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It is totally me, seeing as how many electron projects there are, but I have never been able to make anything with it. Not even a POC, I have found it very comp

It is totally me, seeing as how many electron projects there are, but I have never been able to make anything with it. Not even a POC, I have found it very complex.

justanegg 7y ago
It's a cargo cult
mirekrusin 7y ago
Complex compared to what exactly?
z3t4 7y ago
Also check out nw.js which is like Electron, but you start in browser context instead of node.js context. Also consider running a node.js server and launching existing chrome with chrome --app=http://localhost http://localhost or iexplore -k http://localhost http://localhost
- dynamite-ready 7y ago
  Agreed. I think NW.js is great (https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js). Especially the binary blob feature which can be used to compile JavaScript to V8 bytecode, and obfuscate portions of your source for security purposes.
- reeeeee 7y ago
  I've read a tutorial that creates a small desktop application using nw.js and vue, and the package size was 233 mb. This made me decide to use Electron after all. here it is: https://dev.to/n_tepluhina/building-a-desktop-app-with-vue-nwjs-1f9e https://dev.to/n_tepluhina/building-a-desktop-app-with-vue-n...
aeonflux 7y ago
If you have a working website it takes like 5 lines of code and random electron guide to actually do a POC. If you want to have a standalone APP, you need to have locally working SPA app. That requires rather deeper familiarity with current JS build stack.
cvrajeesh 7y ago
there are few popular ones Slack, VSCode, Atom editor, etc...
- nullandvoid 7y ago
  The OP mentioned closed source electron products where the source code can be safely protected
- pjmlp 7y ago
  Given the React Native for Windows talk at BUILD 2019, and their comparisation how it beats Electron, how Office and other teams are now adopting it, I still hope VSCode will eventually join the party. They even did a nice graphic. With UWP C++ being the reference point of 100%, UWP C# gets also 100% (thanks .NET Native), React Native 180% and Electron goes sky high above 700%! https://youtu.be/TZnajQqqKV8?t=2919 https://youtu.be/TZnajQqqKV8?t=2919 This is how much everyone doing Electron apps is contributing to global warming, including VSCode team.
  - calferreira 7y ago
    I'm surprised microsoft isn't pushing xamarin instead of React Native for cross platform.
    - pjmlp 7y ago
      They address that during BUILD. Xamarin for .NET devs, React Native for C++ devs (think Qt/QML).
  - yboris 7y ago
    Seems like React Native is for Android, iOS and UWP (Windows), so no Mac or Linux, right? Doesn't seem like a direct competitor with Electron then. Right?
    - pjmlp 7y ago
      There is ongoing support for React Native for Mac. http://www.reactnative.com/build-os-x-desktop-apps-using-react-native/ http://www.reactnative.com/build-os-x-desktop-apps-using-rea... You got me there on GNU/Linux support, which doesn't mean it will not come later. They just need to decide which flavour of Linux desktop one is supposed to support in React Native.
_pmf_ 7y ago
That's my impression too. It seems like a lot of the "native development is hard, so I use Electron" have never once used native C# with Visual Studio.
- Arbalest 7y ago
  When all you have is Javascript, everything looks like a nail
- mceachen 7y ago
  Or they might not have the bandwidth to deal with n different builds. I've written UIs in native motif, x, mfc, Android, and iOS, but with modern HTML & CSS (especially in the last couple years with flexbox, grid, canvas, svg support) and TypeScript it seems like there's new goodness daily. That said, I'd love a divorce from Electron if something else would give me a system tray, node runtime, and seamless upgrades, supported cross-platform.
- megous 7y ago
  Visual Studio. That's a deal breaker right there. With Electron runtime you can just write a text file on any of the supported platforms and you have a working, running desktop app. No compilation needed. No need to install SDKs, deal with builds, project files, etc.
luismedel 7y ago
I don't think it's very complex. Only look at the target users! :-) Jokes aside, lack of basic code protection (aside of script minimization and/or obfuscation) it's that prevents me from using Electron/Atom/whatever. I know anyone could decompile a C# application easily, but I find the javascript case worst. Do you know any commercial applications using any of these solutions? (I'm speaking of shareware / paid software, not "Whatsapp desktop" type)
- pluto9 7y ago
  GitKraken uses Electron and has both free and paid features.
  - luismedel 7y ago
    Please, correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't know GitKraken enough. It appears to be a free client for a paid service. Not the type of commercial software I was thinking of.
    - pluto9 7y ago
      It's a desktop GUI for Git, along the same lines as Sourcetree. They've added stuff over time like various paid integrations and apparently a Kanban board, but it's always primarily been a Git GUI. Mailspring is another one I can think of. It's a free email client that offers extra features for pay.
- code_Whisperer 7y ago
  Visual Studio Code?
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    VSC isn't commercial, though it's probably narrowing the market for commercial IDEs.
- mceachen 7y ago
  PhotoStructure for Desktop runs on macOS, Windows 10, and Ubuntu Desktop, is packaged with Electron (I'm alpha testing 6.0.0 today), and will be commercially licensed when the closed beta ends. I'm also preparing a PhotoStructure for Servers build that is electron-less, and uses either docker or snap (it's how I run it on my NAS). I'm looking for more beta testers for this headless build, if you're interested. https://blog.photostructure.com/introducing-photostructure/ https://blog.photostructure.com/introducing-photostructure/ has more background and signup information. Disclaimer: I'm the author.
yboris 7y ago
If you happen to know Angular, it takes 1 minute to have something working: https://github.com/maximegris/angular-electron https://github.com/maximegris/angular-electron The thing I built has enough code you can learn from to get you farther: https://github.com/whyboris/Video-Hub-App https://github.com/whyboris/Video-Hub-App
CmdrKrool 7y ago
I have a hobby project in Electron but agree, the forced separation of "main" and "renderer" processes with multiple methods of influencing each other (ipcMain/ipcRenderer, remote, webContents.executeJavascript/send), and the further splitting of the renderer process into multiple similarly-named substructures (webFrame, webview, BrowserWindow, webContents) is a lot to get one's head around right off the bat and make stick, especially if you're the sort who wants to survey and disambiguate all the facilities of the platform beneath you before starting to code, rather than just trusting tutorials and tweaking code snippets towards some degree of satisfaction if and when they 'just work'. On the Rich Hickey "simple vs easy" scale, Electron is very much leaning to the "easy" side.
52-6F-62 7y ago
Here's a very simple and terrible example. Nothing happens except the time is updated every second in the render process. This runs at 90.3 MB RAM usage on my machine and builds to 165.7 MB. It's about as bare of a reference as you might find. Have at it. (Also there's no Readme, just consult the package file. I only threw this together when I was finding my way around it this spring) https://github.com/Robert-Fairley/electron-typescript-starter https://github.com/Robert-Fairley/electron-typescript-starte...

