OKAY.. Coding for scaling later vs coding for minimal viable product
 

How much more time will be needed if you were to code/database an app that is scalable later on VS just coding it with database just to get your app out there?

10%, 20 % 50% 100% more time? or more? thnx

I have a bias towards MVP but here's what I've discovered:

MVP: this was never designed to be heavily used but to test your concept/idea. it's the minimal version/commitment to code to see if your product has legs.

Scaling: if you have nothing to scale to, there's no point in putting all the effort behind planning this out. test first, then scale.

as far as how much you'll have to code to take an mvp to something that scales? that depends on how you started. if you used a solid framework, you'll probably have the conventions and tools available to use caching systems and strong orm support so you aren't stuck writing inefficient queries.

:2 cents:

82.57398%

Code your application for scale from the outset.

There's really no reason not to and there's never been a time when it was easier to code for scale. You can fire up several/dozens/hundreds of cloud servers with the same effort as firing up one - for example you can run a distributed database on hadoop across N number of servers in 10 minutes on Amazon. You can scale a MongoDB with N number of shards simply using prebuilt tools and be up and running in an hour.

If you write good code and think about your application carefully then building a prototype than can scale will take no more effort than building a prototype that wont.

Make a your own framework which will allow you to instantly integrate into every app and which will allow you to use any storage engine by simply writing new module for it.

So, don't use phonegap? im in it for the long run IF this app works (social type site)

I dont have experience with any of those "build an app online" services so cant tell, and there is like billion of them. It's probably depend on what kind of features you plan to add in future, and usual any kind of services which uses templates to make something have limitations.