[haiku-development] Re: Google's NativeClient.
- From: "François Revol" <revol@xxxxxxx>
- To: haiku-development@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:50:38 +0100 CET
> > If Native Client gets popular and starts replacing other more
> > crossplatform web technologies (truly or at least potentially
> > crossplatform) it will hurt interoperability.
>
> No, it will not. You guys seem to be missing the point completelly.
> Native Client is just a different target for a program. It is no
> different than a Windows port and x86 Linux port of a software. The
> only
> difference is actually a good one, as doing a Native Client port
> would
> automatically support Windows, Linux and MacOS for now (and other x86
> OSs in the future). This in no way will determine if a company will
> port
> anythig to other processors or not. If anything, it will actually
> free
> resources for companies to invest on other platforms. I have no idea
> about how can someone try to paint a negative image for this, really.
I still think that as a target for "web" site "applet" like things it's
a really bad idea, as it defeats the very idea of the web (data
everywhere).
ie. replacing flash objects with x86 binaries.
However, and I didn't see it first, if it's to be used to actually help
implement plugins for standard (ie. open) formats (say media player,
svg viewer, or some other interpreter to replace flash), that is, not
make the "web"site depend on it directly but on some standard format/
protocol that is implemented as a native client binary, than yes it can
help speed up development of those, and widespread adoption, *provided*
there is a way to fallback for other architectures.
ie. porting flash (or better, java) itself to native client, yes.
porting .swf files to native client bins, no, as it keeps some lockin,
though not at the same level.
The best option would be to use it as a virtual platform to port to,
and implement support for other cpus, so that porting a plugin would
resolve to just porting to another cpu.
Still, I can't say I totally agree with the rationale behind it.
Yes it can simplify supporting things on "alternative" platforms.
But in the process it creates a blackbox to put the things it runs,
making them even less likely to ever be opensourced, let alone freed.
So, it can be good for alternative OSes individually, but like
NDISwrapper and other similar stuff, it might be bad for Free Software
as a whole.
Anyway, since we are likely to see it arrive everywhere, I suppose it's
better to support it in Haiku than excluding us from it.
So yes of course we need it. Doesn't mean we all agree with the purpose
or rationale behind it, but do we have a choice? :p
I hope I cleared my view on that.
François.
Other related posts:
