Trying out Electron

I haven't tried out using a new language or tool in a while. I also have a new application in my mind that I'd like to build. So, I thought it might be cool to try out out this thing called electron.

What is Electron? It is a way to write desktop applications using webby languages (like html and javascript). But wait, there's more. You also get access to API's to the native operating system. And supposedly, those API's work in different environments, so you might be able to get the holy grail of writing once and then running everwhere...

So, let's give it a look. You start by asking node package manager to install electron.

npm install electron-prebuilt -g

When I tried this, I got some warnings about having an old version of node. It's been a very long time since I've used node, so that wasn't surprising. So, I uninstalled electron

npm uninstall electron-prebuilt -g

and then hit the keys to update node.

npm cache clean -f 
npm install -g n
sudo n stable

I brought myself up to node-v4.0.0. Then I ran the install for electron again, and it completed with no warnings.

I followed the quick start guide to build a simple hello world application.

Some initial impressions:

• This hello world app was simple and readable, as they all should be.
• The whole stack feels thin and light. In contrast, I remember trying the MEAN framework out and finding it be ridiculously heavy. There were tons of files, it took up a whole lot of space, and there were lots of abstractions. That framework felt so heavy to me. This one just feels so much nicer.
• This hello world getting started app doesn't really do much at all. I'm excited to get something going that does just a bit more.

It was a good start, and I'm excited to continue working with Electron.