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Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

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Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#101

Post by david-cako »

otakucode wrote: post #93
david-cako wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To add on to this, the centralization factor of your webapp being a google search away is just one token of the overarching theme of "write once, run anywhere" -- this translates to value for the user. Web apps are quite literally the only thing that can be run on essentially any device that is or can be connected to the internet. Nothing else achieved this because nothing else had an interpreter which was the most e…

Well there's also some other factors I would think... as soon as you want that fancy web app of yours to convert a 10GB video file you're going to be sad. Or if you want to have control of your data. Or if you don't want someone ELSE to have control of your data. Or if you don't want them listening to everything you say, profiling everything you do, and lacing everything with advertising... Much is done remotely whic…

>There's no reason a similar system couldn't be built to deliver platform-native applications

I'm very into the idea of HTML/CSS/JS on the desktop (and by extension, things like react native), even if simply as a frontend to a heavier duty application running on localhost. I feel like the OSs should be shipping runtimes for it instead of having insane 120MB hello world electron apps.

Web apps also don't necessarily mean someone else has control over your data -- it is technically easier to determine whether they do. You can inspect web requests in your browser, you can't in most native apps. There are plenty of silly things like Dark Souls stat calculators that make so much more sense as a webapp, and are 100% client side.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#102

Post by segf4ult »

osrec wrote: post #66
ntaso wrote: post #64

I want PWAs to succeed, because I would love to publish close-to-native apps without an app store. I think PWAs are a great thing for the open web. However, hyping PWAs with unrealistic expectations doesn't do any good. The Ionic team talks in the same vein. I like Ionic, I don't like hype. Here are a few reasons why PWAs aren't there yet and probably won't replace most apps in the near future: - No native APIs. Yeah…

One mobile safari bug that really irritates me is not being able to move the cursor on a text input element. Basically, if the text in there is longer than the element, you won't be able to move the cursor left or right. You can only work with the visible part of the input element. Try it - it's really quite terrible!

You can move the cursor by long pressing on the words to bring up the magnifying glass.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#103

Post by tootie »

aeorgnoieang wrote: post #7
jawns wrote: post #3

So it sounds like PWAs now make this true: > You don't have to create a native app because PWAs now offer all the functionality of a native app. That's cool. But _this_ has been true for a while: > You don't have to create a native app because a mobile-friendly website offers all the functionality you need. I use (reluctantly) a bunch of apps that really should be just websites. They don't make use of my phone's came…

Being able to use the 'app' offline is a pretty important feature tho. I almost always have web access, but most apps also almost never need it (for me to do what I want to do).

PWAs can do offline.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#104

Post by pharrington »

PeterisP wrote: post #98
e12e wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> look up when the next bus is coming That's ridiculous argument against offline use - bus schedules are small enough data that we print them out and carry them in our pockets. Sure, if the bus company socks, it might be nice to know about changes due to roadwork, real-time updates (ie look up the next bus via it's gps location and speed) - but doing off-line route planning would be a great feature...

Can you elaborate why offline use is something that matters for bus schedules? I mean, I get the usefulness of wilderness-related apps (e.g. ocean fishing) or various things that could be useful in an emergency like the aftermath of a hurricane, and for these offline functionality matters, but for buses , if you're within a few miles of a bus stop and the buses are running at all, then you're guaranteed to have high-…

> If you're within a few miles of a bus stop and the buses are running at all, then you're guaranteed to have high-speed cellular internet access

This just isn't the case in the United States. There are large swaths of the country that straight up don't have high speed internet in any form.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#105

Post by pcthrowaway »

e12e wrote: post #33
scaryclam wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This really depends on what the app is . A few of my friends use apps to look up when the next bus is coming. I use the official website. There's zero need for their apps to be available offline, they only thing they're for is looking up the next bus, which requires an internet connection. The app in this case gives absolutely no advantage to the website. I find that's the case for a lot of phone apps

> look up when the next bus is coming That's ridiculous argument against offline use - bus schedules are small enough data that we print them out and carry them in our pockets. Sure, if the bus company socks, it might be nice to know about changes due to roadwork, real-time updates (ie look up the next bus via it's gps location and speed) - but doing off-line route planning would be a great feature...

You must not live in a city with over 100 bus schedules.. in my city, the offline app which uses your location data to tell you what bus stops are nearby and what the arrival times of each bus are, is immensely helpful.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#106

Post by true_religion »

kevmo314 wrote: post #87
dumbmatter wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some buses don't have schedules, just an estimated frequency. Or some have schedules but don't stick to them with any reliability.

Not providing schedules because some buses don't have them seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The bus schedule is available on the bus company website. The only thing that app gives over that is what the schedule is now.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#107

Post by gramstrong »

celeritascelery wrote: post #74
criddell wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't have to change users, you have to get Google and Apple to change. There's no technical reason they couldn't include web apps in their app stores. In the article the author speculates that both Google and Apple are working on this. I could see Google embracing web apps, but I'd be surprised if Apple does.

I would be seriously surprised if any smartphone company added PWA's to their app stores. Web apps inherently can't take advantage of many platform/model specific features. Even thing like UI elements, fonts, gestures etc. OS manufacturers want their feature sets used because it adds value to their ecosystem. As a consumer of smartphone apps, I tend to agree with them.

Apple and Microsoft are actually dragging their feet to embrace PWA's until they can be regulated by their app stores and monetized. It's actually really annoying if you're interested in developing PWAs, because one of the nicest features is that it's a pseudo-native app that is cross compatible and doesn't have to be registered in any app stores.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#108

Post by boondaburrah »

kevmo314 wrote: post #77
scaryclam wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you may misunderstand. The bus company provides live information. This is not a schedule, so cannot be downloaded ahead of time.

What if I just want the schedule though? It's not unusual that I'm underground (perhaps getting off a subway train) and don't have connection.

There should be paper schedules available in the station.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#109

Post by boondaburrah »

kevmo314 wrote: post #87
dumbmatter wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some buses don't have schedules, just an estimated frequency. Or some have schedules but don't stick to them with any reliability.

Not providing schedules because some buses don't have them seems like throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

You clearly haven't ridden the buses in Boston.

Re: Betting on the Web – Why I Build PWAs

#110

Post by badsectoracula »

david-cako wrote: post #101
otakucode wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well there's also some other factors I would think... as soon as you want that fancy web app of yours to convert a 10GB video file you're going to be sad. Or if you want to have control of your data. Or if you don't want someone ELSE to have control of your data. Or if you don't want them listening to everything you say, profiling everything you do, and lacing everything with advertising... Much is done remotely whic…

>There's no reason a similar system couldn't be built to deliver platform-native applications I'm very into the idea of HTML/CSS/JS on the desktop (and by extension, things like react native), even if simply as a frontend to a heavier duty application running on localhost. I feel like the OSs should be shipping runtimes for it instead of having insane 120MB hello world electron apps. Web apps also don't necessarily m…

> I feel like the OSs should be shipping runtimes for it

Well, Windows does come with the MSHTML control. Sadly for some reason they decided to version lock it at IE6 instead of keeping it up to date for applications to use.

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