Comment by bel8
13 hours ago
I'm happy for competition in this space, specially because Deno can run true TypeScript directly and not just strip types like the current Node implementation.
With that said, this is going to eat a lot of Tauri market. Why would I use Tauri now? The 150mb of additional bundle size is just an extra 1 to 10 seconds of download time in most internet connections and you get a reliable rendering engine.
>I'm happy for competition in this space, specially because Deno can run true TypeScript directly and not just strip types like the current Node implementation.
this is misleading. there is no "running true ts". you will always be running pure js (until someone actually develops a "true" ts engine), and deno does "type stripping" just the same. the only difference is that it bundles the tools and makes it transparent and config-free which is more convenient (although more rigid).
Tauri doesn't lock you in to one JS ecosystem. In fact, it doesn't require you to use javascript at all.
Also, we've had several developer framework startups get acquired -- Astro, Nuxt, UV, Bun, Vite. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence in a software that you want to last and give support for years.
Deno also just strips the type annotations when running TS code - at least by default. To get type checking you'll need to run via `deno run --check`, or use the separate `deno check` subcommand. No big deal since type checking and linting usually happens automatically in the IDE during development.
Good to know. Does it also preclude features like enums?
Huh, I was going to mention Node's `--experimental-transform-types`, but that was completely removed in v26: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/61803
2 replies →
Bartek from the Deno here. Nope, we do support enums OOTB.
If you want desktop and mobile builds.
Tauri 2.0 added support for iOS and Android builds as targets.
> Why would I use Tauri now?
You’re “backend” isn’t JavaScript.
> Deno can run true TypeScript directly and not just strip types
What exactly do you mean by that? Because no js engine carries the ts types into the runtime as far as I know. Deno and nodejs both use v8 as the runtime. v8's internal types are not connected at all to the ts types regardless of the wrapper. The only difference might be when/if static type checking is performed.
I think they mean deno handles transpiling for you so there’s no visible machinery for this aspect of the program. It’s just convenient.
There’s no running TS. Everyone executes JS.
Also TS itself is going towards stripped types. There’s this proposal which might land on browsers some day:
https://tc39.es/proposal-type-annotations/
And in preparation you can use this setting on your tsconfig:
https://www.typescriptlang.org/tsconfig/#erasableSyntaxOnly
Temporarily at a place with 10-15 mbps. 150 MB is around 1 minute.
I grew up on 30 mbps. >= 100 is all I need nowadays.
But 10 mbps and websites and downloads really start to take a while.
The more bits and bytes you save, the more people will be pleased with your stuff! Even if they don’t know what bits and bytes are, and just go based on impatience
> and you get a reliable rendering engine
How is it more reliable than Tauri - aren't they both using the system webview?
Deno Desktop can bundle CEF (Chromium Embedded Framework) according to https://docs.deno.com/runtime/desktop/comparison
Deno desktop can use system web view OR embed CEF. Tauri is just system web view.
The benefit of Deno Desktop is it's like Tauri except for when you want it to be Electron???
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But that would be the same argument for using electron? Why use this and not electron?