Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#41

Post by abhinovb » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 4:00 PM UTC

tonyoconnell wrote: post #30

I'd highly recommend http://meteor.com for building you app. It's new and shiny and very easy to learn. Here are some reasons to develop your app with Meteor http://www.sitepoint.com/7-reasons-develop-next-web-app-mete...

True, I started using it few days. Absolutely brilliant framework for beginners.

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#42

Post by cageface » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 4:01 PM UTC

supster wrote: post #29

I would start with this awesome free book on Ruby on Rails (it's designed for beginners): https://www.railstutorial.org/book

I'd second this. Using the Cloud9 development environment eliminates the hassle of setting up a local dev environment, which can be a major road block for beginners.

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#43

Post by lewisjoe » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 4:18 PM UTC

Here's a book that got me started - http://www.amazon.in/Practical-Django-Projects/dp/1590599969

Practical Django Projects got me started with a simple webapp in around 24 hours.

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#44

Post by jekrb » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 4:39 PM UTC

abuzzooz wrote: post #39

Not being a web developer, I don't see any mention of Node, which makes me curious. Is Node not a good option?

Above I mentioned io.js, an up-to-date fork of node. I think either are a great option.

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#45

Post by jekrb » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 4:49 PM UTC

collyw wrote: post #21

charlieegan3 wrote: post #6

> But since I have no experience in developing (neither web nor other) I'd try and get some basic programming in first. Javascript makes sense if web development is the end goal.

"Web development" can cover a lot. JavaScript makes sense if you want to be more font end focused. PHP or Rails (or Django or Flask) make more sense for back end focused stuff.

JavaScript makes sense for the backend stuff too. (io.js, node.js)

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#46

Post by techaddict009 » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 5:03 PM UTC

musicalentropy wrote: post #36

techaddict009 wrote: post #3

If you want to go up with PHP then better use Laravel + Mysql or Postgresql. And if you want to learn you can opt for laracast.com videos. They are one of the best resource for laravel. P.S Laravel is one of the best PHP based framework.

A lot of people is talking about Laravel. I'm new on web development, and I thought that Symfony 2 was more popular. Any specific reason for prefering Laravel to Symfony ?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9284803 One person replied to this here.

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#47

Post by Bahamut » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 5:16 PM UTC

Honestly, I'm inclined to say pick one and deal with the pains later - you're invariably going to make mistakes, so in this case, it is more important to pick a piece of tech and use it so you can learn the pain points later.

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#48

Post by jagermo » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 5:16 PM UTC

workingandtired wrote: post #32

The fortunate thing is that you have a fair amount of options when it comes to technologies for a web app. I personally have used php for years and have been working extensively with ruby and python recently. Here are some general things to consider. Language choice. For a long time PHP was the defacto standard. It has a lot of resources and tutorials plus the advantage of a huge amount of hosting options. However, I…

Thanks for the answer. Yes, the ammount of solutions is staggering, however it makes the choice a little harder.

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#49

Post by jagermo » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 5:18 PM UTC

wyager wrote: post #26

I would recommend not using PHP. http://eev.ee/blog/2012/04/09/php-a-fractal-of-bad-design/ Here are some suggestions for web-app languages: Python + flask. Ruby + rails. Go standard HTTP library. Haskell + snap. I've used all of those and thought they were at least decent. The last two are my favorite for web development.

Python and Ruby look really nice. I read a lot of good things about Go. Choices, man....

Re: Ask HN: I want to write a simple webapp, how should I start?

#50

Post by workingandtired » Sun, Mar 29, 2015, 5:37 PM UTC

jagermo wrote: post #48

workingandtired wrote: post #32

The fortunate thing is that you have a fair amount of options when it comes to technologies for a web app. I personally have used php for years and have been working extensively with ruby and python recently. Here are some general things to consider. Language choice. For a long time PHP was the defacto standard. It has a lot of resources and tutorials plus the advantage of a huge amount of hosting options. However, I…

Thanks for the answer. Yes, the ammount of solutions is staggering, however it makes the choice a little harder.

Well, if you have any additional questions or need a direction to start in, I'd be more than willing to help.

From your basic description, the simplest way to be to just have straight PHP with MySQL/postgresql. And I believe you mentioned in another response thinking about using a Raspberry Pi, it looks like a LAMP stack might be easiest to set up, so another point in favor of PHP.