Except back when we didn't program like this, it didn't take that much longer. It's the result of shitty technology stacks, like the archetypical Electron. We used to make things right and small at the same time.
Even Electron probably could have been fine if the browser was just a document layout engine and not a miniature operating system. There was an article going around a few years ago about Chrome - and by extension, Electron - including a driver for some silly device I don't remember, like an Xbox controller or something. Googling tells me it wasn't an Xbox controller though. Every electron app includes an entire operating system, including the parts not needed by that app, including the parts already included in the operating system you already have.
Language runtimes don't have to be this way, but we choose to use the ones that are!
> We used to make things right and small at the same time.
Memory is infinite, CPU is infinite, disk space - we don't give a shit because they are all on the sucker's computer.
Just like "your privacy" (aka your data) is very important for us, also your computing power is very important for us.
I wish i was sarcastic.
Even Electron probably could have been fine if the browser was just a document layout engine and not a miniature operating system. There was an article going around a few years ago about Chrome - and by extension, Electron - including a driver for some silly device I don't remember, like an Xbox controller or something. Googling tells me it wasn't an Xbox controller though. Every electron app includes an entire operating system, including the parts not needed by that app, including the parts already included in the operating system you already have.
Language runtimes don't have to be this way, but we choose to use the ones that are!