It is totally me, seeing as how many electron projects there are, but I have never been able to make anything with it. Not even a POC, I have found it very complex.

justanegg 7y ago

It's a cargo cult

mirekrusin 7y ago

Complex compared to what exactly?

z3t4 7y ago

Also check out nw.js which is like Electron, but you start in browser context instead of node.js context. Also consider running a node.js server and launching existing chrome with chrome --app=http://localhost http://localhost or iexplore -k http://localhost http://localhost

dynamite-ready 7y ago
Agreed. I think NW.js is great (https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js). Especially the binary blob feature which can be used to compile JavaScript to V8 bytecode, and obfuscate portions of your source for security purposes.
reeeeee 7y ago
I've read a tutorial that creates a small desktop application using nw.js and vue, and the package size was 233 mb. This made me decide to use Electron after all. here it is: https://dev.to/n_tepluhina/building-a-desktop-app-with-vue-nwjs-1f9e https://dev.to/n_tepluhina/building-a-desktop-app-with-vue-n...

aeonflux 7y ago

If you have a working website it takes like 5 lines of code and random electron guide to actually do a POC. If you want to have a standalone APP, you need to have locally working SPA app. That requires rather deeper familiarity with current JS build stack.

cvrajeesh 7y ago

there are few popular ones Slack, VSCode, Atom editor, etc...

nullandvoid 7y ago
The OP mentioned closed source electron products where the source code can be safely protected
pjmlp 7y ago
Given the React Native for Windows talk at BUILD 2019, and their comparisation how it beats Electron, how Office and other teams are now adopting it, I still hope VSCode will eventually join the party. They even did a nice graphic. With UWP C++ being the reference point of 100%, UWP C# gets also 100% (thanks .NET Native), React Native 180% and Electron goes sky high above 700%! https://youtu.be/TZnajQqqKV8?t=2919 https://youtu.be/TZnajQqqKV8?t=2919 This is how much everyone doing Electron apps is contributing to global warming, including VSCode team.
- calferreira 7y ago
  I'm surprised microsoft isn't pushing xamarin instead of React Native for cross platform.
  - pjmlp 7y ago
    They address that during BUILD. Xamarin for .NET devs, React Native for C++ devs (think Qt/QML).
- yboris 7y ago
  Seems like React Native is for Android, iOS and UWP (Windows), so no Mac or Linux, right? Doesn't seem like a direct competitor with Electron then. Right?
  - pjmlp 7y ago
    There is ongoing support for React Native for Mac. http://www.reactnative.com/build-os-x-desktop-apps-using-react-native/ http://www.reactnative.com/build-os-x-desktop-apps-using-rea... You got me there on GNU/Linux support, which doesn't mean it will not come later. They just need to decide which flavour of Linux desktop one is supposed to support in React Native.

