this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2023
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And their desktop client technically is a browser without omnibar.
Electron is not just a browser. It's more like a native app framework that just happens to use HTML and CSS to render UIs. You can do anything the OS lets you do, not just what a browser environment would let you do.
Electron is an unholy fusion of Chromium and Node.JS. Nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't 'just happen' to use HTML and CSS. It's literally just a browser with most of the default browser UI being hidden. Something like React Native would better fit your definition.
I'm on my lunch break from working on a React Native codebase, and I wouldn't say RN fits that definition at all... but I think we're just getting lost in semantics.
My point was just that a web app running inside a browser has to abide by the rules and limitations set by the browser, whereas Electron flips that relationship -- your app sets the rules and limitations of what can be done, and the web rendering process abides by whatever environment you create. You can do anything the OS permits. Even from inside a web context, if you want. You don't need a browser-managed sandbox to mediate your interactions with the OS.