Suggestions of technology for web app

[Matt]

HI Guys,

I am thinking about building a website similar to IMDB (Different industry but similar idea), with a few many to many relationships.

Such as a movie having many actors etc

I am a full time Front end dev, but I am thinking about using this as the opportunity to learn something new. There is no deadline and no client so I figure why not.

I am looking for suggestions on what technology / language or platform I should be using. Rails? Php? etc

Would love your thoughts.

[nixnerd]

Does it really matter? This is such a simple idea that requires no real special considerations. All you really need is to store information in a database so you can load it for each page request/query. This is something that can easily be done with any back-end language you’re comfortable with. Sometimes devs get caught up in the tools available. At the end of the day… it’s about people, i.e. users. Basic LAMP stack is fine for this project.

[__]

I am thinking about building a website similar to IMDB (Different industry but similar idea), with a few many to many relationships.

“relationships” === relational database.

I am looking for suggestions on what technology / language or platform I should be using. Rails? Php? etc

Do you know rails? php?
Do you have any programming experience?

You say you’re a front-end dev. You use javascript? To what extent? do you add jQuery to various things on your webpage, or do you write full-scale JS applications?

Take a moment and consider the sheer scale of your idea. IMDB is not a “simple” thing. It is an absolutely huge concept, and has far more going on on the backend than most people would imagine.

This is going to be a very long-term project if it involves learning the language first. (And you’re talking about at least two languages—whatever you pick for the app, plus SQL.) I’m not saying you shouldn’t do it, but there’s a lot involved in learning the necessary skills — so much, that you need to realize that your website will be an eventual goal, and not what you build first.

edit;

Ha, I love how NIX an I said almost exactly opposite things at the same moment.

Okay: I’m not trying to shoot you down, and yes, the idea isn’t too complex. But there’s a lot to developing it. I know you said “different industry,” so that’s something you’ll have to figure out. Knowing the industry is half the battle. Knowing how to normalize all that knowledge into a working database schema is the other half. And then there’s the “writing it” half of the battle. Half the battle is testing it. Half the battle is debugging… : )

I think what i want you to take away from this is, “sit back and think about it first.” 75-90% of your work is going to be design (as in, conceptual/engineering) work.

This is something that can easily be done with any back-end language you’re comfortable with. Sometimes devs get caught up in the tools available.

+1. All the tools out there should not be distracting you. Don’t focus on finding a silver bullet language, because there isn’t one. Good programming is about principles and design patterns, not about any particular language. Anyone who tells you different either only knows one language in the first place, or is trying to sell you something. Don’t jump onto bandwagons.

[Matt]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the feedback.

I probably should have added a little more detail, but you did give me a lot to think about.

My experience: I work mainly with WordPress, comfortable with HTML, Css and Javascript (for DOM manipulation, not MVC frameworks), comfortable with PHP to an extent.

The site I want to build is an Australian Theatre equivalent to IMDB, to start to record the history of our industry for posterity. So the end product will be a record of all Productions, Venues, Producers and Actors, and the relationships between them.

Eg, The productions an actor has appeared in as well as the actors details etc etc.

I have sketched out the database tables I need.

The point:

The point of the exercise for me is two fold:
1) I want this product to exist.
2) I want to use this project to learn a new language or extend my current skill set. Whether it is using a php framework (thinking about Laravel), or trying something new, like Rails.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

[GSutherland]

This isn’t really a question anyone can answer but you. You could absolutely do it in Laravel. You could absolutely do it in Rails. If the question is what will work best, the answer is whatever you pick and put time into learning. If you want to learn Rails, build it in rails. The place most people start is Michael Hartl’s book and screencast series:

https://www.railstutorial.org/

I’d imagine you could even build it with just Angular and Firebase. If you want to stick to getting better at front-end type stuff, that might be a route to try.

http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/creating-a-web-app-from-scratch-using-angularjs-and-firebase–cms-22391

[Matt]

Thanks @GSutherland, that is what I am looking for.

I just want to pull together peoples suggestions and then evaluate the pros and cons from my perspective.

I hadn’t thought about using Angular. I’ll add it to the list.

[Rohithzr]

Well its as simple as noodles ;) You said you want to learn something new then do that if you know PHP use Rails if you know Rails use PHP if you are fedup (or know) both use ASP or a full scale JS Application.

I heard of OPA [http://opalang.org/] sometime back or you can just use Ruby or Python or combine some of them … hmmm am I just talking nuts or confusing you, anyways I personally am a PHP/MySql Developer and can say I have some experience i like developing in PHP as I find it easy and non-strict and hence can do anything.

Well if you really are up for suggestions then why dont you focus more on front end by making it something like 3D or Voice Control, Touch Friendly with auto touch recognition or user passwords with retinal scan [ok, I am not sure if it is possible just yet].

Well I am full of Ideas and suggestion and let me know if you wanna hear more and might i just just Whisper (AI) ;)

Have a great day or night whatever.

[Author]

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