Matt Schultz, just FYI

Been hammering away at a Git to Notion integration:

1) Write docs as code
(as part of your normal dev workflow).

2) Push changes.

3) Docs are synced to Notion.

4) Now any team can read, search, ask AI!

I briefly hoped I could create a hierarchy of nested links to traverse a parent/child database.

But the API turned me down :(

Can't think of a single use for this in Notion...

But you can add a child page to a link block in the sidebar.

And it doesn't appear anywhere else 🤯

YouTube video by Matt Schultz Creating an audit log for Notion databases

Here's the walkthrough: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQM4...

The Updates & Analytics panel sometimes misses this info, and it can get lost in a sea of content changes.

This approach is easier to read and you can choose which properties you care about.

Creating an audit log in Notion databases.

Just created an ~8min walkthrough. The basic idea is:

- Create a second database as your log.
- Use an automation to save changes to it.
- Use a custom layout to display those in the database page.

Watching blocks slowly being deleted and repopulated is odd for users currently reading it.

But it's better than creating a new page and deleting the old, which would break bookmarks.

Syncing a Markdown file to an existing Notion page.

With an image.

I didn't stay up on new year's for that very reason! And I'm still an hour or two off.

Syncing developer-written docs to Notion?

A quick POC.

YouTube video by Matt Schultz 3 ways to bulk update properties in Notion (large databases)

I've found myself using the database option a lot.

Especially in combination with formulas for updating values.

Here's a full walkthrough: youtu.be/2DzuUOlzk4E

3. Database automation.

Same as the button, but do it as a temporary database automation triggered on creating a page.

Create temp pages until all are done. Then delete temp pages and automation.

Pro: Can workaround the 1000 limit.

Cons: Requires setup and cleanup.

2. Button automation.

Create a button that updates the relevant database, then... press it :P

Pro: Repeatable.

Cons: Won't work if more than 1000 pages match.

1. Scrolling.

Literally just scroll and use the built-in bulk functionality.

Pro: No setup.

Cons: Max ~1000 at a time. Tedious. Can't use formulas. Slow computer issues?

Bulk updating properties in Notion (large databases).

AFAIK there are 3 ways:
1. Scroll, scroll, scroll.
2. Button automation.
3. Database automation.

Each have their own advantages and limitations.

Gotta pick the best for the job.

Yep I plan to use it on the first thing I build!

I feel I only scratched the surface in the couple hours I spent on it.

Yup, but I found the gap between Laravel and alternatives much bigger in practice than in discussions.

Most of my research led to Reddit, hacker News, etc. and Laravel is frequently mentioned, but not proportionally to what it offers.

That's my impression thus far, at least

Yeah that makes sense.

I guess I meant that if you're not in the PHP world already, there's no real fun/interesting reason to jump in. By mainstream standards.

WordPress and Laravel stand out for pragmatic reasons. To get stuff done!

Yeah they remind me of really well-written blog posts.

Posts that the author put a lot of effort into being concise, yet covering the whole topic. And you know it took a tonne of edits to refine.

So I've mentally bought in, and financially too with a Laracasts subscription.

(check out all these topics they have!)

Time to start building!

Disclaimer:

I recently created a small Laravel app.

But after seeing Rails 8's I started getting FOMO/"what if" so needed to evaluate all big players.

I use this evaluation to test its SQLite backed queues (to compare to Rails) and Filament for generating Admin UIs (amazing!)

I'd instead choose:

- Django: If I were a Python application expert. If a beginner/scripter... I'd still choose Laravel.

- Phoenix: If I wanted to have fun and improve my programming skills.

- Rails: If Laravel didn't exist. That's not a dig! It's the clear second choice.

Laravel also lacks an audience:

- Django has Python and data.
- Phoenix/Elixir has functional programming
- Rails has startup history.
- PHP has..?

Laravel seems popular with small-med business, instead of funded startups. Which is more relevant to me.

Even so...

On platform specific forums, you hear:

OP: "Can Framework do X,Y, Z like Laravel?"

Reply: "Yes, use A for X. Use B+C for Y. Create Z yourself"

It's usually an expert replying who ignores the effort in learning/troubleshooting (which I learned doing this with Go + Pocketbase).

- Lack of startup lore like Rails and Airbnb/Github. That was pre-Laravel and Rails isn't the go-to for new startups with huge funding.

- Few objective comparisons. I found two sources: a) Content-farm articles, b) Discussions on platform specific forums.

If Laravel is so good, why doesn't that come across in discussions? Maybe:

- PHP's bad rep, apparently no-longer deserved.

- Lack of trends/news (vs Javascript).

So Laravel wins, comfortably!

Just look at this ecosystem, which unlike AWS all seem to work quite easily together.

That does leave me with one question...

Ecosystem:

- Django/Phoenix have fewer first-party features and development tooling.

- Rails is much better, but Laravel is again ahead, with multiple:

Dev tools: Herd, Tinkerwell, Sail
Frontend optionsL Inertia with Vue/React, Livewire.
Starter kits (Breeze, Jetstream).
Etc!

Learning/docs:

- All official docs are good.

- Django/Phoenix have fewer forums and guides for learning/troubleshooting.

- Rails is better, but Laravel's win. Docs are well-written articles and all up-to-date.

- Laravel also has Laracasts for high quality video tutorials.

Jobs/queueing:

- Rails: Started well but kept corrupting my SQLite database :(

- Django: Couldn't get Celery (third-party) working after 2h.

- Phoenix: After some time I got Oban (third-party) working.

- Laravel: Worked first attempt, in minutes, on an SQLite database!!!