Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#1

Post by subhash » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 9:44 AM UTC

I have coded up a lot of desktop applications and I am good at programming in Java and Smalltalk. Now, how do I get started with webapps?

Are there articles/blogs that compare web frameworks (RoR, Django)? Any starter kits for Javascript, CSS etc? How do I get a high-level overview of how things fit in?

I realize those are too many questions in one post :) I am just hoping to tap the HN resource lib and that might be helpful for others too. So, if you have anything at all that you think might be helpful to someone just starting, please do post it across

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#2

Post by davidw » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 9:58 AM UTC

You could probably dive into Rails and get something working. Diving in and doing something is a lot better than trying to pick a framework. You can get started with anything, really, including the languages you know. Smalltalk has 'seaside', Java has a million frameworks. You would probably not have much trouble with Ruby or Python either.

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#3

Post by wenbert » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 10:04 AM UTC

PHP! Zend Framework FTW! http://framework.zend.com and add a little jQuery into it. http://jquery.com

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#4

Post by mcxx » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 10:10 AM UTC

If you're good in Smalltalk, check out the Seaside framework http://www.seaside.st/

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#5

Post by edu » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 10:13 AM UTC

As you are good a Smalltalk, I think you should take a look to http://www.seaside.st a framework for developing webapps in Smalltalk.

To get a good overview read the HTTP RFC. IMO, JavaScript and CSS should be the last thing to learn.

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#6

Post by systems » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 10:20 AM UTC

ASP.NET: Soup to Nuts http://www.benkotips.com/Default.aspx?tabid=798

You won't regret it!

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#7

Post by DarrenStuart » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 10:21 AM UTC

isn't web objects smalltalk based?

Maybe your first port of call could be jsp

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#8

Post by DarrenStuart » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 10:25 AM UTC

systems wrote: post #6

ASP.NET: Soup to Nuts http://www.benkotips.com/Default.aspx?tabid=798 You won't regret it!

lol good call, I didn't even think about that and its how I make my living. C# is java in .net clothing at the end of the day. .net apps scale pretty well too.

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#9

Post by systems » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 10:43 AM UTC

DarrenStuart wrote: post #8

systems wrote: post #6

ASP.NET: Soup to Nuts http://www.benkotips.com/Default.aspx?tabid=798 You won't regret it!

lol good call, I didn't even think about that and its how I make my living. C# is java in .net clothing at the end of the day. .net apps scale pretty well too.

honestly, I was pointing to the webcast more than the framework, webcasts are a great educational tools for new comers.

MSDN contain mountains of webcast on everything, the educational value is huge. I wish more webcast existed for Java, Groovy, Javascript, Perl, Grails, Catalyst, Spring framework!

The soup to nuts series covers everything, similarly other webcast series, the idea is simple and very effective, you will spend your first 10 or so hours looking as vidoes and presentations, next you can move to books and online forums and blogs

After he finishes these webcast, moving to RoR will be a much simpler road, even when RoR is a different framework

Re: Ask HN: I want to make a webapp. Where do I start?

#10

Post by bdfh42 » Mon, Mar 03, 2008, 10:47 AM UTC

systems wrote: post #6

ASP.NET: Soup to Nuts http://www.benkotips.com/Default.aspx?tabid=798 You won't regret it!

Agreed, you have to start somewhere and ASP.NET works straight out of the box. After a while you might want to take a look under the hood and see just what .NET is generating and that might introduce you to some of the alternatives to just straight .NET - but you will be doing that with a lot more knowledge.