Comment by rthrfrd
7 hours ago
Sounds interesting!
But do you think it would be possible to achieve similar results without a new language, but with a declarative API in one of your existing languages (say, C++) instead?
If possible, that would remove a big adoption barrier, and avoid inevitably reinventing many language features.
A C++ library could wrap DOM APIs (WebCC already does this), but achieving a fine-grained reactive model purely in library code involves major trade-offs
A dedicated compiler allows us to trace dependencies between state variables and DOM nodes at compile-time, generating direct imperative update code. To achieve similar ergonomics in a C++ library, you'd effectively have to rely on runtime tracking (like a distinct Signal graph or VDOM), which adds overhead.
Thanks! WebCC looks interesting. I like the attempt to be lean, but in the context of running an entire browser, my personal choice would be for a little runtime overhead vs a new language and toolset.
All the best with it!
P.S. It would also be interesting to see how far it's possible to go with constexpr etc.
I've been looking into UI libraries lately like Qt and Slint and wondered why they chose to create a DSL over just using css, html and a little bit of js. But I imagine C++ generation from a small DSL is easier than js.