I need to write a utility program in JAVA that lets the user upload a file(spreadsheet etc.) and display it on the UI and later do some interaction on it and creates a template(flat file) out of it. It's more like mapping one format to another. Should I make a web-app or desktop app(standalone/thick client) for this scenario? What criteria let you decide between the two? I am new to desktop apps, so I am more leaning towards a very simple webapp deployed in tomcat. But I am willing to get my feet wets if it worth the effort to make a thick client instead.
Any tips?
I would decide based on 'who you want to be able to access it'. Also consider things like 'hosting costs' (there are free-tiers but someone can still upload to your endpoint unless you plan on securing it) and if its a webapp then the file will need to be uploaded to the server first before it can be read. (These are extra steps that wouldn't be required by a thick client (desktop) application which could just read directly from the local drive). If this is for a particular person then I think a thick client (desktop) application would be best suited just to avoid the extra hassle of uploading files, securing the web app (from people uploading to your endpoint), hosting fees, bandwidth costs etc. It seems like it would be the best option to write it with a thick client (desktop) application first as less steps are required and you can focus on writing just the load, mapping and display code.