API-wise, native apps lost to web apps a long time ago. Native APIs are terrible to use, and OS vendors use everything in their power to make you not want to develop native apps for their platform.
Claude is an Electron App because we’ve lost native
https://tonsky.me/blog/fall-of-native/
13 Comments
HetareKing@piefed.social · 24 pts · 157d
I have no dog in this race as far as Claude is concerned, but this is pushing a false dichotomy. Not using, say, WinForms or something, because it's too limiting or because you don't want to make a unique UI for every platform, doesn't have to mean strapping an entire web browser to your frontend, there are plenty of other options.
The reason frameworks like Electron are popular is that we've spent a long time hammering a square peg into a round hole and there are now a whole bunch of tools for designing on top of web technologies and a lot of designers with experience with those tools. And of course, the fact that code can be reused between the web app and the desktop app helps too. But it does have a performance cost. The fact that you can have poorly performing and bloated native UIs too doesn't change that no matter how well-optimised your HTML+CSS+JS is, you can create something of the same complexity that is faster and leaner using native widgets. And when people opt for the desktop app instead of web app, they typically want something that performs better than the web app.
GraveyardOrbit@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 156d
themusicman@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 156d
I mean, Qt for example?
GraveyardOrbit@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 156d
ultimate_worrier@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 24 pts · 157d
codeinabox@programming.dev · 2 pts · 157d
Do you have any evidence for this? Looking through the post, and the author's other blog post titles, there is very little mention of AI or Claude.
Instead of throwing labels at the author, it's much more worthwhile to discuss their key argument about the challenges of developing native apps.
ultimate_worrier@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 157d
codeinabox@programming.dev · 5 pts · 156d
I think you're misconstruing the author's argument, at no point does the author imply that Claude knows best, or that Electron apps are better. Their closing argument is certainly not an endorsement for Electron or AI slop.
ultimate_worrier@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 4 pts · 156d
tetrislife@leminal.space · 2 pts · 156d
They also bought the Bun JS company, didn't they? Maybe they actually can improve the spp a bit by replacing Node with Bun.
tetrislife@leminal.space · 0 pts · 156d
Also, which native UIs do people like coding up? Most UI toolkits have JS bindings, don't they? So only HTML/CSS is the bad fit?
humanspiral@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 156d
I think the argument is full code sharing with web apps. Does desktop app not use crossplatform terminal APIs, instead of JS?
spacemanspiffy@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 156d
I feel like that meme works here:
You: Don't use Claude because it's Electron.
Me: Don't use Claude because it is AI related.
We are not the same.
eleijeep@piefed.social · 3 pts · 156d
Speak for yourself.
beeng@discuss.tchncs.de · 3 pts · 156d
OpenCode is written in JS and uses Bun. Eats ram and crashes everyday.
mvirts@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 155d
No
NostraDavid@programming.dev · 2 pts · 156d
Codex is written in Rust, as it should be. It even has
readlineintegration, so you can doctrl-jto insert a newline! :Dedit: ah dangit, this is about the desktop app. Nevermind.
baod_rate@programming.dev · 3 pts · 156d
Still relevant because claude's CLI (which is actually more of a TUI) is built on react