28 ms·

I remember in the 90s a lot of small companies ran on VB and Access. It really enabled a lot of non programmers. Wish we had something similar for the web. Some

I remember in the 90s a lot of small companies ran on VB and Access. It really enabled a lot of non programmers. Wish we had something similar for the web. Some low code solutions are superficially similar but what made VB different was that you could grow into full blown apps without changing. I am always amazed how complex today's web CRUD apps are to develop and deploy.

api 2y ago
The web is a really terrible platform for apps. It's so popular for two reasons: (1) No installation, and no need to deal with OS packaging because all our OSes are horrible. (2) SaaS is DRM -- host software in the cloud and it can't be pirated and you can easily charge monthly rent. A third I guess is that it makes collaborative features easier to build, but that only applies to some software.
- scarface_74 2y ago
  (3) you can’t run a Windows app on your phone. (4) The world isn’t Windows only anymore.
  - anthk 2y ago
    Check Androwish for something being able to run under Android and PC. A quick example: https://jxself.org/git/?p=inform.git;a=summary https://jxself.org/git/?p=inform.git;a=summary You can create an APK if you head to the AndroWish home page and read the instructions.
    - scarface_74 2y ago
      That doesn’t help when 70% of phones in the US are iPhones and even a higher percentage of upper income earners are iPhones. It also doesn’t help with Macs
datavirtue 2y ago
PowerApps. Built into Office365.