Isn't it office already a "local webapp", under the hood? You can open any document in-browser through SharePoint server, have (almost?) full functionality, all documents are XML... There are lots of little signs that Microsoft is rewriting everything to be seamlessly used through a browser, and that when you open it locally you just don't notice that you are using an "office browser". Even Visual Studio has also web tech under the hood, I think.
You still download and install Office 365 as applications and run them independent of a web browser and can do so without an internet connection. They also have their own updater. Yes, you can run them on the web from the Office 365 portal, but that's the html version.
The installed version is still fundamentally a desktop platform. I'm pretty sure it's written C# or C++ and runs on dotnet.
An SPA is a web page run in the browser over http(s). Anything else is desktop, server, or mobile app, regardless of what tech it's made from.
> An SPA is a web page run in the browser over http(s).
I'd argue that if they are using web technologies (like vscode) they are still profiting from web innovations. Isn't electron just a way to distribute SPA on the desktop (plus some integrations).
> Sure, but the way I look at it is if the application runs on the desktop, server or mobile OS, then it's not a web app.
Yes perhaps your definition is clearer. But the point remains that "web technolgies" have expanded tremendously in scope. And that it does not suffice anymore to look at "View Source" to become a web developer.
Because today the field of web development includes things like electron and you want to bring your application to as many devices as possible, with as little development overhead as possible. And this is what users expect, it's just not possible with the 90-style web.
Sure, but the way I look at it is if the application runs on the desktop, server or mobile OS, then it's not a web app. A web app is an html page you access via the browser with a bunch of javascript that makes it interactive enough to stay within that single page (if it's strictly an SPA).
Also, the stuff that powers the web such as web servers and browsers would obviously not be SPAs.
