API developers are in a lively dispute over the respective advantages and limitations of the Firebase and Parse Backend as a Service (BaaS) platforms. Now Facebook’s decision to make Parse code open source adds more fuel to these fires of developer debate. Does this status change disarm the arguments of Parse proponents and push the balance in favor of Firebase, or perhaps it works in the opposite direction?
The Backend as a Service (BaaS) market has mushroomed over the past five years. App developers find that using BaaS services frees them to focus on the more inspiring aspects of their profession. They have therefore rushed to entrust BaaS service providers with those less glamorous but nevertheless all so vital development tasks. For example, BaaS offers a highly effective way of handling server coding, database hosting, backup and other tasks that create and maintain the supporting environment app development requires. “Backend” is a most appropriate choice of word since these activities provide the framework within which the more exciting app development tasks are implemented. When these activities are managed by a third party the developer has much more time to devote to the innovations that make new apps so appealing.
To better understand the growing appeal of third-party API provider offerings, we will take a closer look at an exciting new entrant to this vibrant market — the California-based www.back4app.com. They have just released a new back4app API Hub that allows developers to create easily, deploy, host and share APIs completely free of charge. The rapidly increasing pace of API development and the growing recognition of the commercial advantages of easy access to third-party API resources provide the hub’s raison d’être. The interest it has generated clearly testifies to the stress API developers now place on reducing development cycle time and its associated expenses.
