Broadly speaking: a developer-centric Airtable. A low/no-code environment to create and manage your database combined with a top-notch SDK that is automatically generated and easily accesible from within the UI. The idea being that a frontend developer or hobbyist with no backend/database/sql knowledge whatsoever could easily get a properly functioning database up and running for a (fairly) complex app.
Thanks for the feedback. I'll share this with the team.
In the long-term we definitely want to be as easy to use as Airtable. We won't ever build a DSL on top of SQL, but we think we can create a UI that gives 90% simple use-cases and then you only need to reach for SQL for the remaining 10%, or as an escape hatch for advanced use-cases.
~~In case it wasn't clear already from our site: we already have an Airtable-like UI, SDKs, auto-generated APIs (which you can use to auto-generate your own SDKs) - perhaps these aren't yet as simple as you imagine they could be?~~
e: I see you responded to a sibling comment. I have sent a link to the team with your feedback
> The idea being that a frontend developer or hobbyist with no backend/database/sql knowledge whatsoever could easily get a properly functioning database up and running for a (fairly) complex app.
So, Microsoft Access for the web?
Believe it or not there was a time in the late 90s you could nearly HyperCard for the web using low code “wizards”.
Not sure what happened, maybe server-side JavaScript or things like Django and Ruby on Rails released a pressure valve.
For one thing the fact that you can't really properly use Supabase (apart from some very basic functionality) without having at least some knowledge of SQL, postgres and databases in general. IMO you'd even need fairly in-depth SQL knowledge to understand the Supabase docs and examples.
I mean to push back a bit on this -- they have a pretty intuitive GUI that they've open sourced for working with the database at a less SQL-focused level. It isn't exhaustive but for basic things like adding / editing columns, or database policies, it's pretty nice.
That's not to say there isn't room for improvement, but if you look at the github issues on all their repos, and the commits that have come out in the last few months, it's pretty clear they're pushing the way you want them to go RE simplifying the more complicated pieces down to manageable chunks.
I’m not saying it’s a bug. But I wouldn’t call it a feature either, but rather an obstacle in the way of a better/easier/faster/more enjoyable developer experience.