Electron Apps Are Bad, So Now You Can Create Desktop Apps With HTML5 + Golang

[phoronix]

Phoronix: Electron Apps Are Bad, So Now You Can Create Desktop Apps With HTML5 + Golang

The Electron software framework that allows creating desktop GUI application interfaces using JavaScript and relies upon a bundled Chromium+Node.js run-time is notorious among most Linux desktop users for being resource heavy, not integrating well with most desktops, and generally being despised. For those that are fond of using web standards for creating desktop GUIs, now there is a way to create desktop application front-ends using HTML5 and Golang but with less baggage...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=HTML5-Golang-Desktop-Apps

[boxie]

well, colour me interested

[pdffs]

Using the system browser doesn't improve the memory complaints people have, and means you can't ship a known-compatible version. Sure your binary is smaller, but I'm not sure that should be a primary concern.

[anarki2]

That's pretty cool. I also hated shipping 100MB+ for a single page with some JS...

[paupav]

how does it solve problem of apps feeling alien on the desktop.

[Termy]

Why again relying on blink/chromium instead of gecko? i would assume a bundled gecko engine would be much more efficient?

[Michael_S]

In all seriousness, I think all these groups looking to use Electron or tools like Electron might instead be better off working to improve existing web technologies or add new web standards. If HTML + CSS + Javascript does 97% of the work in your application, the path of least resistance is to figure out how to get the last 3% working in a browser.

Using the system browser doesn't improve the memory complaints people have, and means you can't ship a known-compatible version. Sure your binary is smaller, but I'm not sure that should be a primary concern.

I imagine that most of the time people already have the system browser open, right? So this might use as much memory as Electron if it's your only application running, but if you've already got your browser open it adds less than firing up an Electron application. Right?

[GrayShade]

"One GC good, two GCs better"

[mcloud]

One of pain-points of web app is making sure no minor differences between different web engines fucks up the app in some way. I'm pretty sure many web-based stuff bundles its own web view to avoid just that, electron included. Trying to use MSHTML on windows for example is a good way to make it even slower and buggy

[skeevy420]

well, colourme interested

Not a problem