
[//]: # (TODO add content index component here)

# Application requirements
Let's start by defining what an application usually needs so the idea can start and step into the real world. Not even going into the long-term project that grows.
- API data endpoints
- user sessions, authentication, and authorization
- queues/background workers
- application UI, usually SPA
- homepage/application presentation page (for not logged users)
- about page
- blog posts
- news
- subscription managing
- SEO, robots.txt, and sitemap.xml
- other website-related pages and promotions like landing pages, mailings, etc
- deployment (and rollback)
- backups
- database
- persistent storage
- in-memory caching (Redis etc.)
- (sending) mails
- servers/hosting
- (local) development environment
- staging environment
- production environment
- code versioning

# How have things been done till now, and what needs an upgrade in 2023
## servers, deployment, hosting, and hosted environments
I got away from self-hosted servers a while ago and let it all be managed by [Laravel Forge](https://forge.laravel.com/), as it helped me remove most of the self-managed LAMP stack from the previous stack and also added some new ideas I wanted to implement. In the end, it is a fantastic tool that helped me grow to the next level as a freelancer, but with time, it has become (just) an automation of managing LAMP stack servers. Therefore, I am still promoting it as an excellent tool for beginners, freelancers, small project teams, and smaller projects. But I need more now.

Review of current/old flow:

Pros:

- simple push to deploy
- servers are managed by Forge
- security auto-update services
- adding (buying) servers thru the dashboard
- letsencrypt automation
- repository (branch) based deploy integration

Cons:

- site setup overhead and missing auto-setup for some services (e.g., wrong Postgres port)
- hard to edit/manage project-specific Nginx config and some other services
- setting up multiple environments for the same project (stg, dev, ...)
- no scaling / single server application limitation
- risks of no proper backup or failover
- no zero-downtime deploys
- limitation to the shared database and redis services (be careful with redis db ids)
- no resource management / buying a dedicated server upfront based on predictions
- production includes services that are there just for the build time
- semi-solution for tests and build process
- no automatic solution for moving the application to another server
- deploy the whole application no matter how small of a change needed

```
Conclusion: the whole stack needs to change
```

## users, sessions, authentication, authorization, API endpoints
I have been sticking with the Laravel framework ecosystem for managing backend stuff for the past couple of years. It guided me well into the topics and patterns I now understand are a must for every larger project. I liked the idea of Lumen, but I still used it as a monolith.

Review of current/old flow:

Pros:
- great suggested patterns for growing as a developer on larger projects
- solves most application topics (workers, router, validation, ...)
- Test Driven Development of APIs
- I know it inside out / source code is my primary documentation
- fast-developing

Cons:

- cookie-based sessions (used it because of less security overhead as the browser took care of storing it properly)
- hard to target and handle needed performance improvements and monitoring in larger teams with lots of codebase and new features
- monitoring of applications, database, queues, ...
- low performance (not using proper approaches like octane etc.)

```
Conclusion: partial upgrades are needed, but sticking with the stack
```

## frontend framework, spa, blades, compiling assets, CSS framework, auth pages
I was switching my primary stack back when Laravel was version 5.6. When vue version 2 was the default language in the starter project, it seemed a natural next step from the jQuery world. I've tried angular, ember, and some other frameworks at the time, but vue felt the most natural way of doing things. For the CSS, there was bulma, bootstrap, and materializecss. SPA application was served thru url root html output from Laravel blades, and compiling was done thru Laravel mix. Everything is already bundled from the Laravel starting project.

Review of current/old flow:

Pros:
- it all came out of the box, easy to start
- known approaches
- all in one project/stack / single repository
- fast mockup using CSS frameworks

Cons:
- mixing things from blades to vue is a mess
- its hard to maintain/define the proper long-term structure of the app
- vue SPA inbound to Laravel loading things
- mixing Laravel rendering for some things and others in SPA is a mess
- hard to customize or add additional functionalities with CSS frameworks
- CSS frameworks usually require js logic out of the box

```
Conclusion: the whole stack needs to change
```

## webpage specific pages, blog, news, SEO
Using the same stack for web pages as I do for the applications is a nightmare. You can choose between having another stack, like WordPress, or developing new cms as part of your application. As I want to avoid ending up with multiple stacks just to make it look nice, I will focus on finding a better solution that will bring the website and application parts together.

