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I have no problem with these new backend as a service providers. Parse, FireBase, Spire.io, etc. The problem I have is what happens when you have all your data

by jtchang 14y ago

I have no problem with these new backend as a service providers. Parse, FireBase, Spire.io, etc. The problem I have is what happens when you have all your data hosted with them and they go away. You are stuck either rebuilding the same API they had or migrating to another provider. That said I have used Parse and it is amazing at how fast you can get up and running. I will definitely be giving Parse a good look when I spin up my next app (whether it be at a hackathon or otherwise). For now though my attitude is cautious optimism. And what really is the end game in all this? A lot of these have similar APIs. What's to prevent you from just copying the API (hope that they are deemed uncopyrightable).

g0su 14y ago
What could happen is a great open source library that you could host yourself on a linode. So, it's "backend-less" in the sense that you don't have to do backend stuff, but you still have control over your databases. Seems like it's the way that spire took.. where you can use their services if you want, but you'll be able to host everything yourself because they open source mostly everything. Their challenge, a little bit like Github, is to make their service so awesome that you don't want to do everything yourself. I.e. On github you have visibility, issues, wiki, easy creation, multi-users, etc. out of the box.
rohansingh 14y ago
One thing I like about Parse is that they explicitly support data portability. Of course, that is only the data you're getting, so you are correct in that you would have to reimplement the API if you wanted to move away seamlessly. That's not the end of the world, though it does influence which of these providers I choose. For example, I feel more comfortable building on Parse because I'm fairly confident that they won't disappear without some warning. I think it's a trust barrier you have to break through to become successful in this particular market.
- spladow 14y ago
  You are correct on all points here. Stability and trust are very important in this market. Obviously, we are planning on being around for a long time, but it may take a little while for everyone to gain confidence in us. The best thing we can do is to keep iterating and prove that we are building something that's meant to last. As far as building trust goes, we plan to automate the process of exporting your data soon, but until then we will provide it upon request at any point. We also stick to open standards and open source software wherever possible so that your code is not dependent on any proprietary technology from us or anyone else. Our own server code is based completely on widely supported open source projects, ranging from Node to Redis. Finally, we are open sourcing our own stack as aggressively as we can and already offer limited licenses to firms that are concerned about being dependent on our code. In short, we're doing everything we can to ensure that you are never "locked in" to our technology or any one else's. Our goal is keep innovating so that you don't want to use another solutions.

by jtchang 14y ago

g0su 14y ago

What could happen is a great open source library that you could host yourself on a linode. So, it's "backend-less" in the sense that you don't have to do backend stuff, but you still have control over your databases. Seems like it's the way that spire took.. where you can use their services if you want, but you'll be able to host everything yourself because they open source mostly everything. Their challenge, a little bit like Github, is to make their service so awesome that you don't want to do everything yourself. I.e. On github you have visibility, issues, wiki, easy creation, multi-users, etc. out of the box.

rohansingh 14y ago

One thing I like about Parse is that they explicitly support data portability. Of course, that is only the data you're getting, so you are correct in that you would have to reimplement the API if you wanted to move away seamlessly. That's not the end of the world, though it does influence which of these providers I choose. For example, I feel more comfortable building on Parse because I'm fairly confident that they won't disappear without some warning. I think it's a trust barrier you have to break through to become successful in this particular market.

spladow 14y ago
You are correct on all points here. Stability and trust are very important in this market. Obviously, we are planning on being around for a long time, but it may take a little while for everyone to gain confidence in us. The best thing we can do is to keep iterating and prove that we are building something that's meant to last. As far as building trust goes, we plan to automate the process of exporting your data soon, but until then we will provide it upon request at any point. We also stick to open standards and open source software wherever possible so that your code is not dependent on any proprietary technology from us or anyone else. Our own server code is based completely on widely supported open source projects, ranging from Node to Redis. Finally, we are open sourcing our own stack as aggressively as we can and already offer limited licenses to firms that are concerned about being dependent on our code. In short, we're doing everything we can to ensure that you are never "locked in" to our technology or any one else's. Our goal is keep innovating so that you don't want to use another solutions.