This might be a hot take but I’ve noticed some complicated electron apps are faster than some simple native apps. The striking example to me is how Vs code runs better and has a lower startup time than the stock Windows 11 File manager.
A well written electron app is better than a poorly written native app sometimes.
The Windows File Manager is really just awful in that regard. You can get alternative file managers that start up in a fraction of that time, with more features.
Startup time isn’t really the worst of it. RAM usage is worse. And if a program uses lots of RAM, it will still appear quite performant. But it makes everything else on your system slower.
genuinely curious, I have a shitton of networked drives and at least 7 volumes on this locally, file manager has always popped open ready to go at a click or hotkey.
That’s the exact opposite of my experience but I’m comparing macOS native apps, not Windows apps.
On top of that, the macOS Electron apps don’t allow me to do half the stuff you can do in macOS such as command + click the title of a document to open its parent folder, renaming/moving documents while they’re open (are we emulating FAT32 lol), sloppy “native”-looking components that are mismatched, etc.
You can use C++ for web technology instead of JavaScript? I’m taking a class in C++ right now so I’d be happy to swap janky JavaScript for pedantic but speedy C++ in new projects.
This might be a hot take but I’ve noticed some complicated electron apps are faster than some simple native apps. The striking example to me is how Vs code runs better and has a lower startup time than the stock Windows 11 File manager.
A well written electron app is better than a poorly written native app sometimes.
I mean, sure, but:
The Windows File Manager is really just awful in that regard. You can get alternative file managers that start up in a fraction of that time, with more features.
Startup time isn’t really the worst of it. RAM usage is worse. And if a program uses lots of RAM, it will still appear quite performant. But it makes everything else on your system slower.
There’s also the added CPU overhead from using JavaScript for everything to contend with.
As long as the program is not bloated, JavaScript can be fast. Unfortunately that’s not the case with most programs.
especially if they’re proprietary…
file manager opens instantly.
genuinely curious, I have a shitton of networked drives and at least 7 volumes on this locally, file manager has always popped open ready to go at a click or hotkey.
Can you recommend some third party windows file managers?
Stock file manager has an okay UI (tabs are super nice) but is kinda slow, especially on battery.
I tried explorer++ but its UI is clunky and it’s only slightly faster than the stock file manager.
I’ve been using Double Commander for years and I love it, but the UI takes some getting used to (and the default settings aren’t great).
That’s the exact opposite of my experience but I’m comparing macOS native apps, not Windows apps.
On top of that, the macOS Electron apps don’t allow me to do half the stuff you can do in macOS such as command + click the title of a document to open its parent folder, renaming/moving documents while they’re open (are we emulating FAT32 lol), sloppy “native”-looking components that are mismatched, etc.
That’s because all the important bits in VSCode are reimplemented in C++
You can use C++ for web technology instead of JavaScript? I’m taking a class in C++ right now so I’d be happy to swap janky JavaScript for pedantic but speedy C++ in new projects.
VSCode is a desktop app, hence using real languages is easy. For websites there is webassembly. Try this: https://www.rust-lang.org/what/wasm
It’s getting there!
https://webassembly.org/