Month four of the 12 month challenge is nearing its end. This month did not go as I expected but in a lot of ways it was also a very necessary 'break' from the previous three. What was accomplished this month?

  • Reinforced my knowledge of the Django framework
  • Successfully set up a restful back-end to Django with the Django Rest Framework
  • Brushed up on python 3 after years of only knowing python 2
  • Reinforced my knowledge of Apache2 and general web configuration
  • Set up this website and blog after delaying it for 3 years
  • Upgraded my Linux server from 16.04 to 20.04 and cleaned up many obsolete packages
  • Picked up Vuejs, a decision I'm so far very happy with, and started learning its underlying support packages (axios, vuex, etc)

And also will have completed and deployed the new builder 'Single Page Application' for the Safeharbour apps, which will be a big usability win for all Safeharbour customers, who'll at long last be able to 'self service' minor text changes throughout the app.

Really learning the concepts of single page applications (SPAs from here forwards) has been easier than I'd have expected. I'm not saying that Django and Vue are the 'perfect framework combo', but I like opinionated frameworks. I like when there is generally ONE right way to do something, or that I'm at least guided towards efficiency rather than being handed enough rope to hang myself. Django is very opinionated, and while I sometimes get lost in the abstractions when the abstractions don't work for my use case, it's amazing exactly all it saves you. I like working with 'models' and the ORM system. I like its URL router and how mature the whole package is. And now that I'm not tied to the Django template language, the one part of the langague I dislike, I feel a love for webdesign I haven't felt in awhile.

As far as the 12 month challenge goes, back-end tools are very important for any online game, and while I may not use Django/DRF/Vuejs for serious projects (I'd likely use a service back-end like Playfab for that), the principals I learned are all sound and for simpler arcade-y games, I think it'll prove very valuable.