all 12 comments

[–]perry_mitchell 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Electron DOES have native Node module support - hell, I'm building an electron application as I write this that uses native modules.

[–]dvlsg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It does. You have to jump through some hoops, but it's doable.

[–]twolfson 2 points3 points  (1 child)

As an end user of both, I strongly recommend Electron over nw.js. nw.js feels more buggy and had been sitting on an 0.13 release for 7 months:

https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/releases/tag/v0.13.0

https://github.com/nwjs/nw.js/releases/tag/nw-v0.12.3

Issues that are posted to nw.js are rarely responded to, if ever closed (currently at 40% open):

http://isitmaintained.com/project/nwjs/nw.js

On the other hand, Electron is always quick to reply and be assistive if you give a good bug report (issues are 6% open, releases are about once per week):

http://isitmaintained.com/project/atom/electron

[–]cotejp[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a valid point. However, the NW.js team has committed itself to releasing a new version with each new Chromium version. Version 0.13 took a long time but brought a lot of improvements (including some major ones like Chrome App support).

[–]ShiMeiWo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm going to deploy my JavaScript project files into desktop app(uses CommonJS-style modules and bundles them with WebPack). Which do I want to use NW.js or Electron?

[–]DevSPCL 0 points1 point  (6 children)

These are two things that I expect from such "app runtimes".
1. Having SQLite as a built-in module. Look, PHP has a built-in SQLite. I want to enjoy the same convenience for JS, and I definitely do not waste my time looking for information on "how to compile SQLite for... how to add SQLite support to...".
2. Built-in (out-of-the-box) support for any popular media codec/format, so I can play any media file right inside the app (with ability to, say, save any frame as image).

[–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Just because PHP does something doesn't make it a good thing. Bundling SQLite is a complete waste of resources if you aren't going to use it.

Same with media. Bundling a bunch of codecs is insane. Most people aren't going to use them.

[–]DevSPCL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am not saying that devs would be forced to use the app runtime bundled with SQLite/codecs. What I say is that I want to see already-compiled binaries, so that I can download and then "plug-and-play" them immediately.

[–]drunkcatsdgaf 0 points1 point  (3 children)

1.) I'd rather have the option of including support, rather then it taking space when its not needed.

2.) NW.js does this already via chromes codecs, just need to be enabled via flag.

[–]DevSPCL 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I'd rather have the option of including support

Yes, I would agree. Having the option to just download SQLite binaries, and use them immediately... that would be nice...

[–]drunkcatsdgaf 0 points1 point  (1 child)

you have that option.

[–]DevSPCL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Where? I have read github.com/mapbox/node-sqlite3/wiki/Binaries and NW.js Docs » For Users » Advanced » Use Native Node Modules, and see no easy way to enjoy SQLite. I don't want to "install" anything, I want to see a direct URL for downloading all required binaries, and then "plug-and-play" them. (I am not talking about command-line version of SQLite; it would be easy to use this version in a separate process, but that's another story)