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What's native about it? It seems like custom GPU rendered thingy with nothing "native". Linux GUI frameworks are hot potato, I tried to write "native-feeling"

What's native about it? It seems like custom GPU rendered thingy with nothing "native". Linux GUI frameworks are hot potato, I tried to write "native-feeling" app with taskbar icon lately on Linux (Cinnamon), intuition says GTK3, Internet says GTK4. Cinnamon says write it in JS and plug it in as an applet. Qt seems like the most complete GUI framework, but I don't like KDE (and Qt on mostly GTK based env looks weird). Windows is the same, Microsoft has like 10 different UI frameworks from different epochs. MacOS seems to be the only one with some common UI framework.

longor1996 6mo ago
Seems to be "native" as in "not a web-browser/view".
- raphlinus 6mo ago
  Indeed. I try not to use the word "native" these days as it has such ambiguous meaning. I also have thought for a while that Windows no longer has native UI, only legacy (Win32) and a rotating carousel of mostly-failed attempts. There have been a few HN stories in the last week that bear me out, notably [1]. Mac of course is in better shape, as AppKit and SwiftUI are both viable (and interop well enough). [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47651703 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47651703
- alfanick 6mo ago
  It's a step forward. If someone makes an app which is some Electron/WebView thing and call it "native", my thoughts are immediately rather illegal. Cool, so it's UI framework that doesn't actually make a webpage presented as an app. Truly native for me means: using UI framework that is the gold standard for given OS, UX native for given OS, and using native OS APIs, so my laptop can actually survive 24h on battery. It's truly hilarious that Claude app (and ChatGPT) is just Electron app - argument that writing UI in Electron is cheaper is no longer valid in AI age, but yet they did it. Weird times.
Levitating 6mo ago
Native in the sense that it renders using the GPU directly (or rather via WebGPU) instead of relying on a webview. On Linux you're right to say it's basically choosing between gtk and qt.
Pay08 6mo ago
Why would you need KDE to use Qt? And IIRC Qt has a GTK theme nowadays that makes it look not terrible (high praise, I know).
- avtar 6mo ago
  Got a link or more info regarding the theme?
  - Pay08 6mo ago
    I was thinking of breeze-gtk[0] but that's KDE-specific. [0]: https://github.com/KDE/breeze-gtk https://github.com/KDE/breeze-gtk
    - alfanick 6mo ago
      It’s literally the other way around - “GTK theme that looks like Qt”.
      - Pay08 6mo ago
        To be extremely pedantic, I never said it was a Qt theme :P I said that Qt has a GTK theme. It doesn't, but KDE does have a GTK theme.
- alfanick 6mo ago
  I never said that. Ofc Qt apps work just fine on any desktop environment you have (or even none), but they still look off if run Qt app on Gnome. Looking off == not native.
  - Pay08 6mo ago
    I didn't take your message to mean you need Plasma specifically, I interpreted it as you needing some library from KDE.
201984 6mo ago
If it's compiled code, it's native.

longor1996 6mo ago

Seems to be "native" as in "not a web-browser/view".

raphlinus 6mo ago
Indeed. I try not to use the word "native" these days as it has such ambiguous meaning. I also have thought for a while that Windows no longer has native UI, only legacy (Win32) and a rotating carousel of mostly-failed attempts. There have been a few HN stories in the last week that bear me out, notably [1]. Mac of course is in better shape, as AppKit and SwiftUI are both viable (and interop well enough). [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47651703 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47651703
alfanick 6mo ago
It's a step forward. If someone makes an app which is some Electron/WebView thing and call it "native", my thoughts are immediately rather illegal. Cool, so it's UI framework that doesn't actually make a webpage presented as an app. Truly native for me means: using UI framework that is the gold standard for given OS, UX native for given OS, and using native OS APIs, so my laptop can actually survive 24h on battery. It's truly hilarious that Claude app (and ChatGPT) is just Electron app - argument that writing UI in Electron is cheaper is no longer valid in AI age, but yet they did it. Weird times.

Levitating 6mo ago

Native in the sense that it renders using the GPU directly (or rather via WebGPU) instead of relying on a webview. On Linux you're right to say it's basically choosing between gtk and qt.

Pay08 6mo ago

Why would you need KDE to use Qt? And IIRC Qt has a GTK theme nowadays that makes it look not terrible (high praise, I know).

avtar 6mo ago
Got a link or more info regarding the theme?
- Pay08 6mo ago
  I was thinking of breeze-gtk[0] but that's KDE-specific. [0]: https://github.com/KDE/breeze-gtk https://github.com/KDE/breeze-gtk
  - alfanick 6mo ago
    It’s literally the other way around - “GTK theme that looks like Qt”.
    - Pay08 6mo ago
      To be extremely pedantic, I never said it was a Qt theme :P I said that Qt has a GTK theme. It doesn't, but KDE does have a GTK theme.
alfanick 6mo ago
I never said that. Ofc Qt apps work just fine on any desktop environment you have (or even none), but they still look off if run Qt app on Gnome. Looking off == not native.
- Pay08 6mo ago
  I didn't take your message to mean you need Plasma specifically, I interpreted it as you needing some library from KDE.

201984 6mo ago

If it's compiled code, it's native.