Why HTML5 makes justifying native applications more difficult

By Justin James , TechRepublic on February 24, 2012

Summary

Justin James, who is now very bullish on Web applications, explains what you need to consider when deciding whether to write a desktop application or a Web application.

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One of the biggest shifts in development in the last few years has been the move to Web applications. For a long time, developers resisted this move, and some of the reasons why were good. For example, I said that for a long time the Web model wasn't so great--the UI capabilities weren't there without a ton of work, and the ability to do "real work" was lacking. Some of the reasons were not so good, and mostly boiled down to a refusal to learn something new.

I have recently become very bullish on Web applications, and I now highly recommend that you consider them over desktop applications in all but a very few sets of circumstances. When you are deciding between writing a desktop application or a Web application, these are things that you should take into consideration.

When do you "have to" write a Web application?
Under certain conditions, you must write a Web application, regardless of what you would prefer to do, either for business or technical reasons. Here are some of those situations:

Zero footprint installation (Flash and Silverlight work well here too)
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) billing model
Cross-platform compatible (Yes, you can use one of the cross-platform widget libraries too with native code, but Web is much easier.)
Server-centralized control of logic, resources (data, CPU, et al), etc.
Public facing application with highly sensitive data that needs to stay behind a firewall
Needs to communicate between the client and a centralized server outside of the client's network

Note that some of these situations have exceptions. That's fine, but keep in mind that the alternatives to Web applications in these scenarios are often no better and often worse in many ways than Web applications.

Mobile
In large part, the growth in mobile devices was the beginning of the end for desktop applications. You could count on being able to target Windows and hit 95% of the potential users. Now, so many people (especially consumers) use mobile significantly enough that it is hard to get complete coverage of the market with a native-only approach. To make matters worse, not only is the mobile market highly fragmented between the different mobile operating systems, but the #1 player in mobile right now (Android) is highly fragmented amongst itself. If you really need full coverage of the market without having to learn enough native development to cover the mobile market well, Web is the way to go.

Windows 8
Windows 8 is the straw that broke the camel's back for me. Pre-Windows 8, I would say that you shouldn't write a Web application unless you had to write a Web application. Despite the boom in mobile, it just is not enough to tip the scales for many apps, but Windows 8 is in my opinion.

With Windows 8 looming, the time is right to reconsider native applications entirely. Instead of asking, "do I need to write a Web application" you should be asking, "do I need to write a native application?" Why? Simply put, with the changes coming to Windows 8, if you want to write applications that need a lot of input and similar hallmarks of "real work," the Metro UI is not great for it, and if you don't want to use Metro, you are locked out of the ARM devices. Or to put it another way, unless you are writing an application that can work well as a touch application, a Windows 8 native application is a bad idea, and a "legacy" Windows application locks you in to the existing Windows market, which will only get smaller over time.

Do I need to write a native application?
That's a good question! Let's look at the common wisdom answer to this question. Typically, I would say "yes" if the following are true:

Needs to be able to work offline as well as online
Requires substantial access to the local system's resources, particularly CPU/RAM
Performance considerations
Heavy graphics work
Integration with other systems
Desktop-quality UI widgets

Up until HTML5, I would call that a really good list. HTML5, though, answers each of these in a way that makes it even harder to justify native applications. Let's look at that list again:

Needs to be able to work offline as well as online: There are provisions for enough local storage capabilities to handle syncing.
Requires substantial access to the local system's resources, particularly CPU/RAM: Web Workers gives you a development model to not hog the system and block the browser.
Performance considerations: Browsers' JavaScript engines have made huge improvements, especially Chrome's and Internet Explorer's.
Heavy graphics work: The <canvas> tag allows bitmap graphics manipulation.
Integration with other systems: WebSocket allows full-duplex, persistent connections.
Desktop-quality UI widgets -- Improvements to the <input> element and the addition of the <menu> element allow for a much richer UI experience; jQuery has continued to fill in the gaps.

As you can see, HTML5 offers compelling reasons to re-evaluate the decision to go Web or stay native. Indeed, other than certain specialized or niche scenarios (like integrating directly with a "legacy" Windows application), it is very difficult for me to recommend building native applications for typical consumer or line-of-business applications going forward.

Justin James is an employee of Levit & James, Inc. in a multidisciplinary role that combines programming, network management, and system administration. He has been blogging at TechRepublic since 2005.

Talkback

Great post - especially like you calling out the HTML5 features that are closing the gap with native apps. I assume your list wasn't meant to be complete, as there are certain native features that HTML5 has limited or no access to (e.g.: camera).
It was great to see WebSockets on your list. WebSocket implementations in mobile browsers are becoming really good. And even if the browser has only partial or no native WebSocket support, WebSocket emulation can help. Some of your readers may be interested in further readings on WebSockets, they may want to check out http://blog.kaazing.com.
Thanks for the nice article!

pmoskovi February 24, 2012

The signature didn't make it above - so here we go:

Peter Moskovits
Developer Evangelist - Kaazing

pmoskovi February 24, 2012

I like the article - but you have a valid point there Peter: "...as there are certain native features that HTML5 has limited or no access to (e.g.: camera).". This fact is not being touched on in the article itself.

And this is exactly the limitation that makes it difficult to for the developers that need to make a decision today, to chose HTML5. Many applications need to access native drivers s.a. special printers, scanners, camers, card-readers, etc, etc...

If this problem had a solution then HTML5 would be the way to go - hands-down.

Currently I am in the process of making such a decision. This is for an application that will need multi-platform support. iOS, Android, Windows, etc.
There are not many options for us which is why am leaning towards Flex - although Flex also is experiencing some radical focus changes.

Bjorn Heidarr

bheidarr March 27, 2012

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ZDNet / Techguide / Web Development

Why HTML5 makes justifying native applications more difficult

Summary

Events

Echelon 2012 June 11 and 12, 2012University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore

Startup Asia Jakarta 2012 June 7 and 8, 201212th Floor, Annex Building, Wisma Nusantara Complex, Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 59 Jakarta 10350, Indonesia

MMA Forum Singapore April 23-25, 2012Grand Hyatt Singapore

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Echelon 2012
June 11 and 12, 2012

University Cultural Centre, National University of Singapore

Startup Asia Jakarta 2012
June 7 and 8, 2012

12th Floor, Annex Building, Wisma Nusantara Complex, Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 59 Jakarta 10350, Indonesia

MMA Forum Singapore
April 23-25, 2012

Grand Hyatt Singapore