Native apps written in TypeScript and CSS

(github.com)

71 points | by arbayi 4 hours ago

7 comments

  • bertili 4 hours ago
    Not apparent at first, but this is a TypeScript to c++ compiler at the core (https://github.com/geastack/compiler), with bindings for various platforms.
  • zerr 3 hours ago
    What do they use for graphics and audio?
    • trelliscoded 1 hour ago
      They mention OpenGL for the bigger targets, but I was wondering how this worked for the ESP32. Turns out they wrote a custom 2D rasterizer specifically for this target, basically a miniature version of a browser layout engine: https://geastack.com/blog-we-taught-a-chip-to-run-css
    • dashersw 3 hours ago
      Each platform has its native bindings. For graphics, you write CSS and HTML canvas API as well as JSX, it renders to native components and their alignments, the canvas API is converted to native surfaces, whatever the platform uses.
      • zerr 3 hours ago
        I mean, is it OpenGL, Vulkan, Metal? etc...
        • dashersw 1 hour ago
          It defers to platform defaults, Android compositor, UIKit/AppKit native views or CoreGraphics for the canvas on Apple platforms, GDI/GDI+ on Windows, whatever SDL2 chooses on Linux. If you have a Three.js app, it uses Metal on iOS and macOS, Direct3D 11 (open) and 12 (commercial license) on Windows and XBox.
    • zero_shift 2 hours ago
      It's not clear at first glance, but given (1) the apps are written in JavaScript (2) the project has repos for different OS native bindings, my bet is some kind of embedded JavaScript engine that just calls through to OS native widets
      • dashersw 1 hour ago
        It compiles TypeScript statically to C++, there's no JS engine or VM running.
  • elendilm 1 hour ago
    Nice.

    I will keep an eye on this for future use.

  • sublinear 3 hours ago
    Ah this is for embedded apps. Pretty neat!
  • slopinthebag 1 hour ago
    the amount of ai used in this makes me think its pure vaporware. has anyone actually confirmed any of this is real or works?
    • dashersw 1 hour ago
      Watch the demo videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCfFTZSG-PQ&list=PL9pDl_Oth4...

      The code is on GitHub, for example for the first video that renders a 3D cube with CSS the code is at https://github.com/geastack/examples/tree/main/apps/css-3d-c.... It takes only a couple of CLI commands to get it running. For reference, I'm using a WaveShare ESP32-S3 AMOLED Touch 2.06" device here, but the same code renders on every target Gea compiles for.

      • dspillett 7 minutes ago
        The concern with a lot of projects that look largely AI made isn't that the current state works, but that this current state might be all that ever happens so people who try to use it end up relying on a dead project unless they maintain it themselves.

        [refusing to reword the "it is not X, it is Y" - I'm not an LLM but I don't care that much if you think I am!]

  • nuk3 2 hours ago
    [dead]
  • tarcon 3 hours ago
    "The earlier implementation could not be driven to zero of them, because boxing was load-bearing in its emitter"

    In the docs of the repo of their TS to C++ compiler. https://github.com/geastack/compiler

    • odicjejcjej 1 hour ago
      I see what you’re getting at, but let’s not pretend like “load-bearing” is something that AIs made up. It was a turn of phrase long before AIs became mainstream and people are still allowed to use it.