Years ago, Dan Gebhardt was mapping out data needs for an app he was building. In a struggle to make sense of every requirement and apply them to other packages like Ember Data, he hit a wall. At this point, there was no option for adapting Ember Data to the complex specificities of his app’s needs.  Dan tried to rationalize a solution, deconstructing entire data universes and all aspects of a data library. The end result was Orbit, a framework-agnostic data layer with use cases beyond the obvious. Since its inception, many developers have leaned on Orbit, including those at Ship Shape.  In this episode, Chuck and Robbie talk with Dan about Orbit’s origin story, the best (and least obvious) ways to use Orbit, why Dan chose platform-agnostic, what he really thinks about Starbeam, his ultimate goal with Orbit, and Dan’s all-time favorite power tool.  Key Takeaways [00:45] - A brief intro to Dan.  [03:02] - A whiskey review - Nikka Single Malt Miyagikyo.  [11:04] - Why Dan created Orbit.  [15:47] - Unexpected use cases for Orbit.  [21:42] - How Orbit flags a conflict.  [25:33] - Orbit’s use cases outside of JSON:API. [32:46] - What Dan thinks about Starbeam.  [35:12] - How Dan escapes his computer.  [40:32] - Dan’s favorite power tool.  [42:33] - Dan’s thoughts on New Hampshire (and New Jersey). [48:46] - Dan’s closing thoughts and his sneak peek at a new release.  Quotes [13:28] - “Sometimes building for the hard case first also helps clarify the simple case and I think that Orbit really scales from the very simple to the very complex set of requirements.” ~ @dgeb [17:47] - “That’s one of my favorite aspects of working with Orbit is using it as simply as possible to just prototype an app really quickly.” ~ @dgeb [33:32] - “The frameworks have too long been siloed and we are now seeing some really interesting cross framework solutions out there, whether you’re talking about Starbeam or even something like Remix or Astro.” ~ @dgeb Links Dan Gebhardt Ember Core Team Emeritus JSON:API Orbit.js Tilde  Ruby On Rails Rust Yehuda Katz JSONAPI::Resources Nikka Single Malt Miyagikyo Nikka From The Barrel The Glencairn Whiskey Glass The Norlan Whiskey Glass GraphQL IndexedDB Ember Data Swach Git Apollo  Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Discovering Ember, Adopting Orbit, and Unlocking Optimization with Chris Thoburn (runspired)  LinkedIn ember-m3 Hooks React Eric Elliott  @glimmer/tracking Starbeam Astro Svelte View RedwoodJS Next.js Acquia Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Next.js 12, React vs. Svelte, and the Future of Frameworks with Wes Bos D.C. United  Audi Field Connect with our hosts Robbie Wagner Chuck Carpenter Ship Shape Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Whiskey Web and Whatnot Top-Tier, Full-Stack Software Consultants This show is brought to you by Ship Shape. Ship Shape’s software consultants solve complex software and app development problems with top-tier coding expertise, superior service, and speed. In a sea of choices, our senior-level development crew rises above the rest by delivering the best solutions for fintech, cybersecurity, and other fast-growing industries. Check us out at shipshape.io.

Years ago, Dan Gebhardt was mapping out data needs for an app he was building. In a struggle to make sense of every requirement and apply them to other packages like Ember Data, he hit a wall. At this point, there was no option for adapting Ember Data to the complex specificities of his app’s needs.  Dan tried to rationalize a solution, deconstructing entire data universes and all aspects of a data library. The end result was Orbit, a framework-agnostic data layer with use cases beyond the obvious. Since its inception, many developers have leaned on Orbit, including those at Ship Shape.  In this episode, Chuck and Robbie talk with Dan about Orbit’s origin story, the best (and least obvious) ways to use Orbit, why Dan chose platform-agnostic, what he really thinks about Starbeam, his ultimate goal with Orbit, and Dan’s all-time favorite power tool.  Key Takeaways [00:45] - A brief intro to Dan.  [03:02] - A whiskey review - Nikka Single Malt Miyagikyo.  [11:04] - Why Dan created Orbit.  [15:47] - Unexpected use cases for Orbit.  [21:42] - How Orbit flags a conflict.  [25:33] - Orbit’s use cases outside of JSON:API. [32:46] - What Dan thinks about Starbeam.  [35:12] - How Dan escapes his computer.  [40:32] - Dan’s favorite power tool.  [42:33] - Dan’s thoughts on New Hampshire (and New Jersey). [48:46] - Dan’s closing thoughts and his sneak peek at a new release.  Quotes [13:28] - “Sometimes building for the hard case first also helps clarify the simple case and I think that Orbit really scales from the very simple to the very complex set of requirements.” ~ @dgeb [17:47] - “That’s one of my favorite aspects of working with Orbit is using it as simply as possible to just prototype an app really quickly.” ~ @dgeb [33:32] - “The frameworks have too long been siloed and we are now seeing some really interesting cross framework solutions out there, whether you’re talking about Starbeam or even something like Remix or Astro.” ~ @dgeb Links Dan Gebhardt Ember Core Team Emeritus JSON:API Orbit.js Tilde  Ruby On Rails Rust Yehuda Katz JSONAPI::Resources Nikka Single Malt Miyagikyo Nikka From The Barrel The Glencairn Whiskey Glass The Norlan Whiskey Glass GraphQL IndexedDB Ember Data Swach Git Apollo  Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Discovering Ember, Adopting Orbit, and Unlocking Optimization with Chris Thoburn (runspired)  LinkedIn ember-m3 Hooks React Eric Elliott  @glimmer/tracking Starbeam Astro Svelte View RedwoodJS Next.js Acquia Whiskey Web and Whatnot: Next.js 12, React vs. Svelte, and the Future of Frameworks with Wes Bos D.C. United  Audi Field Connect with our hosts Robbie Wagner Chuck Carpenter Ship Shape Subscribe and stay in touch Apple Podcasts Spotify Google Podcasts Whiskey Web and Whatnot Top-Tier, Full-Stack Software Consultants This show is brought to you by Ship Shape. Ship Shape’s software consultants solve complex software and app development problems with top-tier coding expertise, superior service, and speed. In a sea of choices, our senior-level development crew rises above the rest by delivering the best solutions for fintech, cybersecurity, and other fast-growing industries. Check us out at shipshape.io.