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Sorry, but I believe this effort is doomed to fail if you don’t provide compatibility with the open web. It is the only online app distribution environment that
by evv 9y ago
Sorry, but I believe this effort is doomed to fail if you don’t provide compatibility with the open web. It is the only online app distribution environment that has really thrived, other than Apple’s and Google’s.
Of course you could do this easily with electron apps. Too much bloat? Fine- go with a ReactNative/NativeScript approach with a JS VM controlling native UI. Hate JS? Fine- compile to it from your language of choice. Refuse to use a runtime? Fine- compile to webassembly. There is no excuse for not having compatibility with the open web.
As a developer, I have no interest in building for Linux- I need to go where the users are. But if I can develop a nice web app that can be deployed natively to Linux and mobile platforms- sign me up!
- iBelieve 9y agoThe big problem with web apps as first-class citizens is UI inconsistency. What I love about native desktop apps is that they should all follow well-defined user interface guidelines and all use the same toolkit/theme. With web apps, you don't get that - every web app uses its own fonts, its own styles, its own UI structure and navigation.
- wmf 9y agoBut no major desktop app [1] follows the guidelines because they think branding and novelty trumps consistency. [1] Except apps written by the OS developer.
- flukus 9y ago> [1] Except apps written by the OS developer. I assume you mean apple? Because even the apps built into windows 10 are completely inconsistent with one another or any platform standard.
- digi_owl 9y agoMeh, the real problem is bloat (in memory and CPU cycles) and integration with the larger ecosystem. the web has been developed to exist inside a browser, not on the desktop.