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Not again. We have been through this with ActiveX and it was no fun. Similarly we have been through "works on every OS (if it is Windows)". Web development tod

by iSnow 14y ago

Not again. We have been through this with ActiveX and it was no fun. Similarly we have been through "works on every OS (if it is Windows)". Web development today with JS/CoffeeScript + jQuery + Underscore and other libs is not hard. Just accept that different users will use different browsers.

smegel 14y ago
I am more thinking of Dart+Native Client as a nice alternative to native application development rather than an alternative to general web development. If you wanted to write an application that performed with native speed would you rather write it multiple times for Windows, Linux and OSX, iOS* and Android (and make sure it compiles on multiple architectures) AND force your users to install and update the application on their computer... OR Write it once as a mixed Dart/Native Client app targeting the LLVM bytecode and run it securely in the Chrome browser on multiple platforms? All the user needs to do is install Chrome and visit a URL. Updating the app becomes trivial. I am not saying it is the clear winner, but to me it sounds like a damn interesting alternative with a lot of promise. It is also possible that Chrome will "win" - either by gaining such majority user-base that targeting specific features of Chrome becomes worth while, or because Dart+Native Client becomes a de facto standard the other browsers adopt. Also, if you are writing a "web app" to target a niche market that really want to use the application (hard-core gamers?), requiring Chrome really may not be a big deal for the user-base. After all, if people are willing to install native applications on their local system, why would they be unwilling to install Chrome and visit a URL? * It is unclear if the Chrome browser on iOS will ever be able to download and run native code for both technical and policy reasons.

by iSnow 14y ago

smegel 14y ago

I am more thinking of Dart+Native Client as a nice alternative to native application development rather than an alternative to general web development. If you wanted to write an application that performed with native speed would you rather write it multiple times for Windows, Linux and OSX, iOS* and Android (and make sure it compiles on multiple architectures) AND force your users to install and update the application on their computer... OR Write it once as a mixed Dart/Native Client app targeting the LLVM bytecode and run it securely in the Chrome browser on multiple platforms? All the user needs to do is install Chrome and visit a URL. Updating the app becomes trivial. I am not saying it is the clear winner, but to me it sounds like a damn interesting alternative with a lot of promise. It is also possible that Chrome will "win" - either by gaining such majority user-base that targeting specific features of Chrome becomes worth while, or because Dart+Native Client becomes a de facto standard the other browsers adopt. Also, if you are writing a "web app" to target a niche market that really want to use the application (hard-core gamers?), requiring Chrome really may not be a big deal for the user-base. After all, if people are willing to install native applications on their local system, why would they be unwilling to install Chrome and visit a URL? * It is unclear if the Chrome browser on iOS will ever be able to download and run native code for both technical and policy reasons.