3 ms·

In whhat way a web app is better in this regards? Most app that need to push updates to the client do it by having a background service talking to the update s

In whhat way a web app is better in this regards? Most app that need to push updates to the client do it by having a background service talking to the update server or polling for updates You can even do it via HTTP(S) if every other protocol is blocked by a firewall or a corporate proxy

arendtio 7y ago
Web apps are better because they are as much device-independent as apps can get nowadays. Service Workers are the background service for web apps, but since users don't want those services to drain the battery unnecessarily, you have to use the Push API to trigger those background jobs. So yes, if the app is the active app, you can do polling, WebSockets and all the like and have no problem. Background services are (rightfully) limited for web apps, but not even providing the Push API kills a lot of valid use cases. Firefox and Chrome both provide that API.
- chinesempire 7y ago
  > Web apps are better because they are as much device-independent as apps can get nowadays They are actually not really. If you can't run a modern browser on your platform, you're out of luck. I think the real "as much device-independent as it can get nowadays" is just Firefox On the major platforms Java is as much as device independent as the web
  - arendtio 7y ago
    What do you mean by 'just Firefox'? Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari all support Progressive Web Apps in general. Older browsers, on the other hand, might not be able to use offline features, but at least you can use the app in the traditional always-on mode. For your comparison with Java: It is true, Java is very device-independent, but the deployment procedures are much more complicated than simply entering a URL.
    - chinesempire 7y ago
      > What do you mean by 'just Firefox'? Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari all support Progressive Web Apps in general. Chrome runs only on Windows/Mac/Android (Linux if you allow proprietary software on your distro) Safari is only Windows/Mac/iOS Firefox runs on many more platforms, but unfortunately its market share is low

arendtio 7y ago

Web apps are better because they are as much device-independent as apps can get nowadays. Service Workers are the background service for web apps, but since users don't want those services to drain the battery unnecessarily, you have to use the Push API to trigger those background jobs. So yes, if the app is the active app, you can do polling, WebSockets and all the like and have no problem. Background services are (rightfully) limited for web apps, but not even providing the Push API kills a lot of valid use cases. Firefox and Chrome both provide that API.

chinesempire 7y ago
> Web apps are better because they are as much device-independent as apps can get nowadays They are actually not really. If you can't run a modern browser on your platform, you're out of luck. I think the real "as much device-independent as it can get nowadays" is just Firefox On the major platforms Java is as much as device independent as the web
- arendtio 7y ago
  What do you mean by 'just Firefox'? Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari all support Progressive Web Apps in general. Older browsers, on the other hand, might not be able to use offline features, but at least you can use the app in the traditional always-on mode. For your comparison with Java: It is true, Java is very device-independent, but the deployment procedures are much more complicated than simply entering a URL.
  - chinesempire 7y ago
    > What do you mean by 'just Firefox'? Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari all support Progressive Web Apps in general. Chrome runs only on Windows/Mac/Android (Linux if you allow proprietary software on your distro) Safari is only Windows/Mac/iOS Firefox runs on many more platforms, but unfortunately its market share is low