The web has become much more than a protocol for reading documents: controls that communicate both ways with the server so that they can be also updated in real

The web has become much more than a protocol for reading documents: controls that communicate both ways with the server so that they can be also updated in real time is a really useful aspect that won't make them go away anytime soon. I rather wonder if the browser is the best interface for that, or if html is the best protocol for that use. The answer would probably be obvious: "one software doing all is cheaper to produce and maintain than two or three doing each one its own business (and we can still blame the user hardware for the added slowness)."