We don't even use relations, so this essentially means that we are paying a hefty price for something that we don't actually need. A much simpler solution would be to have used MongoDB together with Spring Data, where we can still have caching and object mapping.
We can also easily leverage reactive streams with reactive Spring Data. Technically you could also use JDBC in a reactive manner, but it looks unlikely to work with the frameworks we use with Postgres.
Schemata are good things. Migrations are the database insisting on tedious bureaucratic nonsense like "don't blow your foot off" and "don't regret this later".
> Technically you could also use JDBC in a reactive manner, but it looks unlikely to work with the frameworks we use with Postgres.
The Spring team are pretty keen on removing that gap: http://r2dbc.io/
JIC, this is exactly what I meant with "paying that debt upfront". If your model does turn out to be relational and you don't have this, you are going to get burnt, badly.
So, in stages:
- Database: Postgres (you could start with any relational DB, Postgres is just one of the best). It's very, very likely that your model is gonna be relational so better pay that debt upfront. Don't even consider NoSQL this early; we're paying a heavy price on my current job because the initial developers bought that non-relational databases were better at prototyping. Worry about NoSQL and consider switching to any of those if you see, once you release, that the type of data you're handling is more of a stream of mostly independent records than an actual model.
- Like I said, make sure that you actually need an SPA. It's likely that you don't and in that case you can get away with using Django; it gives you pretty much everything you could possibly need.
- If you're dead set on a SPA, go for a more lightweight framework geared towards creating REST APIs. The usual recommendation is flask with any of the rest extensions, but there are other options such as falcon or molten (which is recent, but really well designed).
- Since this is a SPA, use Vue. I find it to be leagues ahead of the js frameworks when it comes to striking a balance between power, expressiveness and ease of use. Much like Flask in the backend, for that matter.
- Dockerize. I don't like promoting a specific tool in this area but docker will make it very easy to develop and deploy your application (also makes it easier to implement the usual suspects like a reverse proxy, a queue, a cache, etc) without having to rely --and thus essentially marry-- any specific tool provided by a given cloud platform.
- Use gitlab for version control. They give continuous integration and private repos for free out of the box.