A look at Backend as a Service (BaaS) providers - Backand and the Django Project.
- 1. Looking to Rapidly Build Angular Appswith a Robust
Backend?So far, in our series on Backend as a Service (BaaS)
providers,weve spent a lot of time looking at data-side
solutions.From Parses platform independence to Firebases focus
onavailability and resiliency, weve covered a healthy segment ofthe
data-based service provider market. With this article wetake more
of a look at the full stack as we examine the DjangoProject.
Developed based upon the needs of a rapid-responsenewsroom, this
technology stack written in Python providessome unique
opportunities to businesses looking to build anew data-driven
application for the web.The Django ProjectThe Django Project
describes itself as a high-level Python Web frameworkthat
encourages rapid development and clean, pragmatic design. In
essence,the Django code sits atop your data layer and handles the
presentation andmodification of your data, from the business logic
driving the database callswww.backand.com
2. to the templates driving the display of your project. Many
large websites arebuilt with Django driving their functionality,
meaning that the stack is scalableon multiple fronts something that
is a stated goal of the Django project.Django provides utilities at
several layers throughout a web applicationsstack. There is an
Object Relational Mapping (ORM) system that allowsyou to define and
manipulate your applications data in a number of ways,from using
the built-in data access functionality to writing your own SQLin a
bare-metal approach. Django also provides a template system,
makingcoherent and cohesive display of your data as simple as
modifying a few coretemplates. Finally, Django provides an
automatic admin interface a simpleinterface for managing the tables
and data in your application, with massiveconfigurability
available. You simply register your data models, and Djangohandles
the rest!Backand & BaaSWhile Django provides a full stack with
the associated configurability options that can let you get a
fully-custom application up and running quickly, itis largely most
effective for greenfield development. Backand, on the otherhand,
integrates directly with your existing data. When you integrate
withBackand you get the ability to focus entirely on your app while
your backendis fully covered by their BaaS. Backand allows you to
either integrate yourexisting database into their stack, or port
the entire data store into AmazonRDS. They take over the back end
of your app completely, removing all of thehardware hassles that
arise, and handle the security and hosting issues for you.They also
provide you a fully customizable front end small stack consistingof
Bootstrap and Angular, letting you start very quickly with a
dashboard appthat can then grow in any direction you like, with a
REST-ful API driving yourapplications data access.Comparing the
TwoWhile Django provides facilities for easy data management and a
quick andeasy admin interface tied directly to your underlying
data, there is still a lotthat you have to do on your own. You need
to provide a data solution (eithera local database or one of the
other providers that we have covered), a webserver (Django ships
with their own Python-based web server, but it is likelynot tenable
for a production deployment), and a fully-defined set of
ORMinstances that map to your underlying data. While this gives you
true flexibilityin your end result and requires less effort than
using a full MVC framework,there is still a lot of work necessary
to get a data driven app running off of anexisting data
store.www.backand.com 3. Backand, on the other hand, is optimized
for precisely that removing thehassles of the backend from your
development. From the moment youcreate your application with
Backand youre given a simple-yet-customizableinterface to access
and modify your data. You can either stick with thissimple
template, or make use of the power of Bootstrap and Angular
throughchoosing a number of predefined themes or even developing
your own!Your data scales with you through Amazon RDS, or connects
to your existingdatabase infrastructure, and Backand provides
comprehensive security andauthentication management. With Backand,
you truly hit the ground runningwith your data driven
application.ConclusionBackand provides a scalable solution for
data-driven applications with aquick-and-easy interface that gets
your base website running with just a fewclicks. Django provides
many of the elements to accomplish this as well, butleaves a lot
more choice and many of the support and scalability concerns to
your web development organization. Ultimately the choice
betweenDjango and Backand comes down to a question of your
applications goal. Ifyoure looking for a full web application
framework that you wish to maintainentirely on your own, then
Django has a lot to offer in terms of flexibility.However, if you
are looking to manage an appliction with existing data asquickly
and as securely as possible while not having to worry abouthardware
or software concerns, then Backand may be the right choice for
you.www.backand.comContact InformationBackand
[email protected]
