I’ve been using Google AppEngine since it was realized. It’s been useful from time to time.

On of the main reasons I wanted to used AppEngine (besides that I love using Python) was the scalability and that the issue was taken out of the equation (and before November 2011it was relatively cheep). Factors that all pointed to the fact that AppEngine was great for startups.

The where drawbacks with the platform, it was limited on which libraries you where allowed to use, you couldn’t do joins in the database and you needed to learn new ways to work around these limitation which wasn’t a problem because it was something you would have to consider anyway if you wanted to scale. So for me that is a geek I found this exciting to work with.

Well, I have gained another perspective. With the Lean Startup movement the speed of getting a idea to the market and test it has become more important. And as I find myself fighting with with limitations before I’m even launched I have realized that this isn’t the way forward for my projects. Well, I am myself part to blame, I have a background in building tools (CMS and web frameworks) and also often end-up focusing on the wrong tasks.

Well I need to change and that means I need easier tools. A short search on Python frameworks gives a clear indication that Django is the most popular framework ( by a factor  of above 100). And I need to start using a SQL-based server, at least for early development.

If my projects end up needing to scale, that will be a luxury problem and I will embrace that with enthusiasm. But for now I need to move quickly and get things released.