Humble UI, a Clojure-based framework, is being developed as a tool for building high-quality, cross-platform desktop user interfaces. It is designed to allow developers to create desktop applications efficiently without relying on web technologies, thus avoiding some of the performance and execution model limitations that come with frameworks like Electron. Nikita Prokopov, the principal developer behind Humble UI, started work on the project in 2020, and although there is no official completion date yet, Prokopov mentioned that it could take another year before the framework is widely available. Despite this, the project is steadily advancing, with key components nearing completion and future plans for a workshop in September to further refine the framework.
Initially, Humble UI was conceived as an alternative to Electron, which developers often criticize for its high resource consumption and dependency on web technologies. With Humble UI, the goal is to provide a solution that builds cross-platform desktop applications without the performance drawbacks typically associated with web-based frameworks. Prokopov, who is a fan of the Clojure programming language, chose it as the foundation for the project due to his familiarity with it and its REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) support, which enhances interactive development. He also emphasized that Clojure’s performance is sufficient for building responsive desktop applications without noticeable lag, making it an ideal choice for this framework.
Clojure, a dialect of Lisp, offers significant advantages for UI development, according to the Humble UI GitHub page. It allows developers to access the full power of their hardware with multithreading support, and its dynamic nature makes it well-suited for interactive development environments. In contrast to Java, which the GitHub page describes as having a “UI curse,” and JavaScript, which can suffer from performance and memory issues, Clojure provides a more efficient alternative for building desktop applications. Its ability to offer performance close to lower-level languages, along with the benefits of functional programming, makes it a compelling choice for developers looking for a lightweight, high-performance solution.
While Humble UI is still in development, it follows in the footsteps of other Clojure-based desktop toolkits, such as Seesaw and Membrane, which aim to provide non-web-based solutions for desktop application development. Prokopov’s project builds on the work of existing Clojure projects like babashka, Clerk, and Overtone, demonstrating the flexibility and power of the Clojure ecosystem. For developers who are familiar with Clojure or who are looking for an alternative to heavier frameworks like Electron, Humble UI presents an exciting opportunity to create efficient, cross-platform desktop applications.