sashaafm
I’d like to know what are your opinion between building a Web App using embedded Elixir/Phoenix (.eex files), where the data is being passed with the render function to the template, like so:
<%= if @var do %>
It is obviously true
<% else %>
This will never appear
<% end %>
vs. separating the frontend (with Javascript and AngularJS maybe) from the backend, using Phoenix to serve a RESTful API:
$http({method: 'GET', url: '/some/phoenix/api/resource'})
What are the advantages and situations where each one is better suited? Are there any use cases where they should be mixed? (particularly does Phoenix mix well with Angular?)
For a simple information system, I think embedded is more than enough but for more modular, better structured and to allow frontend and backend developers to work concurrently the latter is better. Also, separating makes the backend development easier since you just have to build on the :api pipeline instead of both :browser and :api pipelines.
The main disadvantage (for me at least) when separating the frontend from the backend is to have to use a lot of Javascript which I personally hate and find difficult.
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OvermindDL1
Well using embedded it is significantly easier to internationalize if that is important for your project first of all.
Personally I would go with embedded regardless unless I want/need a single-page-app, in which case phoenix would just be an API endpoint.
zimt28
I’m currently rebuilding an SPA app, which I had built in Meteor using Phoenix. Rendering things on the server again, like I’ve done “in the past” makes things so easy again! Also, comparing the two, the SPA solution didn’t feel or responds faster. There are some places where I need JS, but I will just use Vue.js or so where is makes sense.
Just because everyone builds SPAs now doesn’t mean it’s always the best solution!
andre1sk
It highly depends on your particular application.
sotojuan
Depends on your app but for the most part you can do a good ol’ server rendered app—it’s much easier too.
StefanHoutzager
Internationalization can be done by creating a json serverside with screendefinitions: language dependent labels, errormessages etc. which can be used to render the ui clientside. Can be done via a phoenix channel also. But I like to have a ui that does not know about the other layers so that I could switch the backend when needed. And I did not care to learn a bit of js.
OvermindDL1
Yeah that is basically what I’d done, just a map of default strings to internationalized strings for the currently logged in user, defaulting to using the existing string if not in the map. Just feels like a hack.
StefanHoutzager
To me .eex and the likes in other languages always felt like a hack. At the start of <% I begin to cringe.
sotojuan
And React’s JSX/Angular’s HTML doesn’t? It’s just a template and in Phoenix’ case it’s a function that gets called and replaces tags with data.
I’m having trouble figuring out why it is a hack. Care to explain further? I’m interested.
StefanHoutzager
I explained it before in this thread (wherein you also wrote so the explanation might be already familiar)):
Michal Kunikowski has made remarks in this thread that could interest you also.
sotojuan
I guess for me separating Elixir and “HTML” is not so much separation of concerns rather than separation of technologies. I still think server side REST MVC solves 90% of business’ needs, but I’m old fashioned