_pmf_ 7y ago

That's my impression too. It seems like a lot of the "native development is hard, so I use Electron" have never once used native C# with Visual Studio.

Arbalest 7y ago
When all you have is Javascript, everything looks like a nail
mceachen 7y ago
Or they might not have the bandwidth to deal with n different builds. I've written UIs in native motif, x, mfc, Android, and iOS, but with modern HTML & CSS (especially in the last couple years with flexbox, grid, canvas, svg support) and TypeScript it seems like there's new goodness daily. That said, I'd love a divorce from Electron if something else would give me a system tray, node runtime, and seamless upgrades, supported cross-platform.
megous 7y ago
Visual Studio. That's a deal breaker right there. With Electron runtime you can just write a text file on any of the supported platforms and you have a working, running desktop app. No compilation needed. No need to install SDKs, deal with builds, project files, etc.

luismedel 7y ago

I don't think it's very complex. Only look at the target users! :-) Jokes aside, lack of basic code protection (aside of script minimization and/or obfuscation) it's that prevents me from using Electron/Atom/whatever. I know anyone could decompile a C# application easily, but I find the javascript case worst. Do you know any commercial applications using any of these solutions? (I'm speaking of shareware / paid software, not "Whatsapp desktop" type)

pluto9 7y ago
GitKraken uses Electron and has both free and paid features.
- luismedel 7y ago
  Please, correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't know GitKraken enough. It appears to be a free client for a paid service. Not the type of commercial software I was thinking of.
  - pluto9 7y ago
    It's a desktop GUI for Git, along the same lines as Sourcetree. They've added stuff over time like various paid integrations and apparently a Kanban board, but it's always primarily been a Git GUI. Mailspring is another one I can think of. It's a free email client that offers extra features for pay.
code_Whisperer 7y ago
Visual Studio Code?
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  VSC isn't commercial, though it's probably narrowing the market for commercial IDEs.
mceachen 7y ago
PhotoStructure for Desktop runs on macOS, Windows 10, and Ubuntu Desktop, is packaged with Electron (I'm alpha testing 6.0.0 today), and will be commercially licensed when the closed beta ends. I'm also preparing a PhotoStructure for Servers build that is electron-less, and uses either docker or snap (it's how I run it on my NAS). I'm looking for more beta testers for this headless build, if you're interested. https://blog.photostructure.com/introducing-photostructure/ https://blog.photostructure.com/introducing-photostructure/ has more background and signup information. Disclaimer: I'm the author.

yboris 7y ago

If you happen to know Angular, it takes 1 minute to have something working: https://github.com/maximegris/angular-electron https://github.com/maximegris/angular-electron The thing I built has enough code you can learn from to get you farther: https://github.com/whyboris/Video-Hub-App https://github.com/whyboris/Video-Hub-App

CmdrKrool 7y ago

I have a hobby project in Electron but agree, the forced separation of "main" and "renderer" processes with multiple methods of influencing each other (ipcMain/ipcRenderer, remote, webContents.executeJavascript/send), and the further splitting of the renderer process into multiple similarly-named substructures (webFrame, webview, BrowserWindow, webContents) is a lot to get one's head around right off the bat and make stick, especially if you're the sort who wants to survey and disambiguate all the facilities of the platform beneath you before starting to code, rather than just trusting tutorials and tweaking code snippets towards some degree of satisfaction if and when they 'just work'. On the Rich Hickey "simple vs easy" scale, Electron is very much leaning to the "easy" side.

52-6F-62 7y ago

Here's a very simple and terrible example. Nothing happens except the time is updated every second in the render process. This runs at 90.3 MB RAM usage on my machine and builds to 165.7 MB. It's about as bare of a reference as you might find. Have at it. (Also there's no Readme, just consult the package file. I only threw this together when I was finding my way around it this spring) https://github.com/Robert-Fairley/electron-typescript-starter https://github.com/Robert-Fairley/electron-typescript-starte...