I suppose WebGL is okay for shader prototyping, for example using Shadertoy [0]. However, you can use it only within the context of a browser framework. That is still not the optimum deployment nor development platform for a variety of scenarios.

The original joke though, was that C++ was for masochists. I'm not sure developing a web application is any less painfull...

[0] https://www.shadertoy.com/