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0 pointsandix8d ago0 comments

For rich text rendering HTML and browsers are simply the best. Highly optimized. For simple layouts (like rendered markdown) they are incredibly fast.

On most platforms it's quite easy to embed a browser in a frame (show a changelog, an email, or a page of interactive charts). With a few tweaks this can feel completely seamless.

It becomes really painful (or impossible) though, if you need those complex text rendering on multiple places scattered over the native UI. Or if the native UI should interact with the HTML somehow (drop-downs, edit text, add native controls inside html).

Thats why everyone is building Electron/etc apps.

0 comments

cybercatgurrl7d ago

i’m pretty sure you just justified ChromeOS’s existence

c-smile8d ago

> On most platforms it's quite easy to embed a browser in a frame

Citing other answer here "This is a common misconception among programmers, and is actually the opposite of the truth."

If platform is Windows then you need three different mechanisms for doing so, depends on OS version. And be ready to the fact that it can be no browser installed in standard way.

And if platform is Linux... Good luck with that in general... GTK may help here but be ready to GTK2/GTK3/GTK4 zoo. And sure you will not be happy with performance of the result.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse