
Ask HN: Are Progressive Web-Apps viable? - k__
I read that the main selling point of PWAs is their offline functionality and their approachability, but I also read that app-cache is deprecated and not all browsers want to implement service workers.<p>So do you think running a PWA instead of a native app is a viable strategy in the next 12 months?
======
nwrk
yes, viable and vital see more here
[https://developers.google.com/web/progressive-web-
apps/](https://developers.google.com/web/progressive-web-apps/)

~~~
k__
What about the app-cache/service worker issues?

Are they real or is this just FUD by the native app makers?

~~~
PaulHoule
Chrome, Firefox and Operas support service workers. Service workers are "under
development" for Microsoft Edge. Service workers are not supported in Safari.

Of all the vendors, Apple has the most reason to keep people stuck on apps.

Both the app-cache and service workers seem to be a kludge to me. The app-
cache doesn't do enough (doesn't load things proactively, doesn't have a
strategy for invalidation) and service workers are just another place for
badly written procedural code to hide.

It all brings back memories of the ill-fated Netscape Netcaster

[http://sillydog.org/netscape/communicator/faq/netcaster.php](http://sillydog.org/netscape/communicator/faq/netcaster.php)

and I can't figure out why they just don't introduce something useful like the
ability to download a ZIP file with HTML, CSS and images in it and "install"
that.

~~~
k__
> the ability to download a ZIP file with HTML, CSS and images in it and
> "install" that

Isn't the app-cache like that?

From what I heared it simply stores a bunch of files for offline use but can't
get updated incrementally, like a zip.

~~~
PaulHoule
See

[https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Web/HTML/Using_the_...](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Web/HTML/Using_the_application_cache)

the application cache can make a download sticky or non-sticky in the cache
but it does not trigger the download until the web app requests it in the act
of doing requests.

A Microsoft Office document these days is a ZIP file that has XML files in it
as well as images, media files, all kinds of stuff. Why can't I make an old
fashioned static web page and upload it like a book? (And then from there
develop interactive capabilities)

