JavaScript all the things


I recently read an article titled "A future for SQL on the web". There was an interesting project where a developer (ab)used porting SQLite to WebAssembly so that one could do database operations on a completely static website. An interesting project for sure, but not something that anyone would actually consider a good idea or try to do in production right? Obviously the author of the aforementioned article thinks it's a good idea and unironically suggests SQLite in favor of the IndexedDB API. I'm not disputing the technical accuracy of the article, but a little wary of the direction things are going.


It's no secret that web apps are the new hot thing. Google is pushing to blur the lines between native and web apps while we have a generation of JavaScript developers who brag about being able to quickly prototype a React app in 10 minutes, while not being able to tell you how bitwise operators work (this is not a joke). The end result are unhappy users who lament about bloated and slow Electon apps and crashing GNOME extensions (yes, GNOME uses JavaScript for extensions) and overly complex APIs and bloated frameworks polluting the web.


I can understand abstracting things away and using JavaScript to make things easier for developers, but I feel like things are going too far in the direction of porting *everything* to the web, to the point where native apps are becoming obsolete. I don't really need to explain why this is a bad idea but I can list a few reasons: browser monoculture, walled app ecosystems, no longer owning your desktop, privacy and security concerns, so on and so forth. Sure, things are easier for developers, but objectively worse for users.


It doesn't help that said generation of JavaScript developers consider unimportant details like cybersecurity, privacy and user experience an afterthought. Just look at all the data breaches, lack of accessibility in modern websites and strange user interface choices.


Unfortunately, I don't think there really is any way to stop the momentum of web apps becoming dominant nor shutter the attitude of "we do it because we can". I have no doubt that we'll soon be running entire desktop operating systems in the browser.



remyabel.flounder.online/