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Are there any things in Linux that need to be started over from scratch? (lemmy.ca)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I'm curious how software can be created and evolve over time. I'm afraid that at some point, we'll realize there are issues with the software we're using that can only be remedied by massive changes or a complete rewrite.

Are there any instances of this happening? Where something is designed with a flaw that doesn't get realized until much later, necessitating scrapping the whole thing and starting from scratch?

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[-] [email protected] 30 points 5 months ago

GUI toolkits like Qt and Gtk. I can't tell you how to do it better, but something is definitely wrong with the standard class hierarchy framework model these things adhere to. Someday someone will figure out a better way to write GUIs (or maybe that already exists and I'm unaware) and that new approach will take over eventually, and all the GUI toolkits will have to be scrapped or rewritten completely.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

Desktop apps nowadays are mostly written in HTML with Electron anyway.

[-] [email protected] 25 points 5 months ago

Which - in my considered opinion - makes them so much worse.

Is it because writing native UI on all current systems I'm aware of is still worse than in the times of NeXTStep with Interface Builder, Objective C, and their class libraries?

And/or is it because it allows (perceived) lower-cost "web developers" to be tasked with "native" client UI?

[-] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago

Probably mainly a matter of saving costs, you get a web interface and a standalone app from one codebase.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

and a mobile app sometimes

[-] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Are you aware of macOS? Because it is still built with the same UI tools that you mention.

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this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2024

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