I really like NestJS for backend. It has great tooling and generators. It's super fast to create a REST or GraphQL API. Adding WebSockets is a breeze if you need them. It uses TypeORM which is rock solid. Also, it includes unit and e2e tests and linting out of the box. Also, if you're doing your frontend in TypeScript it's trivial to share interfaces for "type safety" across the wire.
Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
551–560 of 736 posts
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#552Earlier quoted context omitted.
I second this. I would say that I am pretty advanced with Python (and Django) and same with JavaScript (Vue and Nuxt) and have written applications that got used by multiple users. I saw a sharp rise in my productivity when I knew enough about the frameworks. But Elixir + PhoenixLiveView + Tailwind has been life changing. I learned Elixir for the sake of the joy of learning a new programming language and I kept playi…
Awesome experience write up. Question for you and OP, do you find that using languages like Elixir makes it so you have to look for a certain kind of dev given that Elixir is a pretty niche community or are folks with no experience able to adapt with relative ease?
Not one of the OPs but can happily echo their experience/praise for PETAL and think I can answer your dev search question:
Anyone with a can-do attitude can learn Elixir. People with a “no thank you, I already know XYZ” mindset you really don’t want on your team.
Almost 20 years ago @pg wrote the “Python Paradox” post: www.paulgraham.com/pypar.html
The same holds true for Elixir (and Rust) these days. The people you want to hire are those who learn new skills/languages proactively.
However I can confidently say, from experience of having hired several Python devs/data scientists with zero Elixir experience, that smart+motivated people can learn Elixir in a couple of days and be productive within a week. See: https://www.verytechnology.com/iot-insights/elixir-for-pytho...
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#553Earlier quoted context omitted.
I second this. I would say that I am pretty advanced with Python (and Django) and same with JavaScript (Vue and Nuxt) and have written applications that got used by multiple users. I saw a sharp rise in my productivity when I knew enough about the frameworks. But Elixir + PhoenixLiveView + Tailwind has been life changing. I learned Elixir for the sake of the joy of learning a new programming language and I kept playi…
Moving from Python/JS -> Elixir at a startup seems very high risk, have the rewards been worth it? I can imagine issues with hiring, unknown unknowns, and less libraries/support in general.
I know-- I was scared like hell. But after the first week and multiple staging releases in less than 10 days, I was on top of it. Yes, hiring is real challenge and am facing it already. However, if I, even as a startup, reach the salary threshold, then hiring is not a problem. I'd say I've yet not found a case where I couldn't find a library for my use case.
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#554Earlier quoted context omitted.
Awesome experience write up. Question for you and OP, do you find that using languages like Elixir makes it so you have to look for a certain kind of dev given that Elixir is a pretty niche community or are folks with no experience able to adapt with relative ease?
Not one of the OPs but can happily echo their experience/praise for PETAL and think I can answer your dev search question: Anyone with a can-do attitude can learn Elixir. People with a “no thank you, I already know XYZ” mindset you really don’t want on your team. Almost 20 years ago @pg wrote the “Python Paradox” post: www.paulgraham.com/pypar.html The same holds true for Elixir (and Rust) these days. The people you…
That nailed what I wanted to know. Thanks!
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#555Vanilla Rails.
My app started 7 years ago with Rails + AngularJS on the front end. Wish I had just used Rails for 90% of what I had used AngularJS for.
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#556I’m doing one right now.
Using Rust, Diesel(Orm), Postgres, compiled jinja2 templates (Askama), and a smattering of JavaScript with AlpineJS, and Tailwind. I have 100 loc JavaScript that makes it easy to replace only parts of the page via Ajax calls.
Really simple stack, really lightweight, a joy to debug, and runs instantly. The delay on my dev laptop is below 10ms, it’s undetectable.
So much better than React and Python that I use at work in nearly any dimension. I hope the mvp works out and I can quit that job one day.
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#557Typescript, Tailwind, NextJS, Supabase, Vercel and you just can’t go wrong.
If I needed a long running server for whatever reason I’d supplement Supabase with a NestJS app.
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#558Earlier quoted context omitted.
I second this. I would say that I am pretty advanced with Python (and Django) and same with JavaScript (Vue and Nuxt) and have written applications that got used by multiple users. I saw a sharp rise in my productivity when I knew enough about the frameworks. But Elixir + PhoenixLiveView + Tailwind has been life changing. I learned Elixir for the sake of the joy of learning a new programming language and I kept playi…
Awesome experience write up. Question for you and OP, do you find that using languages like Elixir makes it so you have to look for a certain kind of dev given that Elixir is a pretty niche community or are folks with no experience able to adapt with relative ease?
I didn't want to confess, but yes you're right. Elixir (or the willingness to learn Elixir) is a great filter for me to find the right people. Again, this is my purely subjective opinion and might as well be true for other languages as well.
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#559Earlier quoted context omitted.
First I heard of HOTWIRE. I have been using PJAX for a decade now, which is a similar concept. I use .net mvc with a razor templating engine. But this can be used with any backend. It makes it super easy for me to maintain all my UX in server-rendered HTML templates. I get a clean SPA with super high development efficiency with MINIMAL javascript. The best part was I could hire any developer and they know how to work…
Check out also Unpoly. It’s probably the most “batteries included” of this kind of tools, although not as popular.
Can you expand further?
What has you bother to introduce unpoly when Hotwire is included by default? Aka, what are the main things missing/better that drive you to use unpoly.
Re: Ask HN: What would be your stack if you are building an MVP today?
#560Given that you are going to throw away every single bit of this code -- yes, you will, and yes, your investors should know about it in advance, and yes, you should set hard numbers for when it's going to happen -- you should build your MVP using whatever toolset will allow you to innovate the fastest while keeping the site up, safe, and secure.
Agreeing with what has already been said about static HTML/CSS/JS on GitHub Pages with AWS buckets, but if Django or Rails works best for you, go with it.
Unless this stack is works-best-for-you, beware launching on React, Typescript, Next.js, or Vercel. That's what you're going to use for the Real Version, when you have money to hire some Real Engineers who are okay with the level of complexity. Don't incur that tech debt before you absolutely must.