Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#1

Post by ryanSrich » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 5:51 PM UTC

I asked this same question a couple of years ago -> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15715547

Since then a lot has changed. I'm curious what people consider the fastest/easiest way to build a full-stack SaaS app in 2020.

Assume the following:

- Can be picked up by almost anyone (assume basic HTM/CSS/JS understanding), doesn't require any deep CS understanding (think how easy Rails was in 2006)

- Has full-stack capabilities, not just front-end

- Is open source and can be deployed anywhere

- Is complex enough to rule our no code solutions like Bubble or Webflow

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#2

Post by Alex3917 » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 5:59 PM UTC

Still Django. It's in a weird state where it's starting to show its age, but everything else is at least 10 years away from catching up. So still the best bet if you're starting something new today.

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#3

Post by thr483900 » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 5:59 PM UTC

Front: Quasar/Vue

Back: FastAPI

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#4

Post by mterrel » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 6:06 PM UTC

My personal picks would be:

- React for the front end (https://reactjs.org)

- Node.js for your back end (https://nodejs.org)

- Deploy using Adapt, which ties your front and back end together using React-like components. (https://adaptjs.org).

- (Optional) If this project is larger or commercial, definitely use TypeScript on all 3 of the above (http://www.typescriptlang.org/)

[Disclosure: I'm a maintainer of Adapt, but a strong believer in the React model and ecosystem]

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#5

Post by saluki » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 6:24 PM UTC

Laravel feels very similar to what Rails was like in 2006.

It has a great ecosystem and lots of great packages and tools to make it fun and easy to develop web applications.

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#6

Post by joshmn » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 7:13 PM UTC

If you know something now, use it.

If you don't, Rails or Laravel are both good options. I'm partial to Ruby, its syntax, its expressiveness; the ecosystem cannot be beat, and the tooling is stable and mature. There's nothing not to like.

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#7

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 7:15 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#8

Post by vnpc1 » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 7:17 PM UTC

Alex3917 wrote: post #2

Still Django. It's in a weird state where it's starting to show its age, but everything else is at least 10 years away from catching up. So still the best bet if you're starting something new today.

Can you share a bit more about how it's showing its age?

(I'm not a web dev, but played around with Flask recently and in general find the giant ecosystem of different frameworks fascinating.)

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#9

Post by jiofih » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 7:18 PM UTC

mterrel wrote: post #4

My personal picks would be: - React for the front end ( https://reactjs.org ) - Node.js for your back end ( https://nodejs.org ) - Deploy using Adapt, which ties your front and back end together using React-like components. ( https://adaptjs.org ). - (Optional) If this project is larger or commercial, definitely use TypeScript on all 3 of the above ( http://www.typescriptlang.org/ ) [Disclosure: I'm a maintainer of A…

> Use React’s declarative JSX syntax, JavaScript components, and a rich component library to build, deploy, and operate your

Im sorry but why would someone want to use a templating language to configure infrastructure? It’s like using CSS syntax for defining an HTTP API. Doable, but... why? It’s not any easier to pick up or reason about than any existing configuration language.

On React + node, this assumes no rendering on the server, plus you’ll need to pick your own state management solution, data layer, http framework, router, and a whole host of secondary tools, which will comprise about 96% of your actual development time.

Re: Ask HN: Fastest/easiest framework to build a web application in 2020?

#10

Post by bussierem » Mon, Jan 27, 2020, 7:19 PM UTC

5 answers as of my typing this, all 5 recommending almost entirely different options.

I think you're not going to see much consensus to this question, merely a comment-based list of all possible frameworks that people know.

User joshmn had it right in his reply:

> If you know something now, use it.

Anything your team already knows will be easiest and fastest for you to use. Any new person you hire will have a lot to learn no matter which one you choose, unless you hire people for the framework/stack you chose.

There is no "right" answer to this, and there probably never will be, and that's not a bad thing. Trying to find the "perfect" solution is a futile effort.