Google App Engine x Parse
Read on to get a sense of comparison between Google App Engine and Parse. The major differences are highlighted below:
- Google App engine is a PaaS – Platform as a Service.
- Parse is a BaaS – Backend as a Service.
- Google App engine supports Python, Java, PHP.
- Parse supports Node.Js.
- Google App engine is proprietary.
- Parse has an Open Source version called Parse Server.
- Both have NoSQL databases.
Parse
In 2011, Parse was accelerated by Y Combinator and in Nov 2011 received a Series A investment from several investors. In 2013 Facebook acquired Parse for $ 85M. Parse is BaaS – Backend as a Service platform which provides SDK’s for building mobile backends for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, iOS, Android, JavaScript, and OS X. With Parse, developers can add a scalable backend in minutes and launch a full-featured mobile or web app in record time without ever worrying about server management. Parse offers push notifications, social integration, data storage, and the ability to add rich custom logic to your app’s backend with Cloud Code.
Facebook will shut down Parse hosting services in 2017 and released in the beginning of 2016 an Open Source version of the platform which is called Parse Server. Developers can no longer rely on Facebook´s hosting services to use Parse and need to use a Parse hosting provider like Back4App or self-host Parse Server.
The main features of Parse Server are detailed below.
| Features | Parse | Parse Server |
| Local development & testing | No | Yes |
| Flexible Hosting (USA, Europe, Asia, etc) | No | Yes |
| Control over database (backup / restore) | No | Yes |
| Control over database indexes | No | Yes |
| Query more than 1000 objects | No | Yes |
| Store files elsewhere (CDN) | No | Yes |
| Enforced time limits | No | Yes |
| Open Source | No | Yes |
| External contributions | No | Yes |
| Analytics | Yes | No |
| Authentication | Yes | Yes |
| Config | Yes | No |
| Push Notification | Yes | No |
| Data Browser | Yes | Yes |
| In App Purchase Receipt Validation | Yes | No |
| Background Jobs | Yes | No |
| System E-mails | Yes | No |
| Schema API | Yes | Yes |
| Webhooks | Yes | No |
| Uptime monitoring | Yes | No |
| Logs | Yes | Yes |
| Dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Queries | Yes | Yes |
| Users | Yes | Yes |
| Sessions | Yes | Yes |
| Roles | Yes | Yes |
| Files | Yes | Yes |
| Geopoints | Yes | Yes |
| Data Browser | Yes | Yes |
Google App Engine
Google App Engine is a cloud computing PaaS – Platform as a Service hosted at Google datacenters and which allow the development of scalable web and mobile apps using Python, Java and PHP. The App Engine is part of Google Cloud Platform which also comprehends Compute Engine, Container Engine, Container Registry, Cloud Functions and Storage / Databases.
The main features of Google App Engine are specified below.
|
Description |
Google App Engine |
|
User Authentication |
Yes |
|
Languages |
Python, PHP, Java |
|
Database |
NoSQL |
|
Google Cloud SQL |
Yes |
|
MemCache |
Yes |
|
Security Scanner |
Yes |
|
Search |
Yes |
|
Task Scheduling |
Yes |
|
Email API |
Yes |
|
Virtual IPs |
Yes |
Google App Engine x Parse
The table below details the main differences between both platforms.
|
Description |
Parse |
Google App Engine |
|
PaaS Platform as s Service |
No |
Yes |
|
BaaS Backend as a Service |
Yes |
No |
|
Open Source Version |
Yes |
No |
|
Hosting Providers |
Back4App and Others |
|
|
Hosting Location |
Several
AWS, Azure, Digital Ocean |
Google Cloud |
|
Develop Mobile Apps |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Develop Web Apps |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Autoscaling |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Free Tier |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Programming Languages |
Node.Js |
Python, Java, PHP |
|
Database |
NoSQL |
NoSQL |
