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Ask HN: How to get back into hobby web dev after almost 15 years hiatus

3 points by whattheheckm 5y ago

Hi there! I used to build small web projects as a hobby quite some time ago. Then came university, a job, life... Now, I would love to get back into it but the field's progress and complexity over the last years seems somewhat intimidating. In the past, I did not do anything fancy, mostly using PHP, mySQL, HTML, CSS and JavaScript. I never really used any frameworks, maybe because I was always interested in how to build the functionality of a forum, a gallery, a basic CMS, a shopping cart etc. Mobile wasn't a thing yet... I developed using the text editor of Dreamweaver but mainly for syntax highlighting... Now I am wondering what would be the best way to get back into web development. Any overviews of resources you can recommend? And of course, there are these almost religious questions: Should I use a framework (front-end or back-end)? Should I stick to PHP or maybe try a new language because "it's better nowadays"? I don't have a formal computer science background but a lot of curiosity. With regards to project type: I am aiming to build nothing huge but solid websites with server-side logic and "modern" (whatever that means nowadays, probably a lot of JavaScript) layout. Very broad question, I know. Just looking for directions as to what to check out to get started again. Would love any pointers. Thanks a lot!

withinboredom 5y ago
I use PHP every day for work, you’d hardly recognize it. So, pick a language or stick with PHP. Either way, it’ll almost be like learning a new language. These days, I’d recommend a framework if you’re actually trying to build something as all the little edge cases and security issues can be handled by the frameworks. It’s not like the old days where building your own framework was the norm. Learning React or Vue is almost a must-know at this point in web development. So, I highly recommend setting up vscode and diving in. I took a two year hiatus back around 2008-2010 and it took quite awhile to catch up. I highly recommend picking up a few CS books, especially if you can devote some serious time to it before getting back into coding. With a coding background, the books make more sense than they would when you’re just starting out.
- whattheheckm 5y ago
  Thanks for your reply and your recommendations. This helps a lot. With regards to CS books: Any you can recommend in particular having the hobby web dev context in mind? Not a book, but a few weeks ago a friend recommended the CS50 course on edX. So this is definitely on my list.
leephillips 5y ago
For CRUD things I stick with Django because I know it, but if I were starting fresh today I’d look into Go, based on what I’ve heard about it. Mainly, speed and ease of deployment. For things more like web apps, look at Svelte.
- whattheheckm 5y ago
  Thanks! Especially Django looks interesting and might already be enough for me. Will check out the other recommendation too, though.
  - leephillips 5y ago
    Django is very mature and has excellent documentation (something that is important as anything else). If you don’t mind Python, it is an excellent choice for a CRUD system, or any traditional document-based website.

3 points by whattheheckm 5y ago

withinboredom 5y ago

I use PHP every day for work, you’d hardly recognize it. So, pick a language or stick with PHP. Either way, it’ll almost be like learning a new language. These days, I’d recommend a framework if you’re actually trying to build something as all the little edge cases and security issues can be handled by the frameworks. It’s not like the old days where building your own framework was the norm. Learning React or Vue is almost a must-know at this point in web development. So, I highly recommend setting up vscode and diving in. I took a two year hiatus back around 2008-2010 and it took quite awhile to catch up. I highly recommend picking up a few CS books, especially if you can devote some serious time to it before getting back into coding. With a coding background, the books make more sense than they would when you’re just starting out.

whattheheckm 5y ago
Thanks for your reply and your recommendations. This helps a lot. With regards to CS books: Any you can recommend in particular having the hobby web dev context in mind? Not a book, but a few weeks ago a friend recommended the CS50 course on edX. So this is definitely on my list.

leephillips 5y ago

For CRUD things I stick with Django because I know it, but if I were starting fresh today I’d look into Go, based on what I’ve heard about it. Mainly, speed and ease of deployment. For things more like web apps, look at Svelte.

whattheheckm 5y ago
Thanks! Especially Django looks interesting and might already be enough for me. Will check out the other recommendation too, though.
- leephillips 5y ago
  Django is very mature and has excellent documentation (something that is important as anything else). If you don’t mind Python, it is an excellent choice for a CRUD system, or any traditional document-based website.