Trying To Be Full-Stack…
Hi everyone! Lately, I have been taking a short break from writing posts to write code for a side project. However, I want to document my ideas and progress on this project that I have been tinkering for a few years. Kind souls can look at the things at the end of this post to help me nudge my project towards a higher chance of success!
Previously, I wrote about my proof-of-concept (PoC) web app to show which Singapore libraries have the books that you bookmarked [here, here, and here], where I launched my latest iteration on Streamlit’s free online hosting platform for people to use freely. The current version uses the API service by NLB, which gave me a more stable and efficient web app that I was comfortable to share online for others to try.
However, to fulfil the criteria for the full NLB production API access, I need to share with NLB my intentions for using their API. So, to substantiate my application for this full API, I am trying to develop a full-fledged web app from scratch.
Developing a web app from scratch
The tricky thing is that I don’t really know how to develop my own web app from scratch. So, the first thing I took an online course from the NLB’s Udemy Business account on how to develop a web app using FastAPI. I chose FastAPI because it is built on Python, which is a programming language that I am familiar with as a data analyst.
And while I still had to google quite a bit once I transitioned from the course’s textbook app to building my own web app, the Udemy course did provide me with some foundation to set up what I need.
At the point of this writing, I am roughly 70% and 50% done with my backend and frontend respectively. Once I have a working prototype, I will reach out to the NLB team in hopes of securing my full production API access, before I learn how to deploy my app online again for everyone to use. If this app gains any bit of traction, I would be keen to build other features, such as a books recommendation system, and integrating the NLB’s ebook system.
Call To Action (to you)
While working on the web app, my bigger concern is if there is any demand for this service. Hence, I like to spread the word about this project to estimate people’s interest in it:
- If you borrow physical books from the Singapore library and bookmark them (use “Favourites”), please test my PoC app.
- If you like it, use it.
- If you like the idea and want access to the full-fledged web app when its done, please sign up here. Knowing someone wants the web app will keep me motivated.
- Please help share this post so that it can reach more people if you are interested to see this side project succeed.
- Hit me up if you just want to chat about this project, tech or just data analytics in general.
Concluding thoughts
There are still many unknowns that can cause this project to fail, but I am certain that this is a good use case for me to experience life as a solo full-stack developer.
