Show HN: Key-Value Store API, No Subscription Needed | Hacker News Reader

Show HN: Key-Value Store API, No Subscription Needed

echovalue.dev

6 pointsemiliano3 comments

The programming profession defies parody. First isOdd and leftPad, now this.

Seriously, if you can't install redis or something just like it, or just store a map as JSON in a file and read that, you can't call yourself a programmer.

Hi, as a solo developer, I often need to save data through serverless functions. I'm not looking to set up and pay for a database, nor do I want to install an SDK and use NoSQL cloud services, especially for straightforward use cases like for ex "cron" scripts. I was searching for a simple and direct API call.

The concept of 'storing a map as JSON' in a serverless context usually translates to saving or reading a file in a bucket, like S3 or GCS, but then again, this brings us back to waste time installing and managing an SDK.

Got your point, and for larger projects, a more structured approach definitely makes sense. However, I often find myself needing something like this, so I went ahead and built it.

To each their own, I guess. I don't see how "serverless" makes any sense when you can set up a cloud instance for a few dollars a month, or free on AWS/GCP/Aurora with their free tiers. If you have even a tiny Raspberry Pi-scale cloud server you can serve APIs or web pages and store JSON files or run SQLite or Redis. And you will pay the same $0 - $7/mo regardless of API requests, unlike the serverless model where cost scales directly with traffic (leading to unpredictable bills every month).

I get that not everyone wants to install packages and SDKs or look up the two or three lines of code needed to save a file to S3. But if you do need real data storage, or everything a real server can provide, I think it's good to know how to do that. I think starting with serverless is like starting with instant microwave meals -- you get stuck with low-quality and high-cost food and never learn how to cook.

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