One of the most powerful aspects of Electron is its ability to leverage your existing web development skills to build desktop applications. This means you don't need to learn entirely new programming languages or frameworks to create native-feeling desktop experiences. Electron acts as a bridge, allowing you to use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to construct your application's user interface and logic.
At its core, an Electron application consists of two main processes: the main process and the renderer process. The main process is responsible for native integration and managing application windows, while the renderer process is where your web content (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) lives and is displayed.
Think of the renderer process like a web browser tab. It loads and renders HTML files, styles them with CSS, and makes them interactive with JavaScript. This is where the magic of building your UI happens, using the familiar tools and techniques you've been using for years to build websites and web applications.
graph TD
A[Electron App] --> B(Main Process);
A --> C(Renderer Process - Browser Window);
B -- Creates/Manages --> C;
C -- Loads --> D(HTML, CSS, JavaScript);
D -- Renders --> E[User Interface];
In practice, this means you'll be creating standard HTML files for your application's structure, CSS files for its appearance, and JavaScript files to handle user interactions, data manipulation, and communication between different parts of your application. You can use any front-end framework or library you prefer, such as React, Vue, Angular, or even plain JavaScript.
For example, a simple HTML file within your Electron project would look very much like a standard HTML file you'd use for a website. It will have a <!DOCTYPE html>, <html>, <head>, and <body> structure.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>My Electron App</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="./styles.css">
</head>
<body>
<h1>Hello from Electron!</h1>
<p>This is your desktop application.</p>
<script src="./renderer.js"></script>
</body>
</html>