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Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

pocketbase.io

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Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#121

Post by ezst »

d1sxeyes wrote: post #64
olalonde wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does the same things a typical CRUD backend does (REST/realtime API, authentication, authorization, validation, etc.). For example, you could use it when building a simple todo mobile app that syncs your data in the cloud. The catch is that the moment your requirements fall outside what the system supports, you are more or less f*cked.

While that may be true, it is worth seriously checking the docs and working out what requirements you have or might have. Pocketbase does an awesome job of providing extensibility, likely most of the stuff you want that’s not fully out of the box can be added in 20 lines of code or so.

So, that sits firmly where Django/Rails are at, except that you use a GUI rather than code to define the models? I suppose that lowers the bar ever so slightly, because any management rule or business logic is still deferred to a proper framework/programming language. Seems very niche and limiting, all things considered.

Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#122

Post by tajd »

throwaway77385 wrote: post #87

I see Pocketbase, I upvote. Using it in a few production apps and it's been a very solid experience. Some breaking changes from time to time, but generally very solid. Also has a lot of extensibility built in. Sometimes you might hit a scenario where it doesn't provide what you need, which is when things can get a bit hairy, but nothing a skilled dev can't work around.

what sort of prod apps are you running from it? keen to learn by what other people are doing

Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#123

Post by pspeter3 »

osbulbul wrote: post #103

I really like this project too! But i think there is some misunderstanding between pb users and creator. As far as I understand creator making it as complete backend solution and users should write all backend by extending pb. But a lot of user (including me) use pb as database layer only, not as backend. I still write my backend on my project and pb is just like database as a service for me. And much happier than us…

I agree but I’ve never been sure what that version of the product looks like then.

Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#124

Post by stareatgoats »

throwaway290 wrote: post #119
phl wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is Lagrange? I couldn’t find any project in the context of LLM or knowledge graph.

it's funny because no one brought up LLM including the link posted but you go "...it must be LLM related" :)

They were thinking of Google Gemini, not Gemini (protocol), the latter which, although being the older, might have to consider a name change to escape a slow death after Google's hostile name-takeover.

Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#125

Post by tidbeck »

olalonde wrote: post #42

For those unfamiliar: this is a backend server you can configure via a GUI, so you can get a working backend with little or no code. It’s great for quick prototypes, MVPs, and simple apps. The concept was popularized by Firebase.

Looking at the examples on the front page it reminds me even more about Parse.

Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#126

Post by shagrath »

ezst wrote: post #121
d1sxeyes wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While that may be true, it is worth seriously checking the docs and working out what requirements you have or might have. Pocketbase does an awesome job of providing extensibility, likely most of the stuff you want that’s not fully out of the box can be added in 20 lines of code or so.

So, that sits firmly where Django/Rails are at, except that you use a GUI rather than code to define the models? I suppose that lowers the bar ever so slightly, because any management rule or business logic is still deferred to a proper framework/programming language. Seems very niche and limiting, all things considered.

No you can setup everything (models and db migrations) with code, no need to use the gui, it's just here for "convienence" if you want it

Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#127

Post by throwaway77385 »

BrandoElFollito wrote: post #99
throwaway77385 wrote: post #87

I see Pocketbase, I upvote. Using it in a few production apps and it's been a very solid experience. Some breaking changes from time to time, but generally very solid. Also has a lot of extensibility built in. Sometimes you might hit a scenario where it doesn't provide what you need, which is when things can get a bit hairy, but nothing a skilled dev can't work around.

This was my exact comment, thanks. It is a very good piece of work, and extensible with JS (I just tried that). I have a fear about the future because the dev is alone, and responds alone in the discussions. He is also quite, how to say, "rough" in the interactions, which I can completely understand, being the one pulled around by everyone. This is a very, very good piece of work when you need to decorrelate the back…

Ah yes, the joy of maintaining open source software. I have seen many devs burn out over the requests made of them.

I didn't know it was just one maintainer. That can both be a good thing for keeping the product focused, but it is also worrying, as that's a single point of failure. Anything could happen and then the whole project might fall into disrepair.

That factor alone would make me weary of overly relying on Pocketbase. I would hope that if he runs out of time, the project could be handed over to the community, but often the problem is then that we end up with 50 forks, all at different stages of development. I wonder what the best solution to this issue is.

Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#128

Post by throwaway77385 »

tajd wrote: post #122
throwaway77385 wrote: post #87

I see Pocketbase, I upvote. Using it in a few production apps and it's been a very solid experience. Some breaking changes from time to time, but generally very solid. Also has a lot of extensibility built in. Sometimes you might hit a scenario where it doesn't provide what you need, which is when things can get a bit hairy, but nothing a skilled dev can't work around.

what sort of prod apps are you running from it? keen to learn by what other people are doing

The most substantial one is a local business directory. It's exactly the right level of medium complexity where Pocketbase shines. It's all the standard stuff:

- User signups and auth

- Stripe subscriptions using different subscription levels

- Business listings with image galleries, editable images

- Map with markers for business locations, tags, filterable business categories & tags

I'd say that the way Pocketbase handles collections, you probably don't want data that is too nested (even though there's a JSON type field, which then allows much deeper nesting).

If you're coming from Firebase, you might be used to infinitely nestable collections, but that's not how it works in Pocketbase. So you could either have a ton of collections or use nested data.

But, if for example, you had multiple clients which then need to hold a bunch of nested data, you couldn't have a 'clients' collections which then holds a bunch of collections within it. It's just one level of 'collections' within which each item then has fields.

This works well at medium complexity, but could get complicated if you had, say, a CMS where you'd want a few levels of nesting.

Re: Pocketbase – open-source realtime back end in 1 file

#130

Post by d1sxeyes »

ezst wrote: post #121
d1sxeyes wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While that may be true, it is worth seriously checking the docs and working out what requirements you have or might have. Pocketbase does an awesome job of providing extensibility, likely most of the stuff you want that’s not fully out of the box can be added in 20 lines of code or so.

So, that sits firmly where Django/Rails are at, except that you use a GUI rather than code to define the models? I suppose that lowers the bar ever so slightly, because any management rule or business logic is still deferred to a proper framework/programming language. Seems very niche and limiting, all things considered.

I’m not quite sure what your point is, but it’s designed as a friendly but powerful GUI to quickly get a backend up and running.

It might not fit your use case, which is fine, but there are a lot of use cases it does fit, and my original point was that it’s more than you might think.

I wouldn’t really describe it as niche and limiting though, that sounds quite dismissive of what is actually a pretty impressive piece of software.

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