other syncing technology.

The desktop application is a Windows one written currently in Delphi 7.

Are there any API's to sync data from a SQLLite database on iOS/Android that Delphi can use?

If not, then would it be better if the desktop application was written in C# as its a newer language that can consume the API's easier?

Answer 1

For unidirectional sync (device to desktop), I would start with a simple web service (HTTP based). The new Web Sockets standard, also based on HTTP, is a little more complicated, but would allow for bidirectional communication.

The devices can HTTP POST database changes to the server, and the desktop client can pull new data (using HTTP GET) or receive push notifications, for example using a Web Sockets client.

For desktop to device you could also check out Apple Push Notifications and the corresponding Android technology.

For high availability I recommend a cloud-based solution like Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Google App Engine (GAE) or Azure.