One word: Apple. Preventing PWAs is detrimental to users and an abuse of their monopoly.
Is android native development still a thing?
Yes, very much so.
Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
61–70 of 315 posts
Re: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
What makes an NGEN compiled WinForms .NET application not native on Windows? Curious to find out, how those people distinguish it from an MFC/ATL or an Win32 one.
It's not just one thing. Just like what distinguishes a human from a chimpanzee isn't just 1 thing. But see for example https://stackoverflow.com/a/855774 If you still don't like the terminology though, I'm not going to keep arguing. I didn't coin the term. You should go ask Microsoft why they didn't call C# native when NGen was already there. I'm just saying that terminology is already established and you're confusi…
That is one possible interpretation of the term, yes Microsoft does use native/managed to distinguish between environments with GC runtime and those without.
Which isn't what users talk about when arguing about native apps, they don't even know what a GC is.
Re: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
You should read the article. To sum it up: the web beat desktop apps because traditional OS were not designed for a networked world. The iPhone however was designed for a networked world so it didn't have all the limitations of desktop OS. The web wasn't designed for a mobile world so it had a lot of limitations: hard to do a good UX, passwords to type on a tiny keyboard, no offline mode (or so complex to use that no…
Only that's not how the world works. The world works with power: Apple used their power to make strangle the entire idea of the web on mobile by putting a break on change. Why? Mobile web tech helps their competitors more than it helps them. If Apple's own platform / APIs had had the same rate of change as they effectively forced on the mobile web, then they would be a decade behind Android. This is exactly the same…
> Apple used their power to make strangle the entire idea of the web on mobile by putting a break on change.
1. apple/jobs wanted web tech initially for apps
2. native app devs were beating down the doors for access to native, not web apisRe: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
Native is overloaded, however Java is the "native" language of the Android SDK, and on Windows unless one has a morbid pleasure to still use MFC, ATL, bare bones Win32, or use C++/WinRT like ATL is fashionable again, .NET UI toolkits will be the way to go. Or are you going to argue that Visual Studio, SQL Server Management Studio, Microsoft Store, Microsoft Blend, Office AddIns, Power Automate Desktop aren't native?
> unless one has a morbid pleasure to still use MFC, ATL, bare bones Win32, or use C++/WinRT like ATL is fashionable again, .NET UI toolkits will be the way to go. I'm not sure how the discussion turned from "native" to "the way to go". I get the feeling like you're jumping all over HN trying to reply to me at every comment you find because... you took "not native" as some kind of insult to tools you like/consider su…
Most of the time, I don't bother to read the author, so it is a matter of chance that those posts are yours.
I am jumping because the distinctions you are making aren't the ones that users care about.
So each one can go on their merry lives with their own dictionary version.
Re: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not just one thing. Just like what distinguishes a human from a chimpanzee isn't just 1 thing. But see for example https://stackoverflow.com/a/855774 If you still don't like the terminology though, I'm not going to keep arguing. I didn't coin the term. You should go ask Microsoft why they didn't call C# native when NGen was already there. I'm just saying that terminology is already established and you're confusi…
That is one possible interpretation of the term, yes Microsoft does use native/managed to distinguish between environments with GC runtime and those without. Which isn't what users talk about when arguing about native apps, they don't even know what a GC is.
> Which isn't what users talk about when arguing about native apps, they don't even know what a GC is.
Because I'm sure if you went and asked the vast majority of "users" what a "native app" is, you'd get a coherent answer instead of a blank stare.
Let's lay this matter to rest. You don't like the definition, I get it. It's fine.
Re: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#66One word: Apple. Preventing PWAs is detrimental to users and an abuse of their monopoly.
I don’t think so - PWAs on Android are also usable at best.
It’s hard to twist the web into something it isn’t. So much effort goes into making the web do what native apps already do instead of trying to complement all that towards a better experience.
Re: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#67Strange.
I use Web apps on mobile whenever I can.
Re: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only that's not how the world works. The world works with power: Apple used their power to make strangle the entire idea of the web on mobile by putting a break on change. Why? Mobile web tech helps their competitors more than it helps them. If Apple's own platform / APIs had had the same rate of change as they effectively forced on the mobile web, then they would be a decade behind Android. This is exactly the same…
> Apple used their power to make strangle the entire idea of the web on mobile by putting a break on change. but this seems to neglect the fact that 1. apple/jobs wanted web tech initially for apps 2. native app devs were beating down the doors for access to native, not web apis
That was very very early on. Once they were big and Android came along the strategy was turned around.
Re: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#69Android and iOS specifically are not keen on creating a more powerful browser experience because it hurts their app revenues.
Mobile APIs for apps are fairly modern.
The limited nature of Mobile experience + the more modern APIs and integrated build/deployment/storefronts make those a much easier choice than otherwise on mobile.
Desktop app frameworks are old and complicated, and there aren't very good options for apps in between 'web' and 'major installs'. Desktop UI generally require a lot more component types and layouts, and frankly there is no framework that has conquered that domain very well. Every single desktop UI framework falls quite short.
Re: Why did the web take over desktop and not mobile?
#70One word: Apple. Preventing PWAs is detrimental to users and an abuse of their monopoly.
Apple is the reason. App store greed.
We with our "design and virtue signalling" addiction helped a lot in creation of this monster.
As far as I can remember, the real UI/UX innovation was killed fast. Palm/WebOS.