Web App Creation Toolchain with CSS/HTML/Javascript

Question

I want to create a score keeping app that allows me to enter scores into the app, save score history by user, and have a webpage that can display the score in real-time as well as pump out some stats on previous games.

I've been doing some front-end development the past few years and I would say that my CSS/HTML/Javascript skills are intermediate. I have a rough game plan on how it would work, but having very little backend experience there are some gaps in my knowledge that I need help with.

The app: I would build it with what I know: CSS/HTML/Javascript. I would it to be assessable via a webpage or native app. The plan for the latter was putting it through PhoneGap.

Database: SQL? This is were I would save the scores.

The webpage: This is where things get tricky. I need live reporting for the current game status. Web sockets?

I would use a Javascript graphing library to create charts of stats based on current and previous game history. I need that data to be automatically refreshed (AJAX) but how would I do that with a SQL/JS interaction?

Also, ideally the graphs on the webpage would allow visitors to copy and paste iframe code so they can paste the stuff into their own website. I don't even know where to get started with that.

I'm not sure if I'm even asking the right questions so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Since you're a front-end developer I think you'll really like http://nobackend.org/

There are a number of Back-end as a Service solutions which handle both data persistence and data synchronising across multiple devices.

These solutions answer your SQL and WebSockets questions. You could implement these yourself using either open source solutions or by combining a number of services. But I'd give the BaaS options a go.