How to ask a developer about a web based app? | Hacker News Reader

How to ask a developer about a web based app?

2 pointsDrBobDengler9 comments

Question: What do I say to a developer to explain that I want someone to rewrite my PC Desktop application code (.Net/C++) into a web-based, platform independent version that won't cost $100K everytime Windows/Word/SQL unleash a new update? Should I ask if he/she can use a particular stack/approach and if so, what is a good main-stream stack/approach that makes sense. Honestly, I don't care what stack/approach, just one that can work, won't get me up a creek without a paddle next year, and one that other developers won't laugh at. Obviously, I'm not a tech founder.

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Anybody had any experience with code translator programs that say they can take a program in one language and translate it into another. This would greatly reduce the time and cost of rewriting my app from .Net to web-based, but sounds too good to be true.

Such as ( I have no relation/interest): "Emscripten is an LLVM-based project that compiles C and C++ into highly-optimizable JavaScript in asm.js format. This lets you run C and C++ on the web at near-native speed, without plugins. http://kripken.github.io/emscripten-site/index.html

Emscripten can be used to compile almost any portable C++/C code to JavaScript. http://kripken.github.io/emscripten-site/docs/porting/guidel... "

Any thoughts would be helpful. As I said, these sound too good to be true, but worth asking the experts about!

Use Kubernetes, Node, GraphQL, Redux, React. Fela (http://fela.js.org/) is nice. (Alternatively, use styled components if that's no good.)

All of the above technologies also work very nicely with React Native - you can target iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows with it, without rewriting if you develop against React Native first and treat the browser as just another target.

Maxx, thanks for your response. So if I ask a developer how he/she would rewrite my .Net app into a web app, and he/she says "use Atom" I should run away fast. But if he/she says " I would use Kubernetes, Node, GraphQL, Redux, React. Fela, and styled components with React Native" I should feel confident that I asked the right questions and that his/her answer is a right way to proceed? I guess I am looking for a developer who suggests a common, middle of the road, generally acceptable approach rather than a highly complex multi-tool custom built personal favorite approach that nobody else ever heard of or can understand how to use. My situation appears to me to be a common business executive challenge....do you think that I am just too naive to understand how to vet/contract with a developer? I would appreciate any further thought you are willing to share. Thanks.

To put it bluntly, yes, you are naive. That's OK though, there are plenty of successful businesses that are started from that place. You should do what you would do in any business situation - get multiple quotes and offers, and compare. Interview multiple candidates, and developers, and rely on your intuition. Good developers tend to be clear in their requirements, have a good grasp on technologies, and can consider other technologies for their benefits or flaws. You don't need to 'run away' from anyone because they suggest one thing over another - just make sure that you are talking to an engineer who has had some experience, and doesn't recommend a 'one size fits all' solution. Then again, expect to pay a lot for a good engineer.

It's ok if your system is a bit crap if it gets the job done, and you make business. Grow the business, and fix it later.

If you're not a tech founder then you probably shouldn't ask to use a particular stack/approach. Let that conversation at least be started by someone who knows what they're talking about.

What do you say? You say that you want to convert a desktop app into a web app, and take it from there. The app itself may start to dictate the approach anyway, which we can't speak to without any details.

Davelnewton, appreciate your response. My experience is that if I ask 2 or more developers, I get the food fight that Anold and Maxx are having below. So if I pick a developer out of the internet and he/she recommends "Atom" I know I need to avoid him/her. On the otherhand, if he/she says "React", I know at least 2 others have mentioned it. You suggest that I just talk to a developer and put myself in their hands. That's how I spent $600,000 on 3 Microsoft Gold developers who recommended .Net framework, and got me a desktop PC version in Windows 7, one month before Windows 8 debuted and wanted $100K more to either 1)make it compatible with Win8 or 2)rewrite a web version. I applied for YC S17 in hopes of getting the $100K to get my app rewritten and back on the market. I also hoped that YC would advise a reasonable programming approach and an appropriate developer who could make it happen, but I got rejected this time,and am out in the cold again until maybe next October. So I thought I would give HN a try - and you were nice enough to respond. Thanks! I would appreciate any further thoughts you would be willing to share.

The tech race is unavoidable. Focusing on a web app buys you some more longevity. I'd say you got ripped off by your devs; it's not like nobody knew when Win8 was dropping, or how to write it in such a way that it wouldn't be obsoleted in a month. That's irresponsible on their part.

You'll always be putting your trust in someone if you're not doing it yourself. There's no way to absolutely guarantee what's being done is an effective path, but you can always have development plans vetted by a third party, and it may be worth it.

In the JS world there's always a "flavor of the week". There are several standouts, e.g., React, AngJS, EmberJS, whatever. The back-end isn't as relevant if all it's doing is shipping data to the client (browser), but infrastructure costs and maintenance always matter. It also depends on what the back-end actually needs to do (batch jobs, timed jobs, etc.) but you have a lot of flexibility in this regard.

Feel free to reach out if you have additional questions; I'm reasonably easy to get ahold of.

http://stackoverflow.com/users/438992/dave-newton

Use electron https://electron.atom.io/ it uses javascript.

I'd avoid electron if you're starting from scratch - it's fine if you have a web app and you're looking for a cheap way to deliver it to desktops, but it comes at a huge cost to your users. Your app will be 10X larger when users try to download it. And do you ever wonder why Slack and Atom perform so terribly and hog so much CPU and RAM compared to native apps? Electron jams in an entire web browser just to render your app. So you end up writing awful code, and you get bad performance. The only way to do something worse would be to attempt to write a desktop app in Java...

Use React Native instead!

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