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This is really awesome :) The truth is that the 'web' is really becoming the cross-platform application architecture. Just a few years back I despised the ver

by slimsag 11y ago

This is really awesome :) The truth is that the 'web' is really becoming the cross-platform application architecture. Just a few years back I despised the very idea of this -- I want to program in my favorite language, not JavaScript (no matter how nice it is these days). I'd love to write applications that can act like native ones while also being cross platform (and use multiple threads at that!). The fact that WebAssembly[1] intends to eventually add support for multi-threaded programs and languages aside from JavaScript (including GC'd ones) is amazing. Personally I believe these are the two biggest blockers for most people who would want to write an app using web technology. Although they explicitly mention that their goal is not to replace JS in their FAQ, that IMO is more akin to a _"nothing will ever replace C"_ statement rather than a _"no apps will be written using other languages than C"_. [1] https://github.com/WebAssembly https://github.com/WebAssembly

rimantas 11y ago
The truth is that web is getting deeper and deeper into identity crisis. And if any platform is further away from having coherent architecture, it is web.
- placebo 11y ago
  Exactly the same could have been said 15 years ago, and yet I'd argue it is the platform which has advanced the most in terms of both use and technology, and all this in spite of great standardization difficulties that other platforms didn't have to deal with. I expect the same to happen in the future on both desktop and mobile platforms, despite the FUD.
  - vezzy-fnord 11y ago
    It certainly has advanced the most, but that's a misleading presentation. It has advanced the most technologically only relative to its own starting position, i.e. it spent all this time catching up from blank state to where everyone else already was (and still is).
    - bobajeff 11y ago
      The web does things those other platforms don't. Like run unsigned applications from any server ephemerally on any machine or system. It's not playing catch up so much as adding powerful features without sacrificing it's core attributes.
      - deleted 11y ago
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      - TimJYoung 11y ago
        Yes, and yes. The things it can't do are a pain, but the things that it can do are things that are very difficult to do in a standardized way with desktop/mobile. A cross-platform UI that simply works on just about any device was considered the holy grail of computing at one point. Everyone gave up on it after a while, and very quietly the web just "became" the platform that enabled such a UI, without limiting how such a UI can be created.
- KingMob 11y ago
  The web has problems, for sure, but it's still way more unified than apps, which have two major, largely incompatible, ecosystems: Android and iOS.
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by slimsag 11y ago

rimantas 11y ago

The truth is that web is getting deeper and deeper into identity crisis. And if any platform is further away from having coherent architecture, it is web.

placebo 11y ago
Exactly the same could have been said 15 years ago, and yet I'd argue it is the platform which has advanced the most in terms of both use and technology, and all this in spite of great standardization difficulties that other platforms didn't have to deal with. I expect the same to happen in the future on both desktop and mobile platforms, despite the FUD.
- vezzy-fnord 11y ago
  It certainly has advanced the most, but that's a misleading presentation. It has advanced the most technologically only relative to its own starting position, i.e. it spent all this time catching up from blank state to where everyone else already was (and still is).
  - bobajeff 11y ago
    The web does things those other platforms don't. Like run unsigned applications from any server ephemerally on any machine or system. It's not playing catch up so much as adding powerful features without sacrificing it's core attributes.
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
    - TimJYoung 11y ago
      Yes, and yes. The things it can't do are a pain, but the things that it can do are things that are very difficult to do in a standardized way with desktop/mobile. A cross-platform UI that simply works on just about any device was considered the holy grail of computing at one point. Everyone gave up on it after a while, and very quietly the web just "became" the platform that enabled such a UI, without limiting how such a UI can be created.
KingMob 11y ago
The web has problems, for sure, but it's still way more unified than apps, which have two major, largely incompatible, ecosystems: Android and iOS.

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