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Sad Netflix is missing. The web should be standard and identical everywhere, which means Firefox and Chrome et al should operate the same everywhere. There was

Sad Netflix is missing. The web should be standard and identical everywhere, which means Firefox and Chrome et al should operate the same everywhere. There was just a comment by someone in a recent thread about apps in browsers being the size of the original Doom, which stated that the web is the only real, true cross-platform production development and consumption environment (looking for it) and it's almost true... Except for where lobbying is strong enough to even break the open, standard web with proprietary software. Boo. Edit: found the comment, by @dasil003 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11552598 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11552598 Edit 2: despite the contentious conversation dasil003's comment caused, I agree with it, but you could already tell that.

Sanddancer 11y ago
Should be, perhaps. Much like Java should be standard and identical everywhere. Differences are inevitable, priorities depend a lot more on real world constraints than fleeting desires. Those proprietary standards exist because the web continues to be rather terrible if your problem's not easily explicated in javascript. The Javascript monoculture that exemplifies the modern web is perhaps the greatest thing holding back good cross-platform development. There's no way to experiment with other languages on equal footing, there's no way to easily extend browsers to provide hooks to native libraries and functionality in a reasonable manner. If the web is the only cross platform environment, then give me my walled gardens, because they're gonna be the only place open enough to actually get things done. The web's a greenhouse, with only the illusion of freedom until you get next to the glass walls.
- Mordak 11y ago
  > The Javascript monoculture that exemplifies the modern web is perhaps the greatest thing holding back good cross-platform development. I dunno, there was a time when javascript wasn't the only game in town, and it sucked. ActiveX controls for hooking into native libraries, Java applets that assumed you had a JVM installed, subtle differences between javascript and jscript, VBS in the browser.. It was terrible, and the web is better now that they are largely a thing of the past. I'm not a superfan of javascript, but building cross platform stuff in the browser seems easier now that you can count on its ubiquity and everyone is generally on board. Getting things done might be easier in walled gardens, but those gardens aren't usually cross platform.

Sanddancer 11y ago

Should be, perhaps. Much like Java should be standard and identical everywhere. Differences are inevitable, priorities depend a lot more on real world constraints than fleeting desires. Those proprietary standards exist because the web continues to be rather terrible if your problem's not easily explicated in javascript. The Javascript monoculture that exemplifies the modern web is perhaps the greatest thing holding back good cross-platform development. There's no way to experiment with other languages on equal footing, there's no way to easily extend browsers to provide hooks to native libraries and functionality in a reasonable manner. If the web is the only cross platform environment, then give me my walled gardens, because they're gonna be the only place open enough to actually get things done. The web's a greenhouse, with only the illusion of freedom until you get next to the glass walls.

Mordak 11y ago
> The Javascript monoculture that exemplifies the modern web is perhaps the greatest thing holding back good cross-platform development. I dunno, there was a time when javascript wasn't the only game in town, and it sucked. ActiveX controls for hooking into native libraries, Java applets that assumed you had a JVM installed, subtle differences between javascript and jscript, VBS in the browser.. It was terrible, and the web is better now that they are largely a thing of the past. I'm not a superfan of javascript, but building cross platform stuff in the browser seems easier now that you can count on its ubiquity and everyone is generally on board. Getting things done might be easier in walled gardens, but those gardens aren't usually cross platform.