dynamic file store service

[gedw99]

I am wondering if we have any store API for images and storing them.

Often you want to add a row to the DB, that "references" where the uploaded image is.

An example of this could be the current "Bookmarks" example app , where you want to upload a Screenshot image to represent the URL you bookmarked.

The URL field int he DB, would reference the Image UUID ( if thats what we used for the image file name the server. So the Link is established.

Linking a DB row to a Image file is such a common Pattern, that we could later even formalise in some way.

[akclace]

There is no support for file storage in the database through API currently. Static file are stored in the database but that happens during app reload. For file storage api, storing in database is one option. Other option is to support load to S3 like storage.

[gedw99]

so you think its a good idea in general though ? I think it's a pretty common need.

storing in the DB will not really scale IMHO. But its good for small apps with few files being uploaded or changed.

s3 is certainly one good option, But sill need to link back to the DB I guess.

Local disk is also another of course, with a link back to the DB, so the files are indexed and searchable via their "meta data"

[akclace]

Sorry, missed responding earlier.

Purely Starlark based apps will always have limitations. Not every library will have a plugin and and the types of APIs which can be exposed through Starlark are limited. The plan is to support developing backend applications in any language/framework and run them as containers through Clace. Clace will either just act as a reverse proxy or Clace can be used to develop a hypermedia based UI based on the APIs exposed by the backend service. The current work being done is to make the container management features more robust.

For some use cases, like for apps to monitor and manage the Clace server itself, purely Starlark driven apps will be useful. The plugins required for that will be added. File storage seems like something which should be handled by the backend service, so not adding a plugin for that right now.

Ultimately, the aim is to make Clace a platform for deploying web apps, especially for internal tools. Over time the pure Starlark plugins might grow since there are some security/performance/portability advantages to using a plugin rather than using a container based backend.