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I think the desktop seriously needs a production, RAM and developer friendly breakthrough that isn't Electron. Tauri may be it, but the desktop SO needs this m

I think the desktop seriously needs a production, RAM and developer friendly breakthrough that isn't Electron. Tauri may be it, but the desktop SO needs this moment, I don't want to see 50 years on and Electron is still being used.

calibas 6y ago
There's React Native for Windows/macOS, though if you don't like Electron I doubt that's very appealing either. I've had some nice experiences using PyInstaller to create desktop apps.
- ianlevesque 6y ago
  React Native is fantastic as a user on macOS and Windows. Personally I think if there’s any hope of winning the Electron crowd over that’s it. I like to develop with stronger typed languages than JS, but there's clearly demand given electron’s popularity.
  - calibas 6y ago
    I started getting in the habit of using Typescript with JS. It's annoying at first, but worth it for any decent sized codebase. All the bugs from JavaScript's unexpected type conversions just disappear.
- scarlac 6y ago
  Depends on why OP doesn't like Electron. To be clear to everyone: Electron and React Native are not alike. Electron is a big web browser. React Native work completely differently: It neither renders, computes, or runs the same. React Native uses the Hermes engine, puppeteering native components.
eivarv 6y ago
For the GUI-parts (and more) there's always wxWidgets and Qt, at least.
- Neputys 6y ago
  No there isn't (with resigned sobbing tone) there isn't. Everything GUI related on desktop is depressing prehistoric garbage that still takes ages to make and if god forbid you want something nice you might as well shoot your self.
  - eivarv 6y ago
    That's not my experience, at least. I haven't had any major issues I wasn't able to solve with either. Even if I were more comfortable with web tech when I first started experimenting with this stuff (some time around 2012-2015) I still found the end result much better.
    - Neputys 6y ago
      If you don't go beyond standard interactions and look it's probably fine but let's say I want system chrome to look like the one in photoshop and some custom dropdowns for starters...
      - ianlevesque 6y ago
        Why would your desktop users want your weird drop downs? UI consistency used to be a thing.
        kaszanka 6y ago
        Some companies/people take branding too seriously.
      - jcelerier 6y ago
        ... it'd be doable ? E.g. look at telegram which is a Qt app and even more foreign-looking than Photoshop: https://images.app.goo.gl/JVNR4Jetmh7frvwo6 https://images.app.goo.gl/JVNR4Jetmh7frvwo6 . Or allegorithmic substance, also made in Qt: https://images.app.goo.gl/CbJaGhRvSswymAjQ7 https://images.app.goo.gl/CbJaGhRvSswymAjQ7
ZeroCool2u 6y ago
I'm really hoping Flutter or Kotlin Desktop have a breakthrough here soon. Personally, I'm rooting for Flutter, but I'll take what I can get.
- areille 6y ago
  It would be fun that Dart finally takes over Javascript this way (Flutter is written in Dart, which was originally written to be the new Javascript)
  - pictur 6y ago
    I wish the dart language was more common than typescript. but this is very hard.
    - y2bd 6y ago
      What do you like about Dartlang? Every time I've looked at it it's seemed like a rather uninspired language, almost like a slightly more dynamic Java (and an older Java too). I've never used it for anything production though.
      - isaiahg 6y ago
        I think that's one of the draws so the language honestly. Familiar, structured, and easy to pick up if you already know a c syntax language.
ori_b 6y ago
I feel like this is a monkey's paw wish. I've wanted to see QT and GTK replaced with something better for a long time. We got Electron, and other browser based toolkits.
Razengan 6y ago
SwiftUI is pretty good, if you don't care about Android/Linux/Windows.

calibas 6y ago

There's React Native for Windows/macOS, though if you don't like Electron I doubt that's very appealing either. I've had some nice experiences using PyInstaller to create desktop apps.

ianlevesque 6y ago
React Native is fantastic as a user on macOS and Windows. Personally I think if there’s any hope of winning the Electron crowd over that’s it. I like to develop with stronger typed languages than JS, but there's clearly demand given electron’s popularity.
- calibas 6y ago
  I started getting in the habit of using Typescript with JS. It's annoying at first, but worth it for any decent sized codebase. All the bugs from JavaScript's unexpected type conversions just disappear.
scarlac 6y ago
Depends on why OP doesn't like Electron. To be clear to everyone: Electron and React Native are not alike. Electron is a big web browser. React Native work completely differently: It neither renders, computes, or runs the same. React Native uses the Hermes engine, puppeteering native components.

eivarv 6y ago

For the GUI-parts (and more) there's always wxWidgets and Qt, at least.

Neputys 6y ago
No there isn't (with resigned sobbing tone) there isn't. Everything GUI related on desktop is depressing prehistoric garbage that still takes ages to make and if god forbid you want something nice you might as well shoot your self.
- eivarv 6y ago
  That's not my experience, at least. I haven't had any major issues I wasn't able to solve with either. Even if I were more comfortable with web tech when I first started experimenting with this stuff (some time around 2012-2015) I still found the end result much better.
  - Neputys 6y ago
    If you don't go beyond standard interactions and look it's probably fine but let's say I want system chrome to look like the one in photoshop and some custom dropdowns for starters...
    - ianlevesque 6y ago
      Why would your desktop users want your weird drop downs? UI consistency used to be a thing.
      - kaszanka 6y ago
        Some companies/people take branding too seriously.
    - jcelerier 6y ago
      ... it'd be doable ? E.g. look at telegram which is a Qt app and even more foreign-looking than Photoshop: https://images.app.goo.gl/JVNR4Jetmh7frvwo6 https://images.app.goo.gl/JVNR4Jetmh7frvwo6 . Or allegorithmic substance, also made in Qt: https://images.app.goo.gl/CbJaGhRvSswymAjQ7 https://images.app.goo.gl/CbJaGhRvSswymAjQ7

ZeroCool2u 6y ago

I'm really hoping Flutter or Kotlin Desktop have a breakthrough here soon. Personally, I'm rooting for Flutter, but I'll take what I can get.

areille 6y ago
It would be fun that Dart finally takes over Javascript this way (Flutter is written in Dart, which was originally written to be the new Javascript)
- pictur 6y ago
  I wish the dart language was more common than typescript. but this is very hard.
  - y2bd 6y ago
    What do you like about Dartlang? Every time I've looked at it it's seemed like a rather uninspired language, almost like a slightly more dynamic Java (and an older Java too). I've never used it for anything production though.
    - isaiahg 6y ago
      I think that's one of the draws so the language honestly. Familiar, structured, and easy to pick up if you already know a c syntax language.

ori_b 6y ago

I feel like this is a monkey's paw wish. I've wanted to see QT and GTK replaced with something better for a long time. We got Electron, and other browser based toolkits.

Razengan 6y ago

SwiftUI is pretty good, if you don't care about Android/Linux/Windows.