Will html5 and Javascript replace native applications?

Question

I recently attended a conference on future of the web and web development and it was a lot of focus on HTML5 and how it will impact the way we look at the web and how we will use it. The majority of the speakers meant that it will replace native application on your desktop as well as in your mobile phone.

I agree that you will be able to make a lot of great stuff with the new technology take bespin for example and the <video> and <canvas> tag will be amazing, but will it completely remove the need for native applications? Is there something you cannot do with Javascript and HTML5?

Answer 1

HTML5 and Javascript will not replace native applications. You can do many amazing things with those technologies, and there are many applications that can be done with them, but there will be always be a need for native applications as they have access to certain hardware and OS features that HTML5 and Javascript do not.

Answer 2

Yes, in the areas that it can. Obviously the OS won't be replaced, but between Gmail, Google docs, Meebo etc for many users the web has already replaced many desktop applications.

Answer 3

What they really mean is, can't HTML5 + Javascript create any desired UI. You wouldn't gain anything by writing a C++ compiler in Javascript.

So what UI is hard-to-impossible in a browser? Off the top of my head:

Video editors.
Photoshop.
Music Notation.
Music Sequencers.

For completeness, what can't be hosted on a webserver? Again, applications that require large amounts of near-zero-latency data, such as recording audio and video.

Answer 4

Iam not sure, but i think in the future most applications will be served from the web. But i think not like today.

The future will be an mix between Webclient / Desktop application. Something like Adobe Air or Applications created with Titanium.

The Desktop of the future:

• OS (what ever.. not important)
• 5 GB Harddisk
• 1 GB Ram
• very fast internet connection

No more Backups needed, access to my data at every workstation. Nearly nothing stored offline.

Answer 5

HTML5 is another tool, and that's great, because having good tools is great.

However, getting new, more powerful tools does not negate the need for older tools. When I got my first power drill I didn't throw away all my screwdrivers.

In a world of infinite possibilities, it's difficult to make any tool that was useful once obsolete. There will always be a place for desktop applications even with new tools to create web applications.

Answer 6

http://pixlr.com/editor/ (a web-based photoshop alternative built in flash) shows us that there aren't a lot of desktop apps that -can't- be mirrored on the web. Unfortunately, it's a flash10 app, not a html5 app. So we stil have to wait for the web stack experience to catch up with the flash experience.