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0 pointspalata2y ago0 comments

> Right but that isn't really a thing anymore.

"Wanting to be closer" does not mean "needing to be at the lowest theoretical level". In this case it just means that native mobile frameworks are one layer of abstraction lower than web frameworks, and it is better (not cheaper, not easier, but better).

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bowsamic2y ago

Native libraries are already an huge abstraction. Anyone can write a GUI framework, even on iPhone. I don’t understand where the line is being drawn here

palataOP2y ago

I am not the OP, but my line here is between the APIs provided by Apple and the third-party abstractions. As an iOS developer, the "lowest" you can get is the Apple framework. PWAs are a third-party abstraction on top of that, which come with all the risks/limitations of both third-party dependencies and abstractions.

bowsamic2y ago

I just don't really agree, almost all modern JS engines compile to machine code, so it's as "low" as writing Swift or Objective-C.

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kmbfjr2y ago

Lets start with a browser based application that struggles with basic IOS capabilities. Not entirely a web app’s fault, but dealing with badges and push notifications will most certainly be a better experience in a native app.

I admit that I am not saddened by this hurdle. The moment that becomes a thing, further enshitification will ensue with every web site trying to drop and icon and start pushing messages.

“Closer to metal”? Not sure you are wrong to ask if there is a line given SwiftUI. That is some very high abstraction.

bowsamic2y ago

I agree that Apple make it so that unless you use their frameworks then you can't use certain functionalities of the OS, but that has nothing to do with being "lower" or "higher". It's just that Apple has a specific abstraction that you must use in order to access those features. It could just as easily be the other way around and have it so that only web apps can access those features and so-called "native" apps cannot. It just has nothing to do with the level of abstraction.

If you wrote pure machine code without system calls you can't even read a file. You have to call into the kernel, which could even be written in javascript, in order to do that.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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bowsamic2y ago

Native libraries are already an huge abstraction. Anyone can write a GUI framework, even on iPhone. I don’t understand where the line is being drawn here

palataOP2y ago

bowsamic2y ago

I just don't really agree, almost all modern JS engines compile to machine code, so it's as "low" as writing Swift or Objective-C.

2 more replies

kmbfjr2y ago

I admit that I am not saddened by this hurdle. The moment that becomes a thing, further enshitification will ensue with every web site trying to drop and icon and start pushing messages.

“Closer to metal”? Not sure you are wrong to ask if there is a line given SwiftUI. That is some very high abstraction.

bowsamic2y ago

If you wrote pure machine code without system calls you can't even read a file. You have to call into the kernel, which could even be written in javascript, in order to do that.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse