WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
1–10 of 57 posts
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#2Quite amazing solution. From the .hta file you can see it was inspired by VBScript (whose most popular software is ILOVEYOU I guess).
It looks like the ultimate hack, but why not ? It's very creative and the intention is good as well: TypeScript/JavaScript is a very popular language. Though C#.NET is great as well.
It could make sense in the very long-term that Microsoft themselves explore this possibility.
Ultimately "TypeScript.NET or JavaScript.NET"
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#3Been doing this since 1999. The only thing novel I see here is the transpilers - but you know… you don’t need that. You can build HTAs with native JavaScript, CSS and HTML - and with a little VBScript mixin, directly work with Windows libs. Back in ‘99 and early 00’s I was delivering “thin-client” control panels & management tools for server farms, sensitive accounting data, among a variety of other things. It was (and likely still is) a great way to provide a web interface as a desktop app for scenarios where exposing the management interface to the open web is undesirable.
Nifty project, but IMHO the world is better off using native JavaScript without all the BS that comes with TypeScript, etc. JavaScript is so powerful and amazing, it’s a bummer to hamstring your app by using TypeScript and classic OO inheritance models that preclude the beauty and dynamics of JavaScript as a functional, prototypal language.
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#4Been doing this since 1999. The only thing novel I see here is the transpilers - but you know… you don’t need that. You can build HTAs with native JavaScript, CSS and HTML - and with a little VBScript mixin, directly work with Windows libs. Back in ‘99 and early 00’s I was delivering “thin-client” control panels & management tools for server farms, sensitive accounting data, among a variety of other things. It was (a…
> using native JavaScript without all the BS that comes with TypeScript
do you think javascript was just too easy and people had to invent some bs to make it more interesting for no reason? You don't even know what you're talking about when you make the connection from ts to oop.
My experience comming into javascript is that it's a garbage language and the web stack was a joke, everything was hard for the wrong reason (css centering things kinda stuff)
All these modern tooling, though complicated, is not new in NORMAL programming and makes sense, so you cow boys learn to deal with it.
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#5Been doing this since 1999. The only thing novel I see here is the transpilers - but you know… you don’t need that. You can build HTAs with native JavaScript, CSS and HTML - and with a little VBScript mixin, directly work with Windows libs. Back in ‘99 and early 00’s I was delivering “thin-client” control panels & management tools for server farms, sensitive accounting data, among a variety of other things. It was (a…
Is being a "prototypal language" not an "OO inheritance model"?
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#6Been doing this since 1999. The only thing novel I see here is the transpilers - but you know… you don’t need that. You can build HTAs with native JavaScript, CSS and HTML - and with a little VBScript mixin, directly work with Windows libs. Back in ‘99 and early 00’s I was delivering “thin-client” control panels & management tools for server farms, sensitive accounting data, among a variety of other things. It was (a…
I think you are conflating ES6 classes with TypeScript.
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#7Quite amazing solution. From the .hta file you can see it was inspired by VBScript (whose most popular software is ILOVEYOU I guess). It looks like the ultimate hack, but why not ? It's very creative and the intention is good as well: TypeScript/JavaScript is a very popular language. Though C#.NET is great as well. It could make sense in the very long-term that Microsoft themselves explore this possibility. Ultimatel…
This stuff pre-dates .NET and quite honestly I think that’s what m$ was going for in those early days. VBScript was pretty annoying and dealing with COM objects sucked badly. Back in the day we’d build in a local VB interop with JavaScript so we could make system calls and interact with native Windows stuffs. This predates JSON so at the time we’d use XmlHttpRpc to talk to remote/hosted services.
I’ll double down on the urge to drop TypeScript. That pile of nonsense came from the classic OOP folks - “But where are my TYPEs!? How do I know what type that variable is!?” (first the Java/C++ folks then the .NET folks “solved” the brain fuzz around functional programming and dynamic types by giving you TypeScript)
Having been out of the m$ ecosystem for some time, I’m kinda surprised HTAs are still around, I’m guessing to avoid breaking things. Once .NET started taking off - I always assumed that would replace the VBScript side of things and let you build proper, elegant system interfaces for your JavaScript app. I really imagined the goal was to drop Windows forms/object controls - but I always imagined BATTLES at m$ over being able to create Windows “apps” that didn’t conform to native UI controls, couldn’t be controlled through Windows theming engines, etc. kinduva brand control battle. I always imagined some team going “NOOO, just build a web app, you’re breaking all the UI rules!!!”
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#8Been doing this since 1999. The only thing novel I see here is the transpilers - but you know… you don’t need that. You can build HTAs with native JavaScript, CSS and HTML - and with a little VBScript mixin, directly work with Windows libs. Back in ‘99 and early 00’s I was delivering “thin-client” control panels & management tools for server farms, sensitive accounting data, among a variety of other things. It was (a…
I think you are conflating ES6 classes with TypeScript.
Static/strong typing is not necessary in JS.
Yes, ES6 brings the OOPiness
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#9Been doing this since 1999. The only thing novel I see here is the transpilers - but you know… you don’t need that. You can build HTAs with native JavaScript, CSS and HTML - and with a little VBScript mixin, directly work with Windows libs. Back in ‘99 and early 00’s I was delivering “thin-client” control panels & management tools for server farms, sensitive accounting data, among a variety of other things. It was (a…
Is being a "prototypal language" not an "OO inheritance model"?
Firstly, it’s functional with closures… From there prototypal - so you can express whatever you want… the key is being functional. This was a key to the advent of JSON, but is also one of the most elegant and powerful bits of JS
Re: WelsonJS: Build a Windows app on the Windows built-in JavaScript engine
#10Been doing this since 1999. The only thing novel I see here is the transpilers - but you know… you don’t need that. You can build HTAs with native JavaScript, CSS and HTML - and with a little VBScript mixin, directly work with Windows libs. Back in ‘99 and early 00’s I was delivering “thin-client” control panels & management tools for server farms, sensitive accounting data, among a variety of other things. It was (a…
> using native JavaScript without all the BS that comes with TypeScript do you think javascript was just too easy and people had to invent some bs to make it more interesting for no reason? You don't even know what you're talking about when you make the connection from ts to oop. My experience comming into javascript is that it's a garbage language and the web stack was a joke, everything was hard for the wrong reaso…
I think, based on many battles, a lot of folks in the early days that came from Java/C++ absolutely struggled with the key concepts of JavaScript, couldn’t find “features” (like strong typing) they claimed were critical for writing good software and invented ways to make the language fit their paradigm, rather than really deep dive into the language and embrace it. There were constant battles back then - and I’m sure the battles continue.
JS was certainly never a “garbage” language but the elegance is unappealing/unappreciated by entire classes of developers. I totally get the perspective, but it’s all based on a worldview that just doesn’t get functional programming