We have a unique challenge with our web application. We need to be able to communicate with physical devices and have the ability to install necessary software on our clients' computers. The burning question is: Is there a way to achieve this without relying on ActiveX controls?
One potential solution I've considered is installing a tailor-made webserver on each client's machine, allowing JavaScript on our webpage to interact with that server. A similar concept can be seen in how uses JavaScript to access subdomains linked to 127.0.0.1 like . However, this approach presents challenges such as conflicts over port 80 or an undesirable reliance on nonstandard ports for our web application.
Are there any alternative strategies we should consider to address this issue?
Just to clarify, our clients will utilize standard PCs running Windows. Our goal is to establish communication between these PCs and physical devices, including a signature pad. Ultimately, we want users to sign the pad and see their signature displayed on the web page.