Comment by Sebastian on "Picking a language for this particular project"

Interesting project. I would suggest java for the backend (with spring boot) because it’s good base and ecosystem with a large amount of choices. I have not that much experience with nodejs ( only smaller projects) but compared to java I’m not (yet) confident that the DX is that good in larger projects (may someone can tell with more experience). Database wise, I do think you’ll need one. I’m yet not entirely sure whether you should go with a rational or nosql database. May take a look at rethinkdb, we’re (at work) happy with it.

On front-end choose what you like but I would recommend d3js for Charts and aggrid for (advanced) table stuff since you may handle with a quite amount of values.

thank you Sebastian! I have more questions :)

Let's assume I have a basic html/css for first functionality, something similar to trademetria.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/f…
Let's also assume that I have frontside and UI part ready and I want to use Java for backend. Actually I like its syntax more than python (curly brackets and so on) although it's a bit verbose I'm ready to try. I understand I need to grab the basic syntax (4-6 weeks) and then I'd like to go directly into something useful for my project. What would be the second step then? Spring boot? My idea is to create simple structure and iterate as often as possible to get tangible results asap (in order not to lose my enthusiasm).
Database: is it a bad idea to start gathering data in text files (csv, json) at the beginning and switch into database in the future? Learning Java AND Databases at the same time may be a bit intimidating I think...
aggrid is AMAZING! But is there any totally open source alternative?

Well then let us put it this way: What's your main goal? Java and it's eco system has quite a learn curve. If you need results quicker then I recommend NodeJS with HapiJS.

Regarding Database: What kind of data you have to handle with? When it's e.g. a large dataset of values the may a key-value based noSQL database is a good choice. A relational DB will be working as well. May you have to try some database concepts until you find the right one you to handle the data. And no, it's not a bad idea to start with files (serve as data storage for the service, right?)

At least I don't know a open source alternative of aggrid. Has it to be? In my company we have it licensed but honestly I've never gone beyond the features of the free version.

You're right, let's start from the goal: to create a basic app within 6 months as a beginner and keep the enthusiasm to deliver final result :)

Looking from the above perspective, trying to learn quite difficult language like Java doesn't make sense. NodeJS may not be the best solution but possibly good enough for now. Python is I believe the only real alternative thanks to its easier learning curve but the question remains - are there any real advantages to this particular project?

Regarding DB: that's exactly what I meant, I will try to keep it simple and start with files as a data storage. There will not be much data, 30-50 records per month, so I might as well keep it all in files, but I would like to learn databases in the future, for sure (thanks for a suggestions, I'll take a look at these solutions)

As per aggrid, I will begin with vanila JS, to make it even more simple. But I'm extremely impressed with the library!

Well as far as this is an educational project may try out python to see if it can do the job for you. May considering a github repo and invite others to assist you on this project. Working with other people on a project is far more motivating than handling it alone especially when bouncing with ideas. I had always a good experience and result when creating (mostly on a whiteboard at the beginning) ideas with others.

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