
Show HN: We built a popular plugin-based social app using HTML5 - sssparkkk
https://happening.im/hn
======
sssparkkk
Hi HN, one of the app’s creators here. We wanted to show you guys Happening -
an app that makes damn sure you have fun with your group of friends :)

Interesting to you guys should be that it’s a hybrid app that uses HTML5 for
almost everything. Our users don’t seem to mind: it’s been downloaded almost a
million times already in our (tiny!) country the Netherlands.

We’d really appreciate your feedback: please join the special ‘HNers’ group by
visiting [https://happening.im/t/ARHMUENYF](https://happening.im/t/ARHMUENYF)
\- or take a crack at developing your own plugin on
[https://platform.happening.im](https://platform.happening.im) . Thanks!

~~~
jbob2000
It would be nice to have a public group that I could try out without having to
sign up. I wanted to checkout the HN group but I don't want to go through the
hassle of signing up.

~~~
sssparkkk
We wouldn't have a way of reaching you to tell you about things that happened
in the group. Also, it would result in a lot of anonymous users joining the
HN-group. Or would you be fine with us just asking for your name?

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explorigin
I like the concept a lot. I feel like it needs a bit more polish but I can't
put my finger on what it is. Maybe there is too much color or the interface is
too busy. Try adding some padding.

~~~
sssparkkk
Yeah it's a busy app for sure; lots of things to do (did you take a look at
the plugin store?) and discover - and I agree: some of it could use some more
love with regard to design.

We wanted a playful look for the app, hence its colorfulness. Maybe we took it
a little too far?

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catalinbraescu
"did you take a look at the plugin store?"

There is no link to any plugin store from your website.

~~~
sssparkkk
The plugin store can currently only be viewed from within the app.

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matvp
Cool to see howmuch you guys have grown. I'm from Belgium and it became a mini
hype here ~1.5y ago. What's your current DAU nowadays? And do you run any
underlying framework?

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shanwang
I really like your document explaining when and when not to develop apps for
happening: [https://platform.happening.im/docs/introduction.html#when-
to...](https://platform.happening.im/docs/introduction.html#when-to-use-
happening)

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pmlnr
Nicely animated "Loading...".

( Firefox user here, with messages like "The Application Cache API (AppCache)
is deprecated and will be removed at a future date. Please consider using
ServiceWorker for offline support." in the console when trying to load the
site. Chrome is fine. )

~~~
EmielMols
We have primarily focused on our iOS/Android apps. That's where 99% of our
funnel takes place.

Because everything was already built with HTML5 (or actually: WebKit's HTML5),
we got Chrome/Safari support almost for free and that's why the web version
exists.

Getting firefox and IE to behave is something that still needs some attention.
Thanks for trying out!

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shanwang
This is really interesting. It actually reminds me a lot of the chinese
messaging app weChat.

Accidentally, weChat announced their app platform yesterday, which allows
developers to develop apps run inside weChat messenger.

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timvdalen
Cool to see you're still at it!

I think I wrote one of the few first real third party plugins when this was
hot in Holland last year.

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finid
HTML5 for the frontend, right? Backend?

~~~
EmielMols
Happening Plugins use Javascript (or Coffeescript compiled to Javascript) for
backend logic with simple APIs for Push notifications/HTTP calls/Timers/group
management (see for instance [https://platform.happening.im/docs/server-
app.html#app-data](https://platform.happening.im/docs/server-app.html#app-
data), or the server.coffee code on the platform page). This server-side
javascript runs in custom V8 instances and calls out to the core Happening
backend (which is implemented in PHP/Go/C++).

~~~
elliotec
Wonderful concise description of your tech stack. Thanks for sharing! Love it
when people actually describe this on HN