Review of current/old flow:

Pros:
- (none found)

Cons:
- can solve (some) things by having a separate website-specific solution / new stack
- can solve (some) things by developing or including package dependency features needed for websites
- SEO / no proper html output for robots without javascript
- dual development to make the experience between website and application as smooth as possible
- maintenance of multiple systems
- hard to onboard developers onto the project
- ... (this can go on forever)

```
Conclusion: the whole stack needs to change
```

## local environment
Using docker-compose as part of the project, being project specific, was a go-to tool for some time.
Note: I have tried using valet with local npm (nvm), database, etc., but did not like that my system is full of services with multiple versions, etc. Startup scripts started to fail with upgrades or needed changes. Even a bigger mess that took much more time with new machines etc.

Review of current/old flow:

Pros:
- trust in the quick setup of the project environment
- encapsulated services required for a project
- good simulation and testing environment for production requirements

Cons:
- copy-paste from one project to another / no proper boilerplate from which to initialize
- manually editing hosts file for project-specific domains
- wildcard subdomains manual setup
- using a secure connection locally
- performance issues with the local filesystem
- running only a single instance / project at the time

```
Conclusion: some improvements wanted
```

# expectations for the new stack
- independent parts / each part of the application can be quickly replaced with a better solution
- best SEO practices
- scalability
- portability
- result-oriented / quick start with the new app
- long-term maintainability

```
Conclusion: let's do this shit
```

Till next time, stay sexy and hydrated.


Stack 2023 - review the old way

I am going into the new year by refreshing the working stack and a new website. I will address and solve some topics that have bothered me since web development invented the LAMP stack.

I will keep all the functionalities of the modern blog website as a tool for sharing information and expressing myself without following most of the known patterns and components a blog usually has.

## different approach to website
I am bored with the standard website structure, menus, contact pages, etc. There needs to be an easier way to present the info the visitor comes for.

## website components
I will remove standard components like the contact form, comments, search, etc. Instead, give the content and the organic feeling of content flow without presenting the page's structure.

## website views/page templates
Approaching the whole website as a simple gallery with all the available articles being there as you land on the website. To the experience of zooming the image / viewing the article, you want to read.
One and a half of a template is required for everything the website needs. Categories, series index, etc., can all be presented in this gallery and zoomed image view.

## going static
I've been playing with the idea of having a fully static application or website with no moving parts for some time now. The idea feels light and secure, and it gives me peace.
Putting the moving parts on the side of a browser and the users' services (like google drive for storage) is also a proper approach for the maintainability of the solution.

## maintenance
With lots of "hello world" projects hanging around, from a todo app to the chat socket server, there is always this nagging feeling when things will break one way or the other. The same goes for the website, even if we only talk about the website.

## security
Upgrading packages in all the projects take a lot of time.

## services
Dependency on the services like databases brings its own risk of maintaining them and keeping them up all the time.

## storage
There is always a chance some unwanted files end up there, or things need to sync correctly.

## frameworks
From WordPress to Laravel, lots of overhead is there to run them properly through time.

## scaling
Scaling the application servers horizontally is a pain. Shared database and storage the old way is a challenge I want to avoid.

## backups
I need some automation to go away from the Schrödinger backups.

## servers
The risk of upgrading them with all the projects is a pain I don't want anymore.

## conclusion
Achieving all the goals will be a considerable challenge, but it is time to finally make it a reality and put the idea I've had for years out of my memory and make room for some new ones.

Till next time, stay sexy and hydrated.
