Comment by pjmlp
12 hours ago
Yeah, it is mostly laziness and cost cutting at the expense of users.
Nowadays there isn't even an excuse anymore, just vibe code it away in native frameworks.
12 hours ago
Yeah, it is mostly laziness and cost cutting at the expense of users.
Nowadays there isn't even an excuse anymore, just vibe code it away in native frameworks.
Which native framework?
Even in a "post-vibe code" era I wouldn't want to create multiple versions of the same app, and none of the "platform-native" GUI toolkits run on everything.
SwiftUI is apple-only, gtk has pretty bad compatibility on non-linux, qt is decent but requires C++ or python, and even so still not much for mobile. Don't even get started on "Windows frameworks", because as I write this sentence they may have left a new one in the ditch.
Flutter may be the closest, but why didn't they go with e.g. Java instead of a new language?
So yeah, if you want a truly universal UI then web is your best bet.
> if you want a truly universal UI
Right. If you want your app to look the same, custom way, ditching what the OS has to offer.
Some developers still believe an operating system has useful UI components and patterns worth adopting. From this thread it's clear that there's plenty who don't. Personally I view that as a regression.
Well, maybe Java's AWT has been correct all this time.
Of course there is value in having "OS-native" buttons, transitions, windows etc. And many parts of GUIs are basically standardized. The problem is all the parts that are not, and have to look the same everywhere.
Probably many Electron users also view that as a regression, but a tradeoff worth making.
one missing from that list: Slint, which i work on. runs on Linux, Windows, macOS and embedded, with app logic in Rust, C++, Python or JS.
You can use JS but it doesn't ship a browser engine, it renders with its own lightweight toolkit.
How about something like this https://github.com/gen2brain/iup-go? Still not released, but I plan to clean all todos in the next few weeks.
The one which OS has to offer.
Web is bad everywhere outside of the browser.
I want to have both linux and mac users (but maybe also android, ios, windows).
You clearly see the issue.
7 replies →
I never thought I'd defend Electron, but I'd rather use the bloated web UI than a vibe coded Qt/GTK version I'm positive will not have seen any human QA.
But GIMP! /s
When I can modify my desktop/theme (KDE) with css I will happily start doing it since that sounds easy.
Good news!
https://9to5linux.com/kdes-new-css-based-style-engine-union-...
Styling every application independently because it’s all individual Electron UI without a shared toolkit is much better indeed…
I have better things to do than spend my time adopting UI for various different systems. If Electron gives me the option to easily create a UI that looks the same everywhere, then I'll pick Electron over anything else any day.
I'm completely sure your software is an accessibility nightmare.