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If this is true, then why are even bigger players with more resources like Facebook and Microsoft building on top of Electron instead of building natively? I s
by joekim 10y ago
If this is true, then why are even bigger players with more resources like Facebook and Microsoft building on top of Electron instead of building natively?
I surmise that you are not alone in believing that Slack would be better built as a native app. But if it's such a bad direction why are so many going down this road and what are they missing?
- pjmlp 10y ago> ....Facebook and Microsoft building on top of Electron instead of building natively? JavaScript devs are usually cheaper to hire than C++, Java, Objective-C, Swift, .NET ones.
- joekim 10y agoI think VSCode by Microsoft is a good example of Electron done well. In their case, I don't think it's because their web technology devs are cheaper. I wouldn't be surprised if that team knew multiple platforms and languages. I think it's all about finding the balance between dev costs, making a great product, and getting it out fast on multiple platforms.
- coldtea 10y ago>If this is true, then why are even bigger players with more resources like Facebook and Microsoft building on top of Electron instead of building natively? Because software is a pop culture, and the latest fad always prevails at most shops. Also companies care more about cutting corners and shipping sooner than about the long haul. That said, it's not like Facebook particularly enjoyed web based apps: "Mark Zuckerberg: Our Biggest Mistake Was Betting Too Much On HTML5" https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/11/mark-zuckerberg-our-biggest-mistake-with-mobile-was-betting-too-much-on-html5/ https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/11/mark-zuckerberg-our-bigges...
- joekim 10y agoThe mistake there was one of timing and approach and they learned from it. The promise of cross-platform, web-based technology is still there, that's why they created React Native.