It's like when I run into some issue with how I've set up my system in NixOS and have to explain to a non-Linux user that it isn't Linux that's the issue but how I'm using an especially weird Linux lol
a lot of good senior level developers don’t have the specialized knowledge to do shit like build a password validation system that isn’t vulnerable to a timing attack or know what a timing attack is
I would really prefer native if there is the opportunity
I prefer native apps too, but I'll still use websites and some electron apps, and I'll still use applications built in C#, Java, Python, etc. None of those are really native either. Proton is analogous to a virtual environment for running an interpreter. Potentially, it's slower and has issues a la Python, but if the program can work, then I don't care about the theoretical problems; it works despite them. So I think it's fine.
If it means more games for Linux and a standard that developers can target, encouraging them to "support Linux," then that's a win I think. Like I said in another comment, a studio can buy a steam deck, throw the same Windows export on it, and then have someone run through the same set of tests they'd normally go through. If it works there, it'll work on most Linux machines. Having a standard API is not a bad thing imo
The way I like to think about it is that Proton essentially provides a standard, stable API across both Windows and Linux for gaming (Win32). We typically talk about it as a translation layer, and it is, but also to some degree it's also "here's an implementation of Win32 for Linux."
If game devs can, say, buy a steam deck and know their game works on it, that means it's gonna work on other steam decks and probably most Linux machines. It's making it easy for devs to test and develop for Linux, even if it's not really "on Linux." Copy the Windows files to the steam deck, run your release checklist, and you're good to go.
This is honestly so frustrating to see bc I'll still never understand why Python isn't just statically typed.
It's right there in the Zen:
It wouldn't even have to be less simple as it could still be weakly typed, a la Rust or Haskell, but not as robust.
You wouldn't need these extra special tools if the language was just built right!
Same goes for the try/catch exception system where runtime errors can pop up bc you don't have to handle exceptions:
Python is a good language that could've been a great one smh