[Lazarus] Web vs desktop development

[Giuliano Colla]

Il 15/01/2016 18:29, Anthony Walter ha scritto:
> 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 agree with your points, but I'd like to add something more.

I believe that the first task of a designer is to pick up the most 
*appropriate* technology to solve the given problem, without being 
influenced by what is fashionable, "modern" or "cool".

My favourite example are the newspapers and the tomb stones.

 From the beginning of civilization, important news were graved in stone 
slabs.
When paper and printing were invented, the new technology appeared much 
more appropriate, and the stone slabs were replaced by newspapers. With 
the advent of the Internet, a new technology has become available to 
spread news and information, which is faster and cheaper, provides a lot 
of extra features, and it is replacing the printed paper technology in 
many domains. The most appropriate technology prevails.

When it comes to a tombstone, it's stone age technology, but up to now 
nothing better has been found to put over a grave than a graved stone, 
so the stone age technology remains the most appropriate choice.

The same technology has been obsoleted twice for one application, but 
remains the most appropriate for another.

If an application is meant to run locally, with local data and local 
resources, making it a web application will inherit all the 
disadvantages of web, without any advantage. It would not be the 
appropriate choice.

If an application is run by a number of users scattered in different 
places and takes advantage of common information which can be held in a 
common server, then a web application is the best choice.

Intermediate cases must be carefully analysed, evaluating pros and cons, 
to pick up the most appropriate solution. A straight assumption "web is 
better" or "desktop is better" leads to poor results, if not to failures.

I'm running a consultant company, and frequently we have discussion with 
our customers trying to tell us not only what they want, but also how we 
should do it.
We always tell them that we may guarantee a good result only if we're 
free to pick up the most appropriate solution, disregarding the fashion 
of the day.
That way, in over thirty-five years of activity, we never failed a 
single project. I consider among our successes the few instances when we 
have been unable to convince our customers to accept our way, and 
therefore we decided to turn them down. They addressed elsewhere, and 
failed!

My 2 cents,

Giuliano