Choosing the best backend technology for my FOSS Projects project.

[Chris Bitler]

Hello,

I've been trying to figure out what to use as the backend technology for my
FOSS Projects project, since it is a website, specifically a site for
college gaming clubs to run large LAN events. I've narrowed it down to the
javaspark microwebserver library, spring-boot in java, or using symfony w/
php. However, each of these has their own problems.

My main problem with spring-boot is that I've never used it before.. that's
not to say part of this project can't be learning it, but I do have
experience with the other two.

Spark seems to have commits made to it every few weeks, but it has pull
requests that been sitting there with no response for over half a year. The
same could be said about the issues on the project, many have no response.
This presents an issue with the community aspect.

If I use java for the project, I could use JUnit as my community instead
(unit testing tool that I would be using). The reason for using java is
that it presents a lower barrier to entry for contributing to the project
than PHP, and I have more experience with it than PHP.

However, Symfony has a much more active community with many more resources
for people to use in the community. My only issue is that PHP tends to be a
higher barrier to people contributing to the project because not everyone
knows or likes it.

I'm not really sure what would be the best path to take here, and would
love some opinions.

Thanks,
Christopher Bitler

[Mike Nolan]

Why not something python or node powered? Both of these languages have a
large amount of fantastic and accessible web frameworks and great open
source communities.

On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 2:45 PM, Chris Bitler  wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I've been trying to figure out what to use as the backend technology for
> my FOSS Projects project, since it is a website, specifically a site for
> college gaming clubs to run large LAN events. I've narrowed it down to the
> javaspark microwebserver library, spring-boot in java, or using symfony w/
> php. However, each of these has their own problems.
>
> My main problem with spring-boot is that I've never used it before..
> that's not to say part of this project can't be learning it, but I do have
> experience with the other two.
>
> Spark seems to have commits made to it every few weeks, but it has pull
> requests that been sitting there with no response for over half a year. The
> same could be said about the issues on the project, many have no response.
> This presents an issue with the community aspect.
>
> If I use java for the project, I could use JUnit as my community instead
> (unit testing tool that I would be using). The reason for using java is
> that it presents a lower barrier to entry for contributing to the project
> than PHP, and I have more experience with it than PHP.
>
> However, Symfony has a much more active community with many more resources
> for people to use in the community. My only issue is that PHP tends to be a
> higher barrier to people contributing to the project because not everyone
> knows or likes it.
>
> I'm not really sure what would be the best path to take here, and would
> love some opinions.
>
> Thanks,
> Christopher Bitler
>
> FOSS @ Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) mailing list --
> [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]

[Chris Bitler]

Hey,

I probably should've elaborated a little bit more on this: I don't have
much experience (atleast in the context of web projects) with python or
node. I also don't think I will have time to learn something mostly new
(wrt to node atleast. I know javascript but I have done virtually no work
with node.). That is my reason for sticking to mainly PHP and Java.

Thanks,
Chris

On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 3:33 PM, Mike Nolan  wrote:
> Why not something python or node powered? Both of these languages have a
> large amount of fantastic and accessible web frameworks and great open
> source communities.
>
> On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 2:45 PM, Chris Bitler  wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I've been trying to figure out what to use as the backend technology for
> > my FOSS Projects project, since it is a website, specifically a site for
> > college gaming clubs to run large LAN events. I've narrowed it down to the
> > javaspark microwebserver library, spring-boot in java, or using symfony w/
> > php. However, each of these has their own problems.
> >
> > My main problem with spring-boot is that I've never used it before..
> > that's not to say part of this project can't be learning it, but I do have
> > experience with the other two.
> >
> > Spark seems to have commits made to it every few weeks, but it has pull
> > requests that been sitting there with no response for over half a year. The
> > same could be said about the issues on the project, many have no response.
> > This presents an issue with the community aspect.
> >
> > If I use java for the project, I could use JUnit as my community instead
> > (unit testing tool that I would be using). The reason for using java is
> > that it presents a lower barrier to entry for contributing to the project
> > than PHP, and I have more experience with it than PHP.
> >
> > However, Symfony has a much more active community with many more
> > resources for people to use in the community. My only issue is that PHP
> > tends to be a higher barrier to people contributing to the project because
> > not everyone knows or likes it.
> >
> > I'm not really sure what would be the best path to take here, and would
> > love some opinions.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Christopher Bitler
> >
> > FOSS @ Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) mailing list --
> > [e-mail]
> > To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]

[Justin W. Flory]

On 01/23/2018 02:45 PM, Chris Bitler wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I've been trying to figure out what to use as the backend technology for
> my FOSS Projects project, since it is a website, specifically a site for
> college gaming clubs to run large LAN events. I've narrowed it down to
> the javaspark microwebserver library, spring-boot in java, or using
> symfony w/ php. However, each of these has their own problems.

Hey Chris, this is a great discussion for the mailing list – thanks for
starting this here.

