I've heard it said that the documentation for web2py isn't as good as some other options. I'm not sure if that's true with the new revisions to the available online book, but I am sure anyone saying that does not utilize this group. I've never seen support for anything as good as this google group. I'm no programmer, I'm no web developer, I'm learning pything and web2py for fun because this is such a great framework. It doesn't matter what you have a question about: deployment, python code, web2py functions, best database practices, etc. Anything you can think of you'll find answers and guidance for here on this group.
I am not exaggerating when I tell you I receive explanations to my questions within an hour of posting. Timing varies of course, but this community (especially Massimo) is the most helpful resource anyone could ask for. You will not find a better resource than this group. Books and guides can only cover a finite amount of questions, the active developers here can provide guidance to your specific needs. I can't answer any of the advanced technical comparisons, but that's the view from someone who has been going through the learning curve. On May 6, 8:28 am, mdipierro <mdipie...@cs.depaul.edu> wrote: > Other users should answer this question but I will add some comments > > On May 6, 12:37 am, Anthony <av201...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > > I am brand new to web application development, and I'm looking for a > > good web framework to learn in order to build a new web application > > (sort of a personal task/project management system). I want it to look > > (and act) like a serious, polished, state-of-the-art Web 2.0 site/app > > (i.e., not amateurish or out-dated). I've got some experience with > > website building, HTML, CSS, and a little javascript. I don't have any > > experience with server-side coding, but I do have general programming > > experience (i.e., not web/internet related) as well as some experience > > with relational databases and SQL. > > > I'm looking for a framework that will be relatively easy to learn, > > though I'm just as concerned with how easy it is to go through the > > learning process (i.e., find well-organized documentation, tutorials, > > examples, community support, etc.) as with the conceptual simplicity/ > > easiness of the framework itself (i.e., I don't mind learning > > something hard if I've got good learning resources). > > web2py was designed to be very easy to learn. I do think it is easier > then the other ones you mention. > the book is at web2py.com/book > > > Also, rather than creating everything from scratch, I'm hoping to rely > > as much as possible on existing libraries, plug-ins, applications, > > examples, etc. So, a framework that's compatible with as large a > > universe as possible of existing solutions would be ideal. I'm also > > planning to link to various web service API's (e.g., Google Calendar). > > look into web2py.com/plugins > > > From what I've read, web2py sounds like a great framework -- > > comprehensive, well-integrated, easy to set up, learn, and deploy, > > etc. However, although it sounds good on paper, I haven't yet found a > > single site built with web2py that looks all that impressive (at least > > superficially). It's easy to find quite a number of sophisticated and > > impressive looking sites/apps built with Ruby on Rails and Django, but > > I haven't seen anything remotely comparable based on web2py. I'm > > wondering why the disparity. Is it simply that web2py is a relative > > newcomer and has a small user base, or does web2py have some inherent > > limitations that make it less than ideal for building polished, larger > > scale web apps? In other words, could a site like Basecamp > > (www.basecamphq.com) be built just as easily with web2py as with ROR, > > or is web2py not really suited for that level of development? > > web2py was released at least 4 years after ROR and Django, as a result > ROR and Django are at least 10 times more popular than web2py. You > have to decide whether you prefer a framework that gives you a > competitive advantage or one for which it will be easier to hire > developers. > For various reasons most of the early adopters use it for intranet > applications so they are not public. > > > I'm also wondering about the long term viability of web2py. I don't > > want to adopt a framework that ends up fizzling out in a couple years. > > Is web2py on an upward trajectory, or is its future uncertain? For > > example, I notice that the web2py-developers group has only about one > > tenth as many members as even the Pylons and TurboGears developer > > groups (and one one hundreth as many as ROR and Django). Is web2py too > > dependent on just one or two key developers who may lose interest over > > time? > > We have ~50 developershttp://web2py.com/examples/default/who > I am just the gatekeeper to make sure web2py does not break backward > compatibility (something other frameworks do not care much about). You > can see the history of commits on google code. You can see that for 2 > years we had more releases than Django and Rails. > > > Any insights and advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. > > Try ask this question on the mailing lists of web2py, Django, and > Rails: what does framework X do for me that Y and Z do not? See who > answers first and which answer you like the most.
