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Opinions on Parse for iOS development

  • 16-10-2013 09:06AM
    #1
    stopandstare
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭


    Hi all,
    I'm considering stacks for an LBS iOS app that I am working on. So far the main option I can see is MongoDB, Node.js & either native or Titanium for the front end.

    I recently came across www.parse.com which looks like a really great alternative to take care of the back end and api, is highly scalable & quick to develop. I am not a developer so I will need to outsource the work and being a startup finance & deadlines are tight. I've not met anyone yet in Dublin or Ireland who has experience with Parse and I would really love to hear opinions on it!

    Thanks for your help guys,
    SnS
    Tagged:


Comments

  • #2
    Graham
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 17,642 Mod ✭✭✭✭Graham


    I tried Parse for the back-end of a Titanium app a while back, was really impressed with it. The biggest down-side I can see is vendor lock-in (the same as many BAAS/MBAAS products), I also have (very slight admittedly) reservations about the direction Parse.com will take now that it's owned by Facebook.

    If you're looking for custom domains with Parse.com you're also talking about a $199 per month starting figure which rapidly erodes the value of the low-cost (free) starting point.

    There's plenty of alternatives out there, you're not just limited to Parse or MongoDB/Node. There's also dozens of other BAAS/MBAAS products as well as the traditional php/.net/sql/mysql.

    One of the things to keep in mind the cost/availability of developers. As you've already discovered, there's not many with Parse.com and the like.

    TLDR;
    I wouldn't exclude Parse.com as a solution but the steep jumps in price, vendor lock-in and availability of skilled resources would have me considering other options too.


  • #3
    stopandstare
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28 ✭stopandstare


    Cheers Graham - really interesting take on it, I'll keep that in mind.

    How did you find Titanium?

    SnS


  • #4
    Graham
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 17,642 Mod ✭✭✭✭Graham


    It's the least compromised of the cross-platform solutions.

    Assuming you're not talking about mobile games, it's a great product that can cope with most things you throw at it. Native apps are still the best solution for some Apps though.

    Don't make the mistake of thinking it's a write-once, run anywhere solution though. It's more along the lines of write once and 75-70% of it will run anywhere :)

    What are you looking at for your LBS, is it GPS based or are you considering iBeacon? I think we're going to see some really, really interesting products built around iBeacons in the next year or two.


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