Yeah, but seriously, why would you want to link to a particular state in a desktop-style application? Especially if the intent of the app is to be used by a single user working with private data.
Take google docs. During any given session there could be thousands of different states the app is in at any one time, such as certain formatting options being selected, different popover or dropdown menus shown, or the content in the document itself changing. There'd be no point in providing a different URL for each one of those states.
Yeah, but seriously, why would you want to link to a particular state in a desktop-style application? Especially if the intent of the app is to be used by a single user working with private data.
For example, to save some kind of setup you often use as a bookmark. This is especially valuable in case there are multiple setups you often alternate between.
To make it more concrete, imagine a table with multiple columns you can sort by and a bunch of search filters at the top. Your users from accounting always sort by date. Your users from HR always filter by a particular status and last name. Your CEO wants to be able to see both views.
If the application supports proper URLs, all of this can be done via bookmarks with no extra coding. Moreover, if someone suddenly develops the need for a new weird workflow, they can service themselves simply by bookmarking the URL.
Take google docs. During any given session there could be thousands of different states the app is in at any one time, such as certain formatting options being selected, different popover or dropdown menus shown, or the content in the document itself changing. There'd be no point in providing a different URL for each one of those states.