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Comment by neonhat | Hacker News Reader

> This is wishful thinking with no logical argument behind it.

1. A web app developed using WebAssembly offers performance indistinguishable from that of a native app.

2. Since the web app offers native performance, there's practically no need for a native app to exist in the first place. Why should developers waste their time developing for multiple platforms when a single mobile app works flawlessly?

3. This is great for users because the app is highly performant, universally accessible, and doesn't require installation.

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1. I'll believe it when I see it. 2. The platforms have different assumptions and affordances, and trying to homogenize the experience by splitting the difference (like you seem to suggest) will leave users in the uncanny valley. 3. No, it's great for web developers who want to claim they do "native development" without actually learning how to do native development.

WebAssebly offers zero of the things native SDK offers. I wish people making these claims took at least a cursory look what’s in UIKit alone.

> A web app developed using WebAssembly offers performance indistinguishable from that of a native app.

If the performance of your app is limited by the DOM, this will make no difference. Most applications are not doing heavily calculations, they're animating an non-native HTML UI so WebAssembly will make no difference. Raw calculation performance is not the biggest issue for mobile apps.

> Why should developers waste their time developing for multiple platforms when a single mobile app works flawlessly?

Nothing about WebAssembly will make web apps work "more flawlessly" than web apps work right now.

Since WebAssembly doesn't change the user experience of acquiring and using applications it will make no difference, from today, on adoption on web applications.

I'd go so far as to say that users actually don't like going into Mobile Safari run mobile applications and WebAssembly isn't going to change that.

Javascript is already fast enough for native apps as can be seen with things like cordova. Even with WebAssemply the layout and ui draw will still need a browser engine which is where the real difference between native and mobile is.

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