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Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

github.com

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Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#81

Post by scosman »

bearjaws wrote: post #23

Working at a company that uses react-native I wish nothing more than for the end of app stores and differing platform languages. We're heavily considering just having a website next year with a mobile app using webview, and then native code for the native notifications, GPS and healthkit / health connect. I feel like AI is changing the equation, its nearly better to write your business UI 3 times one for each platfor…

I try this every decade. Love the first few months for speed. Then I end up paying the price later when I want to integrate "new OS feature X" or make a system gesture/style/animation feel native.

Lack of swipe for back on iOS is usually the easiest way to tell I'm looking at a web view.

But it's been about a decade so I'm due...

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#82

Post by Julien_r2 »

samtheprogram wrote: post #25
instagary wrote: post #22

I wish the native iOS part was written in Swift rather than Objective-C like RN.

Why though? You aren’t interacting with it. What difference does it make?

If the framework is used, eventually there will be 3rd party lib adding new features (from the top of my mind, maps), and someone will need to write the bridging with the native SDK. It means the bridge will most likely need to be written in objective-C instead of Swift

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#83

Post by mrweasel »

sans_souse wrote: post #14

So now I can finally implement the most god-awful, ugly, cumbersome and unintuitive GUI methodology ever to face a large population of users into my own apps? This abomination that started the whole user-experience decline by making this kind of yuck the gold standard for apps today is finally open source? Color me yellow.

It's a really wonky app. The main feature works fine, no issue. Their "Stories" section, I can't can navigate that at all, there a no hint to how it works, so I don't use it. Seems a little weird, given that this is where the ads are, why wouldn't Snapchat make that easier to use?

There's also views I can get into which I can't figure out how to leave, so I force close the app to get back.

I don't necessarily think that's a flaw of the framework, just how Snapchat designs their app.

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#84

Post by szundi »

Razengan wrote: post #80
bearjaws wrote: post #23

Working at a company that uses react-native I wish nothing more than for the end of app stores and differing platform languages. We're heavily considering just having a website next year with a mobile app using webview, and then native code for the native notifications, GPS and healthkit / health connect. I feel like AI is changing the equation, its nearly better to write your business UI 3 times one for each platfor…

Using apps made with Electron or those so-called "universal" UI frameworks I wish nothing more than for everything to be native. They always have to give up some basic or hidden conveniences that native controls get for free, so they always feel slightly different and "off" in a weird way which induces a constant vague annoyance while using them, like walking with a little pebble in your shoe, or a sitting in an chai…

[dead]

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#85

Post by szundi »

johnisgood wrote: post #71
DeathArrow wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then why bother making an app? The user can access the web app using the browser.

We (they) wanted "easy accessibility" and "constantly seeing this app's icon" bs.

[dead]

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#86

Post by qw »

scosman wrote: post #81
bearjaws wrote: post #23

Working at a company that uses react-native I wish nothing more than for the end of app stores and differing platform languages. We're heavily considering just having a website next year with a mobile app using webview, and then native code for the native notifications, GPS and healthkit / health connect. I feel like AI is changing the equation, its nearly better to write your business UI 3 times one for each platfor…

I try this every decade. Love the first few months for speed. Then I end up paying the price later when I want to integrate "new OS feature X" or make a system gesture/style/animation feel native. Lack of swipe for back on iOS is usually the easiest way to tell I'm looking at a web view. But it's been about a decade so I'm due...

Swipe to go back can be implemented in frontend.

It's been a couple of years since I used it, but I think the Ionic framework has this feature.

https://ionicframework.com/

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#87

Post by troupo »

serial_dev wrote: post #42
adastra22 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never once experienced a WebView app that I would say had “a really good experience.”

It’s because if a webview app experience is good, you don’t notice it, you only notice if it’s bad. A while ago saw a blog link on HN that explained how Apple uses it everywhere and we never notice it because they are done well. Of course I can’t find that link now, I summon the HN gods…

> Apple uses it everywhere and we never notice it because they are done well.

Done well as in: laggy, non-performant, break OS conventions and you can see elements load with the naked eye?

See App Store as an example: https://grumpy.website/post/0RsaxCu3P or Apple Arcade: https://grumpy.website/618 or...

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#88

Post by Maken »

troupo wrote: post #87
serial_dev wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s because if a webview app experience is good, you don’t notice it, you only notice if it’s bad. A while ago saw a blog link on HN that explained how Apple uses it everywhere and we never notice it because they are done well. Of course I can’t find that link now, I summon the HN gods…

> Apple uses it everywhere and we never notice it because they are done well. Done well as in: laggy, non-performant, break OS conventions and you can see elements load with the naked eye? See App Store as an example: https://grumpy.website/post/0RsaxCu3P or Apple Arcade: https://grumpy.website/618 or...

The Arcade video, taking several seconds to load a few low resolution images, causes me pain.

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#89

Post by erlend_sh »

adastra22 wrote: post #34
DecoPerson wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did this and never looked back. It’s called a “WebView app” and you can get a really good experience on all platforms using them. Just: - don’t make any crazy decisions on your fundamental UI components, like breadcrumbs, select dropdowns, etc - add a few platform-specific specialisations to those same components, to make them feel a bit more familiar, such as button styling, or using a self-simplifying back-stack…

I have never once experienced a WebView app that I would say had “a really good experience.”

I use Voyager, a client for Lemmy, on a daily basis and it’s my favorite mobile (iPad) app. Voyager is the spiritual successor to the Apollo client for Reddit.

https://github.com/aeharding/voyager

The app uses Ionic’s Capacitor, which to my rudimentary understanding is the webview-based upgrade of Cordova. I’ve had far fewer issues with this app than the likes of Bluesky (react native) and Discord (I think also react native but not sure).

The webview approach seems to be the only way for a one-person team to feasible provide a cross-platform app with an app-store presence. Another promising alternative to Capacitor is Tauri Mobile which does essentially the same thing, but mobile doesn’t seem to be a high priority for them.

Re: Valdi – A cross-platform UI framework that delivers native performance

#90

Post by yetanotherjosh »

DeathArrow wrote: post #61
bearjaws wrote: post #23

Working at a company that uses react-native I wish nothing more than for the end of app stores and differing platform languages. We're heavily considering just having a website next year with a mobile app using webview, and then native code for the native notifications, GPS and healthkit / health connect. I feel like AI is changing the equation, its nearly better to write your business UI 3 times one for each platfor…

Then why bother making an app? The user can access the web app using the browser.

So you can get native behaviors when it’s critical. Like share sheets, push and many other critical features that only apps get even if the bulk of the experience can be done in a webview. This is because mobile OS platforms choose not to make these available to web apps, because app store profits are better for them than an open ecosystem where sites can do the same things as apps.
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