Provider an installer for datanode

[ablack3]

I put myself in the role of "new datanode user" with the following user story:

"As a OMOP CDM dataholder (who is not a developer) I want to use datanode to execute an OHDSI study on my CDM so that I can contribute to OHDSI evidence generation"

Assume that I

• Have an introductory knowledge of docker
• Can follow basic steps and input terminal/shell commands
• Cannot debug, troubleshoot, inspect logs, or otherwise have deep knowledge of software development or devops
• Will give up if I follow installation instructions and can't get the application to start up after about 20 minutes of effort

I followed the instructions at https://github.com/OHDSI/ArachneNodeAPI/wiki/DataNode-Setup-with-Docker-(Mac-or-Linux) and localhost gives no response so now I need to troubleshoot.

An enhancement I would like to request (and possibly help build if I'm able) is a datanode installer that makes the process of installing datanode on Mac, Linux, or Windows as easy as installing most other "end user" applications (e.g. download the software, open the downloaded package, click install). Even better would be to provide the flexibility to deploy datanode as a native desktop app using something like electron.

Why treat datanode as a desktop application? OHDSI studies are commonly executed on desktop computers. Installing a single application like datanode on a single computer is a much easier to do than convincing a healthcare IT organization to allocate precious resources to deploy a hosted app that must be maintained, is available on a network, has to manage credentials, etc. Deploying hosted apps are a higher bar to clear and bring with them more considerations. As an example RStudio makes its way into organizations first as free and easily installable desktop application. When a critical mass of R users exist only then will an organization deploy it as a centrally managed hosted application. In the same way I'm suggesting that the primary entry point for new datanode users should be through a desktop app experience.