[Lazarus] Web vs desktop development

[Anthony Walter]

On a programming web forum someone said regarding Lazarus:

On just cursory review, looks compelling. However, I get so little call
these days for native/desktop applications. Seems everyone wants web now.

I replied:

I agree that web applications are far superior in many situations. Compared
to desktop applications they are much easier to deploy, much easier to
upgrade, they work across multiple platforms, the user experience is much
richer (easier to layout, video, audio integration, css transitions), data
handling is easier (no need for local database server or local database
connection configurations), and of course web applications go much better
with the software as a service subscription or pricing model.

That said, desktop applications have a better time working with local
resources like files, scanners, printers (though cloud services for storage
and printing make this less relevant), are usually more responsive, they
obviously have better desktop integration (copy and paste, drag and drop),
usually have better user interface layout management (docking windows,
toolbars, menus), better performance, better direct access to memory data
structures (think of images editing accessing pixels, editing audio
waveform samples), and are better for applications which require long time
processing like encoding videos or recording audio.

That said, I prefer desktop software for doings tasks, which I think is
what most computer enthusiasts want to do. I write desktop software to
automatically scan Craigslist and eBay for collectibles which interest me.
I write desktop software to monitor video feeds with OpenCV. I write
desktop software to make games with SDL2/GLESV2. On so on ...

I guess what it comes down to is this:

For businesses web development is probably a better fit for their software
needs.

For people who are computer enthusiasts that use their computers to process
tasks or solve problems, desktop development is probably better.

What are your opinions on the subject title ?
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