Google Docs will now use canvas based rendering

Re:Google Docs will now use canvas based rendering by SilverRed on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @09:57PM (#27137596)

I think the panic over this is a little unfounded. For docs this makes perfect sense. My concern I guess is if this becomes the normal way of doing development, and people build HTML replacements that work using canvas. What will the impacts be.

* How many browser functions will break.

* Will middle click still work.

* Will screen readers still work?

* Will search engines/ctrl+f still work?

One of the awesome things about web browsers is you get so many features for free on every website. Making the text bigger on a website mostly just works everywhere while on traditional apps it only does if the app has a specific setting for it.

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Re:Google Docs will now use canvas based rendering by ehsankia on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @10:42PM (#27137849)

I don't think it'll become the normal way. If anything, the opposite is true, people making Electron apps to get to access the power of web development, instead of making native apps.

It's definitely not easy, it requires you to re-implement everything from scratch. It only makes sense in cases where performance is paramount. I could imagine applications being migrated to the web doing it though, like Photoshop an the like.

But I absolutely don't see normal web development migrating over, it's just way too much pain for little value. Development, debugging, testing, etc. Everything becomes much harder.

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Re:Google Docs will now use canvas based rendering by SilverRed on Wednesday May 12, 2021 @11:37PM (#27138118)

>it's just way too much pain for little value

I'm assuming that we will eventually have powerful HTML like frameworks built on top of canvas. So for the end developer, its just as simple as using GTK or HTML.

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