Q:

Web App. Vs. Desktop App (Java Swing App)

I want to develop an application where server pushes a lot of data to client. (20 kb every 20 milliseconds) 500kbps. All of the data are double/float values. 
I am trying to answer the question, if there is something inherent to desktop apps (Java Swing app) which will make it a better option for this use case as compared to a web app where  data will be pushed over http. 
Is there something about Java swing app and how data transfer takes place there from server to client, that makes them faster as compared to web apps (tomcat as app server .. JS at client side).
And how answer varies, if I say that web server and application are on the same local network.

A:

My vote is desktop, but I'm bias (when the only tool you have is a hammer...)
My first thought is threads and custom networking. You get the added benefit of push and pull protocols as you need (yeah you can get this in a web environment to, but Java was designed for this, AJAX has been bent this need)
I'd also push a diverse and customisable UI toolkit, but one might argue that you can achieve this using HTML, but I've, personally, found the Swing toolkit faster to get running & easier to maintain, IMHO.
The downside would have to the need to install the app on each client machine and deal with updating
That's my general opinion anyway, hope it helps
The other question is, what does the app need to do?

