Post AXns7XT4bFv5Yu5BCK by DarkMatterZine@mastodon.social
 (DIR) More posts by DarkMatterZine@mastodon.social
 (DIR) Post #AUZetQwCbnKOHEpRtQ by louis@emacs.ch
       2023-04-12T11:12:38Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       Interesting how hard it is to throw together a (preferably cross-platform) simple Desktop UI app (for internal usage) without reverting to legacy or proprietary tooling (like Delphi, Xojo) or learning a specific niche language. IMHO Graphical UIs should be created graphically, not coded.
       
 (DIR) Post #AUZetRiPiXtOglNx2W by galdor@emacs.ch
       2023-04-12T11:18:51Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @louis Nobody really invest on native desktop UIs anymore. QT would do what you want (fully supported, supports most platforms, has a graphical UI designer), but it's C++. And from what I've been told, it is really complex.I do not like Electron, but there is a reason why it has become so successful.Still think it's best for one's sanity to avoid markets where desktop UIs are required.
       
 (DIR) Post #AUZhWNv7xcUg7Z1kMi by michael@mastodon.sinax.be
       2023-04-12T11:48:18Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @galdor @louis +1 for QT. Native language is C++ but extremely powerful abstractions (QString!) are added by QT. The Python bindings are really good and generally sufficient unless you're building like a CAD tool or something.Can highly recommend!
       
 (DIR) Post #AUZhqWAsyudfVpzxC4 by louis@emacs.ch
       2023-04-12T11:51:56Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @galdor Yet, if I need a little internal tool (connect to a database, get some rows, do some web requests etc.) I don't want build a HTML/JS/CSS/Electron app for it - pure overkill.I also don't want to learn a framework as huge as Qt for that.Delphi is out of the question, it is Windows only and is super expensive. There is Lazarus based on Free Pascal now, but is it really necessary to learn a huge arcane language which still has trouble with UTF-8 strings? Xojo comes close but its BASIC language sucks and there is literally zero ecosystem (libraries) so you have to re-invent the wheel every time. It can't even parse a URL.Strangely, Lispworks CAPI comes close too, but also carries a hefty price tag ($2'400/platform - I hope lispm will not read this because it would trigger a multi-page rant about why Lispworks is worth every penny).
       
 (DIR) Post #AUZiPa0QjE1nWxpIiu by galdor@emacs.ch
       2023-04-12T11:58:17Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @louis It's not just the price (it could be justified in a commercial context), it's the fact that you're either locking you in their catalog of proprietary libraries (which would be an insanely bad business decision), or you're back to the same problem of having to do all the work due to the state of most open source CL libraries.For a small internal tool, I'd go with a web app because I can whip it up very quickly in Go. Still do not like web development, but this is the path of least effort nowadays.Web apps make also your life easier because you can host it in your company infrastructure and very easily integrate with the SSO platform. Distributing a program to your colleagues is not always easy.
       
 (DIR) Post #AUZjaMOXm4GgSLoGjQ by louis@emacs.ch
       2023-04-12T12:11:24Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @galdor I think you are right. I'll most likely go down that route. The amount of HTML/CSS can be reduced by picking a light-weight CSS framework. Other than that, vanilla JS or something like Fresh (Deno) is probably just good enough for this use case.Another plus: it is very easy to gradually improve your app on-demand without having to carry many dependencies with you. These small internal tools can live for a long time 🙂
       
 (DIR) Post #AUZjul1vtGp2eXxZc8 by galdor@emacs.ch
       2023-04-12T12:15:06Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @louis Exactly, not having to think about delivery updates is really a plus.And SASS + modern JS (with a simple Makefile of course, no webpack or anything) works perfectly well nowadays.
       
 (DIR) Post #AXns7XT4bFv5Yu5BCK by DarkMatterZine@mastodon.social
       2023-07-18T01:29:14Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @louis In my experience the standard of coding is declining rapidly. Programs that used to work reliably 8 or 10 years ago - like Word and Outlook - are now abominations. And don’t get me started on websites with sticky banners, pop ups etc, It’s awful.