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.NET MAUI is coming to Linux and the browser

(avaloniaui.net)
303 points vyrotek | 10 comments | 11 Nov 25 22:50 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
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mattfrommars ◴[12 Nov 25 00:18 UTC] No.45894761[source]▶
In the .NET ecosystem, I have noticed people to shame .NET MAUI because Microsoft themselves don't use this framework - Microsoft Team is built on Electron and not MAUI.

Why build a product on MAUI when Microsoft aren't too sure about it.

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latentsea ◴[12 Nov 25 01:00 UTC] No.45895144[source]▶
Never build a frontend on a .NET technology. Period. They always end up unsupported in the end. Just use standard web technologies and thank yourself later. I've been a .NET dev for a decade now and that's what I've learnt.
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brokencode ◴[12 Nov 25 02:01 UTC] No.45895556[source]▶
As wrong as it feels to have to use Electron for a desktop app, it really is the safest approach for most applications.

Qt also seems to be a good option, though there are licensing considerations for commercial applications.

I’m excited for various upcoming Rust options as well, but right now Electron is the battle tested option.

I am curious though about Avalonia. I’ve heard good things, but it’s definitely a smaller player compared to Electron. I’d most likely choose it over Microsoft’s first party frameworks.

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bigstrat2003 ◴[12 Nov 25 02:37 UTC] No.45895796[source]▶
> it really is the safest approach for most applications.

It's also the option which gives your users by far the worst experience. Not worth it at all, imo.

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1. brokencode ◴[12 Nov 25 02:57 UTC] No.45895935{3}[source]▶
Not really. The downsides are mostly overblown.

Plenty of category leading applications like Discord, VSCode, Slack, Figma, etc. use it quite successfully.

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2. PenguinCoder ◴[12 Nov 25 03:32 UTC] No.45896121[source]▶
All of those are examples of overbloated, slow, horrible user experience apps.
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3. brokencode ◴[12 Nov 25 03:52 UTC] No.45896221[source]▶
They work great for me.
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4. glzone1 ◴[12 Nov 25 04:07 UTC] No.45896287[source]▶
Does their market share back up your take of them as horrible apps?

Are there QT or GTK competitors crushing them?

I always hear how terrible electron apps are, but the companies picking electron seem to get traction QT or other apps don't and seem to have a good cross platform story as well.

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5. homebrewer ◴[12 Nov 25 04:59 UTC] No.45896514{3}[source]▶
Oh yes, the great old "works for me". On a yesterday's supercomputer, I presume? I live in a "developing" (have doubts it's really developing) country, most people are running laptops with no more than 8 GiB of RAM (sometimes it's 4 or less), and all this Electron nonsense is running like molasses, especially if you're trying to use a computer like a proper computer and do multitasking.

And most of the world is like that, very few of us (speaking globally) have $2k to drop on a new supercomputer every few years to run our chat applications.

6. Antibabelic ◴[12 Nov 25 06:25 UTC] No.45896945{3}[source]▶
Users will happily deal with a suboptimal experience as long as there are other things attracting them to the product. That's why Microsoft can do whatever it wants with Windows without worrying their users will run off somewhere else. So if you care more about people than businesses, maybe it shouldn't be an excuse to pick "better dev experience" over the user's.
7. iberator ◴[12 Nov 25 07:44 UTC] No.45897369{3}[source]▶
Hey, I found CEO of Discord
8. tjpnz ◴[12 Nov 25 10:07 UTC] No.45898363{3}[source]▶
They said horrible user experience apps, not horrible apps. You can still deliver an app with a horrible user experience and build a profitable business. Ever done an expense report?

Companies aren't picking Electron due to inherent shortcomings in other platforms, they're picking it because it's easier (and cheaper) to find JavaScript devs who can get up to speed with it quickly.

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9. rixed ◴[12 Nov 25 12:32 UTC] No.45899361{3}[source]▶
Beware with that logic. You notice successful electron apps because of how bloated they are. I suspect you use many Qt apps without even noticing.

One that comes to mind that I use daily and noticed only recently that it was implemented in Qt is the telegram desktop app.

10. brokencode ◴[12 Nov 25 15:19 UTC] No.45901266{4}[source]▶
Discord, VS Code, and Figma are all apps that individuals choose and are well liked despite many alternatives. Slack too I think, though I don’t have experience with it.

Your comment applies to Teams and I’m sure other electron apps. But the sweeping generalization that electron apps have terrible user experiences is pretty obviously incorrect.