Comparative study

Welcome to the documentation for the “Area” project! Area is a versatile automation platform that allows you to create actions, reactions, and triggers to automate various tasks similar to Zapier. This guide will walk you through the deployment of the “Area” project and explain how to create and trigger workflows.

Comparative study

React js selection

Our selection of the React.js language for the AREA project was primarily driven by its ease of testing and our existing familiarity with the React Native framework, which we had utilized earlier in the year. The transition between the two frameworks was seamless, requiring minimal adaptation time, as we didn’t have to invest additional time in learning a completely new language. Regarding frontend considerations, PHP could have been a viable option; however, given its somewhat antiquated nature, it was not deemed suitable for our specific needs. It’s important to note that PHP struggles to handle a large number of applications, posing potential challenges for a project focused on creating a system of actions and reactions with various services.

Elixir selection

As for Elixir, it falls within the realm of functional programming languages. We opted to explore this path because we had a subsequent project involving a functional language, and our decision was driven by the desire to not only acquaint ourselves with the language but also to gain practical experience with this type of programming. Furthermore, Elixir’s optimization capabilities made it an ideal choice among functional languages, as it can efficiently process vast amounts of data within short timeframes. Given our objective of developing a highly optimized application, this consideration extended to our choice of a suitable database.

Flutter selection

We have choosed Flutter for the mobile part mainly because using Flutter, developers can also benefit from a smooth development experience thanks to its integrated debugging and testing tools. All these tools are free of charge and install quickly on your personal computer. It is also very easy to export one application to your mobile phone or your tablet with an optimised version. In fact, once your development is complete, all you have to do is ask Flutter to export your application to the platform of your choice. The tool will compile a performance-optimized version, compatible with smartphones of all brands. With only one code, you can do an export to a lot of devices such as internet websites, mobiles, tablets, desktops (Windows or Linux). Its large deployability is a great advantage for the project in addition to the optimisation.