From a technical POV, I am not an expert, so I can't advise on what
project is better for the work you'd like to do. I think that's
something for you to research. I have a few thoughts on other things.
> Spark seems to have commits made to it every few weeks, but it has pull
> requests that been sitting there with no response for over half a year.
> The same could be said about the issues on the project, many have no
> response. This presents an issue with the community aspect.

This makes me skeptical. Especially since you are looking to contribute
to a project, I see this as a frustrating experience if you put in work
and don't get any feedback. It doesn't seem like the maintainers
prioritize community contributions.
> If I use java for the project, I could use JUnit as my community instead
> (unit testing tool that I would be using). The reason for using java is
> that it presents a lower barrier to entry for contributing to the
> project than PHP, and I have more experience with it than PHP.

JUnit seems fair. I would research their community to support your decision.
> However, Symfony has a much more active community with many more
> resources for people to use in the community. My only issue is that PHP
> tends to be a higher barrier to people contributing to the project
> because not everyone knows or likes it.

I have a qualm with this, maybe only because I saw this tweet this morning:

https://twitter.com/joshsimmons/status/955327749639487488

Since you are developing a web application, I think you will find more
people able to help with it as a JS / PHP project. While Java web
servers are in use, I don't know if they're the most common platform. I
think you could better connect with an audience of front-end and
back-end web developers by using a PHP project. And I think more people
are familiar or comfortable with it than you know too. :)
> I'm not really sure what would be the best path to take here, and would
> love some opinions.

Again, this isn't really technical advice, but some of my thoughts based
on your situation. Hope this is helpful.

[Mike Nolan]

It might be worth checking out slim https://www.slimframework.com/ which is
a pretty simple PHP microframework (similar to flask for the python users
reading). That should lower the barrier of entry for contributors and allow
you to get set up quickly

On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 4:30 PM, Justin W. Flory  wrote:
> On 01/23/2018 02:45 PM, Chris Bitler wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I've been trying to figure out what to use as the backend technology for
> > my FOSS Projects project, since it is a website, specifically a site for
> > college gaming clubs to run large LAN events. I've narrowed it down to
> > the javaspark microwebserver library, spring-boot in java, or using
> > symfony w/ php. However, each of these has their own problems.
>
> Hey Chris, this is a great discussion for the mailing list – thanks for
> starting this here.
>
> From a technical POV, I am not an expert, so I can't advise on what
> project is better for the work you'd like to do. I think that's
> something for you to research. I have a few thoughts on other things.
> > Spark seems to have commits made to it every few weeks, but it has pull
> > requests that been sitting there with no response for over half a year.
> > The same could be said about the issues on the project, many have no
> > response. This presents an issue with the community aspect.
>
> This makes me skeptical. Especially since you are looking to contribute
> to a project, I see this as a frustrating experience if you put in work
> and don't get any feedback. It doesn't seem like the maintainers
> prioritize community contributions.
> > If I use java for the project, I could use JUnit as my community instead
> > (unit testing tool that I would be using). The reason for using java is
> > that it presents a lower barrier to entry for contributing to the
> > project than PHP, and I have more experience with it than PHP.
>
> JUnit seems fair. I would research their community to support your
> decision.
> > However, Symfony has a much more active community with many more
> > resources for people to use in the community. My only issue is that PHP
> > tends to be a higher barrier to people contributing to the project
> > because not everyone knows or likes it.
>
> I have a qualm with this, maybe only because I saw this tweet this morning:
> https://twitter.com/joshsimmons/status/955327749639487488
>
> Since you are developing a web application, I think you will find more
> people able to help with it as a JS / PHP project. While Java web
> servers are in use, I don't know if they're the most common platform. I
> think you could better connect with an audience of front-end and
> back-end web developers by using a PHP project. And I think more people
> are familiar or comfortable with it than you know too. :)
> > I'm not really sure what would be the best path to take here, and would
> > love some opinions.
>
> Again, this isn't really technical advice, but some of my thoughts based
> on your situation. Hope this is helpful.
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Justin W. Flory
> [e-mail]
>
> FOSS @ Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) mailing list --
> [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]

[Remy DeCausemaker]

FWIW, if you are running a website, and it's mostly static content that
doesn't require a database, I'd recommend either a static site generator,
or even just hosting on GitHub pages with one of their pre-built themes.

Even content that changes, like calendars, or tweet streams can be embedded
into a static HTML page without requiring a database.

If you absolutely need to run a server, python's flask framework is quite
beginner friendly, with many active plugins and 3rd party libraries
available to connect to whatever database you'd like.

Hope this helps,
--RemyD.

