Cloud, Why So Difficult?

This page summarizes the projects mentioned and recommended in the original post on /r/programming

Our great sponsors
  • WorkOS - The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS
  • InfluxDB - Power Real-Time Data Analytics at Scale
  • SaaSHub - Software Alternatives and Reviews
  • dark

    Darklang main repo, including language, backend, and infra

  • First it was probably Dark. They made a lot of noise some years ago, but then I never heard of them again (looking at their current website, looks like they moved on to AI now, obviously).

  • wing

    A programming language for the cloud ☁️ A unified programming model, combining infrastructure and runtime code into one language ⚡

  • In this insightful article, Elad Ben-Israel, the mind behind the CDK, shares his love for the cloud, but also his frustrations with the complexity of building cloud applications. The challenges he identifies include:1. Focus on non-functional mechanics: The need to understand and manage cloud platform mechanics instead of focusing on building valuable features for users.2. Lack of independence: Developers often need to rely on others to handle parts of the deployment process or to resolve issues, interrupting their work flow.3. Delayed feedback: The current iteration cycle in cloud development can take minutes or even longer, significantly slowing down the development process and making it harder for developers to stay in their flow state.## It's not just a rantElad is not just ranting about cloud development. He proposes a solution in the form of a programming language for the cloud. This language would treat the entire cloud as its computer. The language compiler will be able to see the complete cloud application, unbound by the limits of individual machines. Such a compiler would be able to handle a significant portion of the application's non-functional aspects, enabling developers to operate at a more abstract level, thus reducing complexity and promoting autonomy. Moreover, it could expedite iteration cycles by allowing to compile applications to quick local simulators during the development process. ## The Winglang ProjectElad reveals that he's in the process of developing such an open-source, “cloud-oriented” language, dubbed Winglang. Wing aims to improve the developer experience of cloud applications by enabling developers to build distributed systems that leverage cloud services as first-class citizens. This is achieved by integrating infrastructure and application code in a secure, unified programming model. Wing programs can be executed locally via a fully-functional simulator or deployed to any cloud provider.## My Interest in WinglangI, together with a group of dedicated contributors, joined forces with Elad to develop Winglang.While still in Alpha and not yet ready for production use, it's already possible to build some real applications.Check out https://github.com/winglang/wing for more details.

  • WorkOS

    The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS. The APIs are flexible and easy-to-use, supporting authentication, user identity, and complex enterprise features like SSO and SCIM provisioning.

    WorkOS logo
  • research

    Language research sketchbook (by winglang)

  • In this insightful article, Elad Ben-Israel, the mind behind the CDK, shares his love for the cloud, but also his frustrations with the complexity of building cloud applications. The challenges he identifies include:1. Focus on non-functional mechanics: The need to understand and manage cloud platform mechanics instead of focusing on building valuable features for users.2. Lack of independence: Developers often need to rely on others to handle parts of the deployment process or to resolve issues, interrupting their work flow.3. Delayed feedback: The current iteration cycle in cloud development can take minutes or even longer, significantly slowing down the development process and making it harder for developers to stay in their flow state.## It's not just a rantElad is not just ranting about cloud development. He proposes a solution in the form of a programming language for the cloud. This language would treat the entire cloud as its computer. The language compiler will be able to see the complete cloud application, unbound by the limits of individual machines. Such a compiler would be able to handle a significant portion of the application's non-functional aspects, enabling developers to operate at a more abstract level, thus reducing complexity and promoting autonomy. Moreover, it could expedite iteration cycles by allowing to compile applications to quick local simulators during the development process. ## The Winglang ProjectElad reveals that he's in the process of developing such an open-source, “cloud-oriented” language, dubbed Winglang. Wing aims to improve the developer experience of cloud applications by enabling developers to build distributed systems that leverage cloud services as first-class citizens. This is achieved by integrating infrastructure and application code in a secure, unified programming model. Wing programs can be executed locally via a fully-functional simulator or deployed to any cloud provider.## My Interest in WinglangI, together with a group of dedicated contributors, joined forces with Elad to develop Winglang.While still in Alpha and not yet ready for production use, it's already possible to build some real applications.Check out https://github.com/winglang/wing for more details.

  • SSVM

    WasmEdge is a lightweight, high-performance, and extensible WebAssembly runtime for cloud native, edge, and decentralized applications. It powers serverless apps, embedded functions, microservices, smart contracts, and IoT devices.

  • There has also been a few "cloud-native" runtimes based on WASM, like WasmEdge but there's a few others (can't remember their names!)...

  • nballerina

    Ballerina compiler that generates native executables.

  • Ballerina actually showed some innovative ways to do it and is an interesting language to keep an eye on... finally, Unison decided to focus on its cloud offering and seamless distributed functional programming. Also a really cool language.

  • InfluxDB

    Power Real-Time Data Analytics at Scale. Get real-time insights from all types of time series data with InfluxDB. Ingest, query, and analyze billions of data points in real-time with unbounded cardinality.

    InfluxDB logo
NOTE: The number of mentions on this list indicates mentions on common posts plus user suggested alternatives. Hence, a higher number means a more popular project.

Suggest a related project

Related posts