ClojureStream Podcast E96 Datomic at Shortcut with Francis Avila
Nov 15, 2023
Francis Avila, a Clojure enthusiast from Shortcut, shares his unique journey from philosophy to web development. He highlights the transformative power of Clojure and Datomic in achieving software clarity, particularly in medical tech. The discussion dives into Shortcut's innovative project management tools, contrasting them with traditional approaches. Francis also explores transitioning to a GraphQL architecture, touching on performance improvements and the complexities of unique ID management. He wraps up by addressing the challenges of Datomic upgrades and the role of Clojure in bridging solutions.
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Early Exotic Tech and Clojure Start
- Francis started using Clojure about eight years ago after a stint in PHP and consulting.
- He worked on an XML annotation project for earmarks at the Cato Institute, showing his early experimentation with exotic tech.
Immutability and Datomic Appeal
- Immutability in Clojure matched Francis' need for safer data handling learned in PHP.
- Datomic showed practical use of triple-inspired database for common applications, sparking his enthusiasm.
Shortcut: A Different Project Tool
- Shortcut is a web project management tool, blending features from Trello and Jira.
- Built by engineers frustrated with existing tools, it focuses on knowledge and reliability, using Clojure and Datomic backend.