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Ask HN: Best Web Application Framework

2 points by idanb 14y ago

I'm looking to work on a small side project and am looking for a pretty decent web framework. The alternative is to do everything from scratch and sort of trip my way through everything, but because of the prototype nature of the project I figured a framework might make more sense. I've been a fan of CakePHP in the past, Django rubbed me the wrong way. Language is not a big deciding factor, wouldn't mind learning some new technologies on the way. Lately been on a Javascript kick so was considering doing something with node.js, is Express any good? Anyways, not trying to start a flame war, just some honest/direct advice on where to get started! Thanks, Idan

dillon 14y ago
To get started, in my experience the fastest way is to use a language you already know. Ruby on Rails might be the fastest if you are familiar with Ruby, Django for Python, Catalyst for Perl, Zend for PHP, Lift for Scala. I can keep listing the top frameworks for more languages, find something that interests you. Something that is interesting keeps you engaged.
- idanb 14y ago
  I've used Django before, but I've never tried Zend. I'm really keen on trying out node.js, have you heard much about Express? Might give that a shot, and if I hit a wall might switch.
  - bernatfp 14y ago
    If it's not a big project, I think you will be good with Express. I've never taken the time to get deep on it, but it seems like the default framework for Node projects, and is easy to use, especially compared to Django :)
    - idanb 14y ago
      Cool, I'm going through the tutorial guide thing right now. We're ramping up on some big Javascript projects right now for incidenttech and this might be a good chance to learn more about node :) Django wasn't too bad, I would compare it to Cake, but then again it's been a while!
wriq 14y ago
There isn't a 'Best'. Getting a language & framework that will work for you is a personal thing. Just look at what's available (Rails/Play/Django/Node/etc) and implement a small but non trivial web app that has some similarities to what you're planning on building and see what you like the most. Ideally you will spend a bit of time researching on how to do something and you'll get an idea of what that language/framework's community is like. Or just build it in PHP using Cake since if that's what you know the best you'll likely get it done faster. That way you can focus on the product instead of the stack, which in my opinion is more important.
teyc 14y ago
on the ASP.net side, consider WebAPI to serve json, and angularjs to render and template.

2 points by idanb 14y ago

dillon 14y ago

To get started, in my experience the fastest way is to use a language you already know. Ruby on Rails might be the fastest if you are familiar with Ruby, Django for Python, Catalyst for Perl, Zend for PHP, Lift for Scala. I can keep listing the top frameworks for more languages, find something that interests you. Something that is interesting keeps you engaged.

idanb 14y ago
I've used Django before, but I've never tried Zend. I'm really keen on trying out node.js, have you heard much about Express? Might give that a shot, and if I hit a wall might switch.
- bernatfp 14y ago
  If it's not a big project, I think you will be good with Express. I've never taken the time to get deep on it, but it seems like the default framework for Node projects, and is easy to use, especially compared to Django :)
  - idanb 14y ago
    Cool, I'm going through the tutorial guide thing right now. We're ramping up on some big Javascript projects right now for incidenttech and this might be a good chance to learn more about node :) Django wasn't too bad, I would compare it to Cake, but then again it's been a while!

wriq 14y ago

There isn't a 'Best'. Getting a language & framework that will work for you is a personal thing. Just look at what's available (Rails/Play/Django/Node/etc) and implement a small but non trivial web app that has some similarities to what you're planning on building and see what you like the most. Ideally you will spend a bit of time researching on how to do something and you'll get an idea of what that language/framework's community is like. Or just build it in PHP using Cake since if that's what you know the best you'll likely get it done faster. That way you can focus on the product instead of the stack, which in my opinion is more important.

teyc 14y ago

on the ASP.net side, consider WebAPI to serve json, and angularjs to render and template.