I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of self-hosting modern web applications (if you look under the surface!)

Most modern web applications are designed to basically run standalone on a server. Integration into an existing environment a real challenge if not impossible. They often come with their own set of requirements and dependencies that don’t easily align with an established infrastructure.

“So you have an already running and fully configured web server? Too bad for you, bind me to port 443 or GTFO. Reverse-proxying by subdomain? Never heard of that. I won’t work. Deal with it. Oh, and your TLS certificates? Screw them, I ship my own!”

Attempting to merge everything together requires meticulous planning, extensive configuration, and often annoying development work and finding workarounds.

Modern web applications, with their elusive promises of flexibility and power, have instead become a source of maddening frustration when not being the only application that is served.

My frustration about this is real. Self-hosting modern web applications is an uphill battle, not only in terms of technology but also when it comes to setting up the hosting environment.

I just want to drop some PHP files into a directory and call it a day. A PHP interpreter and a simple HTTP server – that’s all I want to need for hosting my applications.

  • MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Docker containers do pretty much solve that, drop a docker-compose.yml file in place, maybe tweak a few lines, and that’s all.

    • 𝘋𝘪𝘳𝘬@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      0·
      1 year ago

      Yes, containers could be the way – if every applications would come in a container or it were super easy to containerize them without the applications knowing it.

      Can I run half a dozen of applications in containers that all need port 443 and how annoying is it to set it up?

  • grin@grinnit.grin.huEnglish
    11·
    1 year ago

    Not sure what’s the problem though. Pull up a reverse proxy, and give all the crappy shit a private ip and whatever port they want, and access it through the proxy, and everyone can be on 443. 127.42.1.123:443, whatever. Maybe use real containers, or that crappy docker shit, both offer you independent namespaces with all the port and whatnot.