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I looked at the source code (as an amateur application developer) and boy, is it over-engineered and complex! Then I remember having built a complex Cordova app

I looked at the source code (as an amateur application developer) and boy, is it over-engineered and complex! Then I remember having built a complex Cordova app more than a decade ago, where I had to make C++, JNI and Javascript interop all play nice and this project feels a lot like that. Lots of moving parts. I suppose this is just the way things are when you are targetting such different ecosystems as Android and iOS _natively_, at the lowest level. As a solo-dev, I realize well that this project isn't for me. This could be a great tool for experienced folks who know what they are doing. I will stick to Tauri and React Native, it does 80% of what I care about with 20% of the effort. Or until someone builds a nice wrapper around this to make it easy to use (and also add targets for x86_64/aarch64 builds).

0manrho 1y ago
This is a persistent and pervasive problem that I have with nearly any of BigTech's framework/tooling flavor-of-the-month. Not only are they often overengineered (at least, for the vast majority of people's usecases), but adopting them means you're adopting a consistently moving target who's priorities are chasing whatever trend BigTech has convinced itself is The Next Big Thing(TM) - often reinventing the wheel yet again in the process - whether you're on board or not. Not to mention possibly getting caught up in change-of-licensing issues (eg Terraform switching to BSL/BUSL) or cult-of-personality drama by the maintainers (Wordpress) There is a place for these frameworks, even beyond their use in the house they were built at and for, but for the vast majority of usecases, they're not merely overcomplicated, but continually changing in their complexity to boot.
hippo22 1y ago
As an amateur, how can you tell that's it's overly complex? Do you understand what you're even looking at? Or do you feel that you should be able to understand it and anything above your ability to understand is "over engineered?" This seems like the Dunning-Kruger effect more than anything else.
- hu3 1y ago
  A rule of thumb I like to use for measuring complecity for interactive visual stuff is to count how many layers there are between an action and the reaction. For example, when a user clicks a button, how many calls and moving pieces are involved between the click and something happening on the screen as a reaction to that click. Often it's a good indicator of how deep the rabbit hole goes.
  - sheepscreek 11mo ago
    Basically you nailed it. I am an amateur “application developer” but I have 20+ years of software engineering experience, including many - building complex web applications. The thing I did 15 yrs ago isn’t even something a typical dev would be able to do. So even though it’s not what I have done a lot, I feel I am qualified enough to comment on it. A bit like - a history teacher (me) commenting on an anthropology paper.

0manrho 1y ago

This is a persistent and pervasive problem that I have with nearly any of BigTech's framework/tooling flavor-of-the-month. Not only are they often overengineered (at least, for the vast majority of people's usecases), but adopting them means you're adopting a consistently moving target who's priorities are chasing whatever trend BigTech has convinced itself is The Next Big Thing(TM) - often reinventing the wheel yet again in the process - whether you're on board or not. Not to mention possibly getting caught up in change-of-licensing issues (eg Terraform switching to BSL/BUSL) or cult-of-personality drama by the maintainers (Wordpress) There is a place for these frameworks, even beyond their use in the house they were built at and for, but for the vast majority of usecases, they're not merely overcomplicated, but continually changing in their complexity to boot.

hippo22 1y ago

As an amateur, how can you tell that's it's overly complex? Do you understand what you're even looking at? Or do you feel that you should be able to understand it and anything above your ability to understand is "over engineered?" This seems like the Dunning-Kruger effect more than anything else.

hu3 1y ago
A rule of thumb I like to use for measuring complecity for interactive visual stuff is to count how many layers there are between an action and the reaction. For example, when a user clicks a button, how many calls and moving pieces are involved between the click and something happening on the screen as a reaction to that click. Often it's a good indicator of how deep the rabbit hole goes.
- sheepscreek 11mo ago
  Basically you nailed it. I am an amateur “application developer” but I have 20+ years of software engineering experience, including many - building complex web applications. The thing I did 15 yrs ago isn’t even something a typical dev would be able to do. So even though it’s not what I have done a lot, I feel I am qualified enough to comment on it. A bit like - a history teacher (me) commenting on an anthropology paper.