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#7 – James Long: Actual Budget, Hybrid Logical Clocks & Absurd-SQL

Apr 9, 2024
In this episode, James Long, creator of Actual Budget and Absurd-SQL, discusses building Actual Budget, implementing syncing solutions, transitioning to different platforms, and bringing SQLite to the browser. Topics include using SQLite in Electron apps, collaboration in local-first apps, challenges in desktop-mobile app integration, and navigating async issues in WebAssembly. The conversation also explores the evolution of web development, programming models, and the role of React.
01:34:11

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Building Actual Budget involved creating a syncing solution and expanding to mobile/web platforms with re-used code.
  • Absurd SQL aimed to overcome web data storage limitations by replicating SQL Lite functionality in IndexDB.

Deep dives

Transition from Electron App to Web Development

The speaker expressed a desire to raise industry standards and criticized certain aspects of web development. This led to a transition from building an Electron app to exploring development on the web. The challenge of bringing SQL Lite, a key component of the Electron app, to the web was overcome by leveraging WebAssembly and SQL.js for data storage in IndexDB, replicating the file system behavior of SQL Lite in the browser.

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