The Journey from Desktop to Web

Background

Some years ago, I created a desktop app using an unknown RAD tool (Framework Plus). So I’m not quite a beginner, but I quickly realized that the future was — and still is — the web. At that time, my web development experience was limited to WordPress, Drupal, and a touch of PHP.

Framework Fatigue - New Version Hell

Frustration. With every new version of the framework, many things stopped working, and I had to spend weeks or even months fixing new bugs. Because so much was hidden behind the framework's "magic", I couldn’t solve these issues on my own.

Framework Fatigue - The Heavy Backpack

Overload. Every framework I know, comes with "battery included", meaning that all you ever will need is already in place. Just to use. The framework backpack will carry a lawn mover, a hammer etc, but you use only the small screwdriver. Meaning that the backpack may have portions of Gigabyte to load.

Framework Fatigue - Dependency Hell

Confusion. f course a framework have not everything built in. There are small libraries that should be updated and maintained separately by some other vendor?. So not even the main vendor know why it stops working.

Investigating the Options

After years of fatigue, I realized the only cure was simplicity. I needed tools that wouldn not exhaust me with every update. Therefore, I began looking for tools that could stand the test of time — tools that would not break my app with every new release. Long-term maintenance became my top priority. I wanted something lightweight, reliable, and not a burden to carry on this long journey. Think of it as choosing a backpack for decades of travel: the lighter, the better.

Why this blog/tutorial?

This hub is my way of turning fatigue into clarity — documenting the lessons learned so others can avoid the same traps. And of course remind myself to stay in course.

Lesson learned: The heavier the backpack, the faster fatigue sets in — more maintenance, more server power and higher cost.