The web is probably the closest thing the software industry has to a truly universal, open application platform. There is corporate influence, but it is substantially more vendor-neutral than any other UI platforms.

The web stuff mostly uses licenses such as MIT, Apache 2.0, and BSD. GPL-licensed projects exist, but still many more on permissive side.

Web is based on open standards developed through organizations and specifications are publicly available, royalty-free, and implemented by multiple independent browser engines rather than being owned by a single corporation.

TeX [0] is in some sense "the one true layout system", but it's designed for printed documents, so it doesn't work on the web [1]. And in some ways, it's much simpler than CSS (you can build nearly everything from only a dozen typesetting primitives or so), but in other ways it's much more complex (since TeX is itself a fairly complex programming language). It's typesetting quality is still unbeaten by any of its competitors though, even 50 years after its first release.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TeX

[1]: But it does work on WEB :) [2]

[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_(programming_system)

I remember that there were these talks called "Linux sucks" (IIRC) and the premise wasn't that we should start using Windows but more like "we can do better and improve it." Not every complaint needs to come with a solution or better alternative.

The complaints shouldn't require a replacement at least in the web's case the replacement is still the web standard, a better, iterated version. It's a living standard and criticism keeps the platform slowly but surely evolving. I think it's a healthy feedback loop.

Not which works under the same constraints as the web.

But for simpler scenarios (like fixed-sized paper, desktop displays before super-wide screens), you can have both simpler and more precise layout systems.

apps are the replacement, be careful what you wish for