31–40 of 47 posts
On the JavaScript side you can use whatever you like: plain JavaScript, react, vue, svelte, … whatever you’re familiar with.
And it can cross compile to Windows, Mac and Linux, so all major platforms covered.
You can think of it like Tauri but you just write typescript for the main and browser contexts. Under the hood it’s powered by bun and zig.
https://github.com/blackboardsh/electrobun
Still a ways to go (I’m currently porting a large app from electron to electrobun and filling in the api as I go) but check back in a couple months.
It’ll be (in my opinion) the best stack to build desktop apps.
In general for a great experience on the desktop you want to use the native stack of each platform, so C# / Windows SDK in Windows, GTK in most Linux distros and whatever Mac officially recommends. You could use electron and build cross platform apps using web technologies, but I'm yet to use an electron based app that doesn't feel like crap.
But it didn’t come for free. I can tell a lot of engineering hours were spent fixing little issues like different/conflicting keystroke mappings in all 3 platforms.
Electron. /thread Seriously, even John Carmack would probably use Electron because it provides the most value to customer per unit of effort input.
And the result is noticeable. Electron is becoming synonymous to shoddily built apps. Even though you can write buggier apps with native SDK, but the amount of works that been put into them elevates the final result. Not so much with Electron.
Electron has democratized desktop app development and put it within reach of everybody -- but having bad apps on it doesn't make it bad in itself. Remember, the most-used programmers' editor is also an Electron app!
Tauri https://tauri.app/
https://github.com/justinfrankel/WDL
WDL Virtual Window system:
Allows the building of dynamic, complex UIs within OS hosted windows
Included controls for text display, combo boxes, buttons, sliders, list boxes
Supports full transparency, overlays, controls with shadows/highlights outside of their range
Fully themeable (uses LICE for compositing)FreePascal/Lazarus or Tcl/Tk. If more time is available, then a core of plus a view part in the native platform language and API.
Tauri https://tauri.app/
Is there a lot of friction between the Rust core and the TypeScript frontend?
I have good experience with https://wails.io . It uses a Go backend and a JavaScript frontend with Go functions exposed to the JavaScript side, and events with senders and listeners on both sides. All without the enormous bloat of Electron. On the JavaScript side you can use whatever you like: plain JavaScript, react, vue, svelte, … whatever you’re familiar with. And it can cross compile to Windows, Mac and Linux, so…
Does it have a backing company or enough sponsors to ensure its future?
flutter. specially now that google fired half the team it's not worse than tauri/electron for desktop, and you get mobile for free if needed.