What does HackerNews think of makepad?

Makepad is a creative software development platform for Rust that compiles to wasm/webGL, osx/metal, windows/dx11 linux/opengl

Language: Rust

It is what Makepad is working on in an interesting way using Wasm and Rust. They have created a Figma-like DSL and a good code separation with the logic behind it. You can edit UI's of in-production apps, and they are bundling an editor for that. Accessibility is an issue, and the project are looking to offer proper support there. In their video linked on the README they run the conference slides on Makepad with live apps embedded and running at 120 fps.

https://github.com/makepad/makepad

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36567681

> I would contribute in this realm becase I'm a graphics and UI person and also enjoy working with new programming languages.

Maybe the case of Makepad will interest you then: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36567681

https://github.com/makepad/makepad

> if anyone tells you they need to use WebAssembly to make the UI snappy I'd advise you interrogate that assertion thoroughly.

Get prepared to be blown away by Makepad [0]. I have no affiliation with them, but just watched their most recent conference presentation [1]. The slides were made with Makepad itself and included, embedded, a full-blown IDE, a synthesizer app, a Mandelbrot to zoom in endlessly, and more. All running at 120fps. The presentation is for the most part live-coding with this setup.

What they want to do is bring coders and designers closer together, and while some code is in Rust they developed a DSL for the GUI parts that is close to how Figma works. These GUI's can run anywhere.

And I couldn't help thinking "Why would people have complicated stacks to create Web 2.0 apps for the Google Web, when they have this?", in other words an opportunity to break out of the browser straitjacket.

Btw. WebAssembly/WebGL isn't the only way in which Makepad is available. And while running well in the browser for a time, there were issues to be solved here (addressed in the presentation). And tbh this isn't a real answer to your assertion. Greg Johnston, creator of Leptos, has made a video with performance comparisons [2].

Edit: Adding a link to the synthesizer app I just found [3].

[0] https://github.com/makepad/makepad

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rC4FCS-oMpg

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KtotxNAwME

[3] https://makepad.nl/makepad/examples/ironfish/src/index.html

Typescript and Zig are two other languages that look vaguely C-like (even though they are on two opposite ends of "C like"), but both are a whole lot easier on the eyes than most Rust code.

C++ on the other hand also is vaguely C like, but can look equally messy as typical Rust code.

OTH I find Makepad's Rust style very readable, but I can't quite put my finger on it what's different from other Rust code bases:

https://github.com/makepad/makepad

Sorry if this has been said elsewhere, but - Makepad! You should check out Makepad!

https://github.com/makepad/makepad

It's a Rust library for developing cross-platform apps. It's not 1.0 yet; there's still things to finish, but it's being actively developed (https://fosstodon.org/@rikarends#), and it's already pretty fun to play with. And the fact that it compiles and runs with the same widgets on Web as it does for Windows and Mac (Linux and Android are imminent, according to the dev's updates) makes it very appealing for my "write once, deploy anywhere" sensibilities.

Fast, easy, and free. Just waiting on it to be "live", for now! Don't forget to check out the demos.

https://makepad.nl/makepad/examples/fractal_zoom/src/index.h...

https://makepad.nl/makepad/examples/ironfish/src/index.html

https://makepad.nl/makepad/examples/simple/src/index.html

https://makepad.nl/makepad/examples/numbers/src/index.html

I'd love to see an approach similar to Makepad for the Repl.it IDE (all powered by WebAssembly). Keep up the good work!

http://makepad.nl/

https://github.com/makepad/makepad

Rik Arends has been working on a cross-platform IDE in Rust called Makepad [1]. It has a custom UI stack that targets wasm/webGL, osx/metal, windows/dx11, and linux/opengl. His premise (which is fairly ambitious) is to work in both 2d and VR environments. It's been fun to watch. There's a demo for the wasm target. [2]

1. https://github.com/makepad/makepad

2. https://makepad.github.io/makepad/

They developed a cross platform editor using webGL, when taregeting web/WASM, targeting Metal for macOS, and OpenGL otherwise. That's pretty neat. See https://github.com/makepad/makepad for a closer explanation.