It’s been almost 30 years and I still don’t understand why browsers exist. Isolated client-server apps were always better. Except that app design now emulates the browser. Soon we’ll have wasm apps that look and feel like windows 1.0 and call it revolutionary.
I actually prefer web apps because browsers make it easy to view control what’s being sent over my network. Requests are decrypted in the browser and can be viewed in plaintext with the browser console. They can be blocked using tools such as uBlock Origin.
Standalone client-server apps have full, unsandboxed control of your computer. It’s impossible to see the content of encrypted network requests, short of hacking into the app. See: Wacom’s drivers track the name of every application that you open:
This is a good point, and I agree with you, but it seems there are better methods of isolation. Cell phones do this pretty well, and they are the dominant platform anyway, so I guess we're moving in that direction. I just wish I could use the UI features of a PC for all they offer beyond screen-based gestures.
Browsers were built to distribute information via web pages (not apps originally). They’ve evolved since then (in the name of distributing information and entertainment more efficiently), to the point where they can emulate a native app.
Apps are deployed via the browser today for one simple reason - they’re everywhere, and you can write your app once an run it just about anywhere.
Browsers provide a cross-platform runtime allowing users to run remote code in a sandbox. Users don't have to download and install executables, and developers don't have to worry as much about getting people to update their clients.
I'm not very happy that browsers and JavaScript have become the dominant app platform, but I think we'll need something with similar features to displace it.