On Jan 23, 2018 13:53, "Justin W. Flory"  wrote:
> On 01/23/2018 02:45 PM, Chris Bitler wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I've been trying to figure out what to use as the backend technology for
> > my FOSS Projects project, since it is a website, specifically a site for
> > college gaming clubs to run large LAN events. I've narrowed it down to
> > the javaspark microwebserver library, spring-boot in java, or using
> > symfony w/ php. However, each of these has their own problems.
>
> Hey Chris, this is a great discussion for the mailing list – thanks for
> starting this here.
>
> From a technical POV, I am not an expert, so I can't advise on what
> project is better for the work you'd like to do. I think that's
> something for you to research. I have a few thoughts on other things.
> > Spark seems to have commits made to it every few weeks, but it has pull
> > requests that been sitting there with no response for over half a year.
> > The same could be said about the issues on the project, many have no
> > response. This presents an issue with the community aspect.
>
> This makes me skeptical. Especially since you are looking to contribute
> to a project, I see this as a frustrating experience if you put in work
> and don't get any feedback. It doesn't seem like the maintainers
> prioritize community contributions.
> > If I use java for the project, I could use JUnit as my community instead
> > (unit testing tool that I would be using). The reason for using java is
> > that it presents a lower barrier to entry for contributing to the
> > project than PHP, and I have more experience with it than PHP.
>
> JUnit seems fair. I would research their community to support your
> decision.
> > However, Symfony has a much more active community with many more
> > resources for people to use in the community. My only issue is that PHP
> > tends to be a higher barrier to people contributing to the project
> > because not everyone knows or likes it.
>
> I have a qualm with this, maybe only because I saw this tweet this morning:
> https://twitter.com/joshsimmons/status/955327749639487488
>
> Since you are developing a web application, I think you will find more
> people able to help with it as a JS / PHP project. While Java web
> servers are in use, I don't know if they're the most common platform. I
> think you could better connect with an audience of front-end and
> back-end web developers by using a PHP project. And I think more people
> are familiar or comfortable with it than you know too. :)
> > I'm not really sure what would be the best path to take here, and would
> > love some opinions.
>
> Again, this isn't really technical advice, but some of my thoughts based
> on your situation. Hope this is helpful.
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Justin W. Flory
> [e-mail]
>
> FOSS @ Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) mailing list --
> [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]

[Adam Townsend]

Hi Chris,

My thought out of your choices would probably be Symfony. I've heard
nothing but good regarding the framework, and anyone that does anything
web related has most likely worked with PHP at some point. PHP is pretty
easy to learn if moving from another programming language as well, and
there is documentation on the web to do pretty much anything.

This all, of course, depends on your user base/audience. If you are
building this for RIT's EGS club for example, you could talk to the
e-board there and see what experience they have. It may not be the same
as future users, but it is a start if this is a concern for you.

Best of luck mate!
Bucky

Chris Bitler wrote:
> Hey,
>
> I probably should've elaborated a little bit more on this: I don't
> have much experience (atleast in the context of web projects) with
> python or node. I also don't think I will have time to learn something
> mostly new (wrt to node atleast. I know javascript but I have done
> virtually no work with node.). That is my reason for sticking to
> mainly PHP and Java.
>
> Thanks,
> Chris
>
> On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 3:33 PM, Mike Nolan <[e-mail]
> > wrote:
> Why not something python or node powered? Both of these languages
> have a large amount of fantastic and accessible web frameworks and
> great open source communities.
>
> On Tue, Jan 23, 2018 at 2:45 PM, Chris Bitler <[e-mail]
> <mailto:[e-mail]>> wrote:
>
>     Hello,
>
>     I've been trying to figure out what to use as the backend
>     technology for my FOSS Projects project, since it is a
>     website, specifically a site for college gaming clubs to run
>     large LAN events. I've narrowed it down to the javaspark
>     microwebserver library, spring-boot in java, or using symfony
>     w/ php. However, each of these has their own problems.
>
>     My main problem with spring-boot is that I've never used it
>     before.. that's not to say part of this project can't be
>     learning it, but I do have experience with the other two.
>
>     Spark seems to have commits made to it every few weeks, but it
>     has pull requests that been sitting there with no response for
>     over half a year. The same could be said about the issues on
>     the project, many have no response. This presents an issue
>     with the community aspect.
>
>     If I use java for the project, I could use JUnit as my
>     community instead (unit testing tool that I would be using).
>     The reason for using java is that it presents a lower barrier
>     to entry for contributing to the project than PHP, and I have
>     more experience with it than PHP.
>
>     However, Symfony has a much more active community with many
>     more resources for people to use in the community. My only
>     issue is that PHP tends to be a higher barrier to people
>     contributing to the project because not everyone knows or
>     likes it.
>
>     I'm not really sure what would be the best path to take here,
>     and would love some opinions.
>
>     Thanks,
>     Christopher Bitler
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     FOSS @ Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) mailing list --
>     [e-mail]
>     <mailto:[e-mail]>
>     To unsubscribe send an email to
>     [e-mail]
>     <mailto:[e-mail]>
>
>
>
>
>
> FOSS @ Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) mailing list -- [e-mail]
> To unsubscribe send an email to [e-mail]