Scoot is an open-source, MIT licensed, JavaScript library intended for rapid application development (RAD) with Microsoft .HTA's using pure JavaScript, jQuery and Knock Out.
There are many ways to create applications in pure Javascript these days and the ways are quickly evolving, but I found them all to be overly complicated and just too much for the little I needed. With Scoot you write standard web code; HTML and Javascript as you normally would, but now you have access to the local PCs files and folders, read only access to the registry and ODBC database access. Plus, JSON is native to Scoot and there is no compilation, installation, command window commands, windows path updates or module linking to do.
You merely write a page as you normally would any other HTML page including any existing Javascript libraries you wish to use.
You can quickly prototype and test with Scoot. Then copy and paste into your MVC application (if using jQuery and Knock Out). ... Or just use the .HTA as an actual application (as was the intent from MS) until Microsoft cuts support for .HTAs. At which point you will still have very valid and useful JavaScript to port over to any infrastructure you need. Any basic web server will easily host a any page you created in Scoot.
Reusing the code from the prototype will save time and money.
Everybody wins!
Scoot currently requires jQuery and Knock Out. Bootstrap is also recommended.