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The browser is a seriously capable desktop app. Think e.g. about dynamic manipulation of SVG with d3 or 3D stuff with three.js or any of the other countless oth

The browser is a seriously capable desktop app. Think e.g. about dynamic manipulation of SVG with d3 or 3D stuff with three.js or any of the other countless other goodies that are now available via the HTML/CSS/JS set. If one could somehow abstract and standardize GUI elements it could unleash a lot of creativity around browser-based desktop apps. Native app development frameworks would benefit too, they could re-implement some aspects of those GUI elements natively (outside browsers). Developers would have less friction to switch from browser to native and back.

ridiculous_fish 4y ago
I think the web is culturally incapable of standardizing GUI elements. The nature of web development is to rebuild from scratch. Standard buttons and menus look so vanilla, let's instead style a div with an onClick handler, let's use a hover selector with a scroll animation. The set of UI interactions collapses to its ground state: click, tap, basic text entry. Has any new UI paradigm emerged on the web in the last 25 years? Maybe the hamburger button? Honest question, I struggle to think of any. The richest web apps are still aping desktop apps.
- college_physics 4y ago
  I wouldnt defend web culture in this respect. Some people also argue that html is really about documents and not a good basis for a gui anyways. But I think technically it is possible to overload whatever is available and have very decent, easy to build apps and have a productive, cross platform option. Its not going to make those pushing gui limits sweat, but that is not its point. In any case its not going to happen as the experience with standard development and adoption is quite painful
  - tabtab 4y ago
    > I think technically it is possible to overload whatever is available [in existing web standards] and have very decent, easy to build [GUI] apps "Technically", perhaps. "Easy", no! It appears the DOM is inherently too flawed to serve GUI's well, and fixing it would likely break backward compatibility. Forcing DOM to do GUI's is possible, but turns even women bald.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago
Originally browsers actually used native button widgets for buttons. That was back when the software world made some kind of sense though and adware industries didn't run everything.

ridiculous_fish 4y ago

I think the web is culturally incapable of standardizing GUI elements. The nature of web development is to rebuild from scratch. Standard buttons and menus look so vanilla, let's instead style a div with an onClick handler, let's use a hover selector with a scroll animation. The set of UI interactions collapses to its ground state: click, tap, basic text entry. Has any new UI paradigm emerged on the web in the last 25 years? Maybe the hamburger button? Honest question, I struggle to think of any. The richest web apps are still aping desktop apps.

college_physics 4y ago
I wouldnt defend web culture in this respect. Some people also argue that html is really about documents and not a good basis for a gui anyways. But I think technically it is possible to overload whatever is available and have very decent, easy to build apps and have a productive, cross platform option. Its not going to make those pushing gui limits sweat, but that is not its point. In any case its not going to happen as the experience with standard development and adoption is quite painful
- tabtab 4y ago
  > I think technically it is possible to overload whatever is available [in existing web standards] and have very decent, easy to build [GUI] apps "Technically", perhaps. "Easy", no! It appears the DOM is inherently too flawed to serve GUI's well, and fixing it would likely break backward compatibility. Forcing DOM to do GUI's is possible, but turns even women bald.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 4y ago

Originally browsers actually used native button widgets for buttons. That was back when the software world made some kind of sense though and adware industries didn't run everything.