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My current fantasy is that Apple would open-source SwiftUI and the industry converges around that for native UIs, adding support for custom third-party skins/th

My current fantasy is that Apple would open-source SwiftUI and the industry converges around that for native UIs, adding support for custom third-party skins/themes later. If they can already do it for such distinct devices as Mac, iPhone, iPad, TV and Watch, there's no reason it can' be adapted for Windows, Linux and Android as well. This is something that should have happened 5 years ago, before Electron etc. had a chance to fill in a obviously much-needed need. Really, why do we need anything more than "Button" to describe a button, or "List" to describe a list, on any GUI? HTML solved this a trillion years ago, it's a wonder it took so long to be wholeheartedly adopted for native UIs. I know Microsoft tried with WPF/XAML but it didn't seem to catch on.

pjmlp 7y ago
It certainly did catch on Windows, served as influence to JavaFX and QML design, and the WPF grid layout landed on the Web as the initial CSS Grid proposal.
- Razengan 7y ago
  Are most Windows apps currently designed with WPF or something else? I have always looked to things like the Calculator and Notepad as a signal of confidence; I know there’s little reason to rewrite them, but the proof of the pudding would be if Microsoft updated something as “simple” as those applets to their championed UI framework. I know Visual Studio (and their abandoned Expression Studio) is/was built with WPF, but what’s the score in the “wild”?
  - pjmlp 7y ago
    Most greenfield enterprise apps are WPF/UWP, some still insist on using Forms though. No one uses MFC/ATL for greenfield applications on Windows. When C++ comes into play, it is plugged via DLLs or COM into .NET applications (or even via C++/CX, C++/WinRT or C++/CLI). As for pure Win32 C style, for greenfield apps, only if are feeling masochist. Not counting 3rd party alternatives here like Qt, Delphi or C++ Builder.
    - Razengan 7y ago
      What's the distinction between WPF/UWP/WinRT/.NET? What's the Windows' analogue of Swift+SwiftUI? i.e. telling someone new to the platform about what to focus on.

pjmlp 7y ago

It certainly did catch on Windows, served as influence to JavaFX and QML design, and the WPF grid layout landed on the Web as the initial CSS Grid proposal.

Razengan 7y ago
Are most Windows apps currently designed with WPF or something else? I have always looked to things like the Calculator and Notepad as a signal of confidence; I know there’s little reason to rewrite them, but the proof of the pudding would be if Microsoft updated something as “simple” as those applets to their championed UI framework. I know Visual Studio (and their abandoned Expression Studio) is/was built with WPF, but what’s the score in the “wild”?
- pjmlp 7y ago
  Most greenfield enterprise apps are WPF/UWP, some still insist on using Forms though. No one uses MFC/ATL for greenfield applications on Windows. When C++ comes into play, it is plugged via DLLs or COM into .NET applications (or even via C++/CX, C++/WinRT or C++/CLI). As for pure Win32 C style, for greenfield apps, only if are feeling masochist. Not counting 3rd party alternatives here like Qt, Delphi or C++ Builder.
  - Razengan 7y ago
    What's the distinction between WPF/UWP/WinRT/.NET? What's the Windows' analogue of Swift+SwiftUI? i.e. telling someone new to the platform about what to focus on.