My dream stack

The dream tech stack I’m trying to get to from learning PHP and SQLite:

• Frontend: Just plain HTML, CSS, JS with sprinkle of Vue for interactivity. For bigger SaaS, maybe Nuxt.
• Backend: PHP to run API endpoints for frontend to consume.
• Database: SQLite for database.
• Hosting: A VPS, like Digital Ocean.
• CDN: Cloudflare.

Thoughts on why I chose this stack:

• Sanity and stability. Basically I just want to be able to deploy something and not touch it for say 10 years and it still runs, and I can still edit it without having to update dependencies or need build step.
• Decoupled front and backend. I like this approach. I’m more of a frontend dev, so I can do the changes on frontend without really touching much of the backend
• Long lasting. I’m tired of the Javascript ecosystem circus. Especially all the shiny new frameworks, Node and npm and packages and dependencies. Forever beta. So using PHP and SQLite will bring some stability and longevity to my code.
• Backward compatibility. This is why I chose PHP over Node.js, even though I’m more comfortable with JS. Less major breaking changes, and with focus on backward compatibility, my apps can last long without worrying that I can’t even start the app.
• Lightweight. SQLite is lightweight but performant, and making a comeback now.
• Cheap to host. Digital Ocean and Hertzner are cheap to host, for long lasting apps. Scaling is cheaper too, compared to surprise bills from new cloud providers like Vercel and Netlify.

So something solid, stable, emphasizes backward compatibility, doesn’t update too often, and zero to minimal breaking changes every update. So between PHP, Laravel, Rails, I did some research and ended up with timeless technologies like plain HTML, CSS and Javascript, PHP and SQLite.

Getting there… soon!