This blog post explains why the author chose C to build their personal website. Motivated by a desire for a fun, challenging project and greater control over performance and resource usage, they opted against higher-level frameworks. While acknowledging C's complexity and development time, the author highlights the benefits of minimal dependencies, small executable size, and the learning experience gained. Ultimately, the decision was driven by personal preference and the satisfaction derived from crafting a website from scratch using a language they enjoy.
Manus is a simple, self-hosted web application designed for taking and managing notes. It focuses on speed, minimal interface, and ease of use, prioritizing keyboard navigation and a distraction-free writing environment. The application allows users to create, edit, and organize notes in a hierarchical structure, and supports Markdown formatting. It's built with Python and SQLite and emphasizes a small codebase for maintainability and portability.
Hacker News users discussing "Leave It to Manus" largely praised the clarity and concision of the writing, with several appreciating the author's ability to distill complex ideas into an easily digestible format. Some questioned the long-term viability of relying solely on individual effort to affect large-scale change, expressing skepticism about individual action's effectiveness against systemic issues. Others pointed out the potential for burnout when individuals shoulder the burden of responsibility, suggesting a need for collective action and systemic solutions alongside individual initiatives. A few comments highlighted the importance of the author's message about personal responsibility and the need to avoid learned helplessness, particularly in the face of overwhelming challenges. The philosophical nature of the piece also sparked a discussion about determinism versus free will and the role of individual agency in shaping outcomes.
The IndieWeb is a community and movement focused on reclaiming ownership and control of your online identity and content by building and using personal websites. It emphasizes using open web standards and technologies to connect your site to the broader web, allowing for independent publishing, sharing, and interaction without relying on centralized platforms. This approach promotes personal expression, data portability, and interconnectedness through a variety of tools and philosophies, empowering individuals to own their online presence.
Hacker News users discussed the merits and challenges of the IndieWeb, prompted by a blog post aggregator. Several commenters expressed appreciation for the concept of owning your own content and controlling your online presence. Some highlighted the technical hurdles and time commitment involved in setting up and maintaining an IndieWeb site, contrasting it with the ease of use of mainstream platforms. Others debated the discoverability of IndieWeb content and whether its decentralized nature hinders its growth. The conversation also touched upon the tension between the IndieWeb's philosophy and the network effects of larger platforms, along with the potential for bridging the gap between the two. A few users shared their personal experiences with the IndieWeb, both positive and negative. The overall sentiment leaned towards cautious optimism, acknowledging the IndieWeb's ideals while recognizing the practical obstacles to widespread adoption.
Summary of Comments ( 32 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43526058
Hacker News users generally praised the author's technical skills and the site's performance, with several expressing admiration for the clean code and minimalist approach. Some questioned the practicality and maintainability of using C for a website, particularly regarding long-term development and potential security risks. Others discussed the benefits of learning C and low-level programming, while some debated the performance advantages compared to other languages and frameworks. A few users shared their own experiences with similar projects and alternative approaches to achieving high performance. A significant point of discussion was the lack of server-side rendering, which some felt hindered the site's SEO.
The Hacker News post "Why Is This Site Built with C" generated a moderate amount of discussion with a variety of perspectives on the author's choice of C for their website.
Several commenters focused on the performance aspects. Some agreed with the author that C offers significant performance advantages, particularly for a static site, leading to faster loading times and reduced server load. They pointed out that the simplicity of C and lack of complex frameworks can contribute to this efficiency. However, others argued that while C can be incredibly performant, it's not inherently so, and achieving those benefits requires careful optimization and coding practices. They suggested that other languages and frameworks, while potentially less performant at their peak, are often easier to optimize to a sufficient level of performance for a typical website.
Another thread of discussion revolved around the maintainability and development experience. Some commenters appreciated the author's minimalist approach and the learning opportunity presented by using C. They saw it as a refreshing alternative to more complex web development stacks. However, others expressed concern about the long-term maintainability of a C-based website. They pointed out the potential difficulties in debugging, updating, and scaling such a site, particularly compared to more modern frameworks that offer built-in tools and libraries. They also highlighted the increased risk of security vulnerabilities if the C code isn't meticulously written and audited.
A few commenters questioned the practicality of using C for web development in general, arguing that the time and effort required to build and maintain a C-based site outweigh the potential performance benefits. They suggested that the author's choice might be more of a personal project or learning exercise rather than a practical solution for most web developers.
There was also some discussion about the specific technical details of the author's implementation, including their use of a custom HTTP server and templating engine. Some commenters expressed interest in the author's approach, while others suggested alternative libraries or frameworks that could simplify the process.
Finally, a few commenters simply expressed admiration for the author's unconventional approach and their willingness to explore different technologies. They saw it as a reminder that there's more than one way to build a website, and that sometimes choosing a less common technology can lead to interesting results.