4 ms·

You just created a “website”

rattray 6y ago
You mean, "website with native API's and (optionally) custom native chrome". Developers don't use electron because it'll get its own browser engine instance.
- pythux 6y ago
  Depends, there is a bunch of Electron apps that work just fine as websites (e.g. Slack, Spotify, Microsoft Teams, etc. As far as I know). I personally prefer running those in a browser tab to both save resources and benefit from privacy enhancing tools like content blockers, etc. I would be curious to know how many of the Electron apps actually need these extra native APIs.
  - flatiron 6y ago
    Some of those you listed have extra features with electron. I was just being sarcastic with my remark. Like I don’t believe you can screen share with slack via a browser for example.
    - wolrah 6y ago
      > Like I don’t believe you can screen share with slack via a browser for example. If you can't, it's not the browser's fault. I can definitely screen share in Jitsi from the browser, so there's no technical reason Slack shouldn't be able to do the same thing.
      - omegabravo 6y ago
        https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Screen_Capture_API/Using_Screen_Capture https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Screen_Capt...
      - kube-system 6y ago
        You can show your screen but you cannot pass control.
neurostimulant 6y ago
Well, There is Apache Cordova. Cordova uses built-in webview. It also support windows and mac, but it's not as popular as electron because its api is not as rich as electron.
- yoz-y 6y ago
  Electron supports native V8 extensions that are really fast. Cordova (at the time I tried it) only supported message passing which is very slow. Sufficient for many applications but for some it won't cut it.
nine_k 6y ago
There are a number of problems with locally-run websites. One is that TLS is married to DNS, and no third-party CA would issue a certificate for localhost. TlS with self-signed certs generated on the spot becomes easy to forge. Another is that no web browser suppoorts Unix domain sockets or a Windows equivalent as a an access protocol. You are stuck with IP-based access, wee above. Third is that access to the OS is limited or forbidden inside the browser, for a good reason. Want to run a locally installed compiler from within your web IDE? Tough luck. Electron solves all of these problems. It doesn't do it in the best way imaginable, but in some cases just a web site cannot be a replacement.

You mean, "website with native API's and (optionally) custom native chrome". Developers don't use electron because it'll get its own browser engine instance.

pythux 6y ago
Depends, there is a bunch of Electron apps that work just fine as websites (e.g. Slack, Spotify, Microsoft Teams, etc. As far as I know). I personally prefer running those in a browser tab to both save resources and benefit from privacy enhancing tools like content blockers, etc. I would be curious to know how many of the Electron apps actually need these extra native APIs.
- flatiron 6y ago
  Some of those you listed have extra features with electron. I was just being sarcastic with my remark. Like I don’t believe you can screen share with slack via a browser for example.
  - wolrah 6y ago
    > Like I don’t believe you can screen share with slack via a browser for example. If you can't, it's not the browser's fault. I can definitely screen share in Jitsi from the browser, so there's no technical reason Slack shouldn't be able to do the same thing.
    - omegabravo 6y ago
      https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Screen_Capture_API/Using_Screen_Capture https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Screen_Capt...
    - kube-system 6y ago
      You can show your screen but you cannot pass control.

neurostimulant 6y ago

Well, There is Apache Cordova. Cordova uses built-in webview. It also support windows and mac, but it's not as popular as electron because its api is not as rich as electron.

yoz-y 6y ago
Electron supports native V8 extensions that are really fast. Cordova (at the time I tried it) only supported message passing which is very slow. Sufficient for many applications but for some it won't cut it.

nine_k 6y ago

There are a number of problems with locally-run websites. One is that TLS is married to DNS, and no third-party CA would issue a certificate for localhost. TlS with self-signed certs generated on the spot becomes easy to forge. Another is that no web browser suppoorts Unix domain sockets or a Windows equivalent as a an access protocol. You are stuck with IP-based access, wee above. Third is that access to the OS is limited or forbidden inside the browser, for a good reason. Want to run a locally installed compiler from within your web IDE? Tough luck. Electron solves all of these problems. It doesn't do it in the best way imaginable, but in some cases just a web site cannot be a replacement.