[razoorka]

Exactly! abstraction is the new bureaucracy.

Each layer promises efficiency but adds hidden coordination cost. Ten years ago, a web app meant a framework and a database. Now it’s React → Electron → Chromium → Docker → Kubernetes → managed DB → API gateway - six layers deep to print “Hello, world.”

Every abstraction hides just enough detail to make debugging impossible. We’ve traded control for convenience, and now no one owns the full stack - just their slice of the slowdown.

[antonvs]

I’ve recently been dealing with scaling one of those “framework and a database” web apps for a company that’s growing fast and hit scaling limits. You know what the easiest way to scale it is? Containerize it and deploy it on Kubernetes with a managed DB.

If you don’t recognize that, it may be because you don’t work with applications that need that scale. In that case, you might get away with simpler approaches. But if you expect to grow significantly, you can save a lot of money and pain by designing the app to scale well from the beginning.