Ask HN: Alternative 2D or non-html non-DOM-based layout engines?
(Doesn't have to be web based or in the browser)
Perhaps something based on 2D painting/canvas.
Game and physics engines are so powerful. They can render so much visual detail with high frame rates.
I want that kind of rendering power applied to UI/layout.
I can just paint a canvas in a loop like in a game, but that's too manual and tedious for layout and text handling without things like box models and CSS.
Use cases are many but imagine an editor for scientific work where you need to render a visualisation of millions of particles and so on.
I know I can have some basic stuff in HTML/CSS for example, and then stick that heavy stuff into a little box with WebGL and things of that nature.
I'm curious if there's a nicer technology out there that's basically as powerful as the fancy video game graphics, except it applies that power to layout/grid/UI/GUI/etc for use cases where the basic HTML/CSS/DOM is not enough.