4 ms·

> Any website which uses one is, in my opinion, not only extremely poorly designed but uses anti-patterns. I'd be curious to know how you come to that conclusi

by untog 8y ago

> Any website which uses one is, in my opinion, not only extremely poorly designed but uses anti-patterns. I'd be curious to know how you come to that conclusion, since web workers are primarily used to shift heavy computation off the main thread and deliver a better user experience. And service workers exist to make sites available offline. I'm unsure how either is an "anti-pattern".

inetknght 8y ago
Exactly what heavy computation does a web site need to perform? If you have heavy computations to perform and display then perhaps it's time to consider writing a native application. If you need to work offline then perhaps it's time to consider writing a native application.
- RussianCow 8y ago
  This is an extremely short-sighted view of the web. There are many advantages to web apps vs native, the biggest of which is that I can access the same app with the same configuration from (hypothetically) any browser on any device. It is also (generally) easier to develop a web app than a native app, all else being equal. Personally, there are plenty of services I would never use if they required me to install a native app.
  - inetknght 8y ago
    In theory, the internet should be a place where our conflicting opinions about how to use our hardware can coexist. Unfortunately, the internet is slowly evolving where that's not the case. If we want to turn the web into native apps, that's fine. Give me the same amount of control over the web that I have over native apps. With a native app, I can control exactly how much CPU/disk/network it uses. I can have the app re/start automatically and I can work with it natively in literally whatever language I choose. Not only that but the web browser typically does a piss-poor job of isolation between sites. With a web app, everything is more difficult (if not nigh-on impossible). And what do I, as the end user, actually gain in the end? Nothing that I didn't have ten years ago with far less complexity. Ultimately at the end of the day it's my device. Some random third party person should not be permitted to use my device to execute or store whatever they want just because I randomly, accidentally, or was coerced into clicking on a malicious URL.
- untog 8y ago
  Why, though? Let's say I'm making a game. Browsers web workers and WebGL. Why shouldn't I target that universal platform that will allow people to play on Macs, PCs, Linux and all major mobile platforms? It just seems very odd to draw lines in the sand that don't need to be there. How is any of it bad design or an "anti-pattern"?

by untog 8y ago

inetknght 8y ago

Exactly what heavy computation does a web site need to perform? If you have heavy computations to perform and display then perhaps it's time to consider writing a native application. If you need to work offline then perhaps it's time to consider writing a native application.

RussianCow 8y ago
This is an extremely short-sighted view of the web. There are many advantages to web apps vs native, the biggest of which is that I can access the same app with the same configuration from (hypothetically) any browser on any device. It is also (generally) easier to develop a web app than a native app, all else being equal. Personally, there are plenty of services I would never use if they required me to install a native app.
- inetknght 8y ago
  In theory, the internet should be a place where our conflicting opinions about how to use our hardware can coexist. Unfortunately, the internet is slowly evolving where that's not the case. If we want to turn the web into native apps, that's fine. Give me the same amount of control over the web that I have over native apps. With a native app, I can control exactly how much CPU/disk/network it uses. I can have the app re/start automatically and I can work with it natively in literally whatever language I choose. Not only that but the web browser typically does a piss-poor job of isolation between sites. With a web app, everything is more difficult (if not nigh-on impossible). And what do I, as the end user, actually gain in the end? Nothing that I didn't have ten years ago with far less complexity. Ultimately at the end of the day it's my device. Some random third party person should not be permitted to use my device to execute or store whatever they want just because I randomly, accidentally, or was coerced into clicking on a malicious URL.
untog 8y ago
Why, though? Let's say I'm making a game. Browsers web workers and WebGL. Why shouldn't I target that universal platform that will allow people to play on Macs, PCs, Linux and all major mobile platforms? It just seems very odd to draw lines in the sand that don't need to be there. How is any of it bad design or an "anti-pattern"?