[aside] @burtonator - what do you use for your pdf rendering? pdf.js? When I used electron a while ago it didn't natively support PDFs so you needed to roll your own with pdf.js. And the UI code to get full-featured PDF support (like a native browser) was quite complicated. Just curious if you found an easier way.
It does kinda support Pdf out of the box but is currently broken. there's an open issue. The last working version with a PDF viewer is 2.x.
Re:Electron 4.0.0
by burtonator on Friday December 21, 2018 @02:15PM
(#18735733)
pdf.js... it works just fine ;)
The issue with memory consumption is definitely there.
But the issue for us is that if you're doing ANYTHING with 'content' you just have to use the web platform.
You need CSS, HTML and with pdf.js we have somewhat first class PDF support (though a few features are missing).
If it's a calculator app, then sure. Don't use Electron. It would be too bloated.
One feature in Polar that simply wouldn't be possible is support for web content caching.
We support downloading web pages for offline usage to allow annotation and to prevent bit rot.
It wouldn't be possible without some sort of web control but having full chromium (plus a webserver) means that you can setup a near perfect clone of the web but on the desktop.