We're excited to share with you a success story from one of our customers, Aykut Kardas. Aykut is building RegexLearn and other open-source projects, and he's here to talk about how Altogic helped him overcome some challenges in building his projects. We know you'll be inspired by Aykut's journey, so let's dive right in and hear from him directly!
Welcome Aykut! We loved hearing your story and would like to share what would be meaningful to the community like your journey. Let's start! Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Hey, Thank you for having me! My name is Aykut, I’m 30 years old. I live in Izmir Turkey. My hobbies include spending time with my skateboard, reading books, and playing video games. In my free time, I try to develop and improve my pencil drawing skills by transferring them to the digital world. I am also interested in game design.
Thanks Aykut, this is great! How many years have you been working as a developer and what are you interested in?
Sure! I have been working as a frontend developer for 4 years now. Before that, I worked as a CAD Designer for 8 years, creating 3D models. I am interested in creating open-source projects that make people's lives easier and improve their experiences, as well as developing interactive learning methods.
Can you talk about some of the projects you have worked on?
As an open-source developer, I have created many projects so far. Some of them were for testing my skills and seeing what I am capable of, while others were actively used and appreciated by the community. I enjoy working on projects that can help others and make a difference.
One of my notable projects is Json-Function, which allows you to filter and manipulate data on JSON using a SQL-like method.
Another popular npm package I created is react-icomoon, which makes it easy to use SVG icons with React and React Native projects. Instead of using SVG files, this package allows you to use a single JSON file to access your icons in your projects. I also have packages for Vue, Svelte, and Preact that offer this solution.
Another project I am proud of is SVGPS, a platform that offers a store with approximately 50,000 high-quality icons that you can download and use for free. It also allows you to convert your own SVG icons into a single JSON file. You can download the icons as SVG, copy and paste them directly into Figma, convert them to JSON, or download them as a React component. The support and features are constantly growing.
I also run a website called Interactively, where I publish interactive content about web development and design fundamentals or tricks. I usually post a new piece of content once a week. In the near future, I will also have interactive courses that explain some concepts from start to finish, like on RegexLearn. If you are interested in the content and courses I create, I recommend signing up for my newsletter to receive updates once a week.
Aykut, that’s great to hear! What is RegexLearn and can you explain it a bit more?
One of my recent projects is RegexLearn, an interactive platform that makes it easy to learn regular expressions. On this website, you can find two interactive courses called "Regex 101" and "Regex for SEO". There is also a visualized cheatsheet to help you remember what you have learned, as well as a playground where you can test and share your own regular expressions. Thanks to its open-source nature, RegexLearn has been translated into 8 languages, and it is visited by people from all over the world who want to learn about regular expressions.
This is Amazing! How did you hear about Altogic and what made you decide to use it?
I first heard about Altogic from Kodsuz.org, which is Turkey's NoCode community. As a frontend developer, I did not want to deal with the backend of my side projects and spend time on it, which limited the potential of these projects. I realized that I could easily overcome this obstacle by using Altogic, and I first used it to add the Share feature where you can share your own regexes in RegexLearn, and it was ready to be published in half a day.
What features of Altogic did you use in your project?
With Designer, I was able to create the endpoints that I needed. During development, I used Tester to test my endpoints. And with Navigator, I was able to inspect the data in the database. They were more than sufficient for me to achieve what I needed.
What other technologies do you use besides Altogic?
I mostly develop my projects using NextJS. Tailwind CSS has become an integral part of my project development process because of the speed it gives me. Depending on my needs, I deploy my projects using CloudFlare Pages or DigitalOcean App Platform.
What is the biggest benefit you have experienced by using Altogic?
I didn't need to have a lot of knowledge about the backend, or use my existing knowledge of the backend, to do things myself and deal with hosting on a server and creating a database or infrastructure. Altogic allowed me to quickly and easily bring my ideas to life without having to worry about those things.
Can you talk a bit about your experience as a developer using Altogic?
I didn't need to learn anything new on the frontend, and everything on the Altogic side was well documented. Additionally, an npm package was created as a "Client Library" to make things easier. Because of this, my developer experience was seamless.
Were you satisfied with the results after using Altogic?
Absolutely! I have decided to use Altogic for my future projects because it has met my needs very well so far. I am eager to test it for more complex needs.
What advantages does Altogic offer when using it?
So far, the most significant advantage I have experienced with Altogic is the ability to bring my backend needs to life quickly.
What disadvantages did you encounter while using Altogic?
I have only used Altogic for relatively small needs on two projects, so I cannot say that I have encountered many disadvantages. However, I do think that Designer has a slight learning curve.
What advice would you give to developers who are considering using Altogic?
If you don't feel comfortable in the backend or if you want to quickly pivot your product without wasting time on the backend needs of your project, try Altogic and decide for yourself. Especially if you are a developer who develops your own side projects, I recommend turning to tools like this to make better use of your limited time.
What do you think about the customer support for Altogic?
I found quick answers to all of my questions and encountered support that was very open to feedback. If I encounter a problem or need help with something, I don't have any concerns about not being able to get it. They also respond very quickly to questions and suggestions on their Discord channels.
Thank you Aykut! Finally, what would you like to say about Altogic in a few sentences?
I am happy to see a product from our ecosystem go global. I hope it will be even more successful going forward. I am eager to witness its development.
Great Aykut, thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us! We're really excited to see your app grow and develop.
Keep up the great work!