In the modern world, DA can be seen as an evolution of SA.
But in the primary development of the revolver (~1830-1900), DA came about almost simultaneously. Each method, of course, is likely just an evolution of designs that had been around since the 1600s. (The Royal Armouries, for example, have examples of flintlock revolvers that indexed the cylinder, and cocked and dropped the hammer with a single, long pull of the operating lever [trigger].)
The combination of DA and SA took longer to come together, however.
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So, what is the case for DA/SA.
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Not everyone is a competition shooter.
For example:
My wife is not much of a recreational shooter, but likes having handguns available for personal defense.
I have many different handguns with different controls, which she cannot keep track of easily. She shoots full size handguns better than compacts. She does not train much.
But what she can do is aim a handgun and pull a trigger.
A cocked and locked handgun that requires disengaging the safety involves one more step (and potential stress-induced mistake) than the handguns that are kept available to her.
In general, she has a Ruger P95DC within reach. Yes, DC is the decocker model. The early decocker that does not double as a safety. Load the pistol, chamber a round, and decock it to drop the hammer. It is not going to go off if the trigger is pulled slightly during a rushed grab.
With a loaded mag and loaded chamber, all she has to do is pull the trigger. One long pull, and then the rest are shorter and easier.
Being DA, she also has multiple-strike capability, should there be a failure to fire and all she does in a panicked moment is keep yanking the trigger. Training to tap-rack-bang could be better than that. But giving her something that might still function when falling back to the most basic reflexes is not the worst thing, either.