The difference between classic and beta editor in many aspects is similar to notepad vs visual studio: you can use both to write your software, but visual studio makes your life much easier. At the end your software will work exactly in the same way.
Comparing to text editors doesn’t fully explain the difference, because in Anvil the editor has access to things that a text editor can’t access. For example, if you clone your app and edit it locally on visual studio, you can’t create new tables or databases. There are tasks that are managed by the editor, and some of those tasks are still only managed by the classic (as far as I know the last one was sharing tables, so this statement at this point may not be true) and many, really many, only managed by the beta.
In those posts there was some confusion between the problems of the beta and the problems on the app. Anvil is developing both the beta editor and the runtime framework. Both developments come with hiccups, but they are completely independent from each other.
Sometimes you wake up and a feature in the beta editor is broken. Don’t worry, this has nothing to do with the app. If it’s important you can be sure that they will fix it fairly quickly.
Sometimes you wake up and the server is slow or there are failures. This is a problem with your running app and has nothing to do with the editor you use. Here the LTS could make sense, but after 5 years I had zero regressions, that is I never had to change an app because I woke up and something was broken. They have always fixed the problem in acceptable time.
In my opinion the problems that we have with the runtime are slightly more than the problems that you would have on a frozen / LTS system. LTS systems have hardware and OS failures too, and have security holes (even if the S is there especially to cover you from security problems), while Anvil adds some hiccups caused by its continuous evolution. But I like to see my apps getting faster without me doing anything. And I like to be able to put my hands on an app and use a new tool just because it has been added and it’s there waiting for me to use it. For example as I put my hands on old apps and see old slow queries, I replace them with the new q query operators. I couldn’t do that if I was locked in an LTS.
PS 1
I have an app that uses Google maps apis to calculate the distance between two zip codes. Yesterday the distance between two zip codes was NOT_FOUND for 30 minutes and our ecommerce site couldn’t sell certain items. It wasn’t Anvil’s fault. Yeah, Google is larger and more reliable than Anvil, but is not exempt from failures.
PS 2
I asked chatgpt to rewrite my post, perhaps I should do that more often, he/she/it/them/ze writes much better than me:
The comparison between the classic and beta editor in Anvil can be likened to the difference between using a basic text editor like Notepad and a more advanced IDE like Visual Studio. Both editors can be used to create software, but the beta editor offers additional features and tools that make the development process more efficient. However, the end result is the same, regardless of which editor is used.
It’s worth noting that the comparison to text editors doesn’t fully capture the range of capabilities that the beta editor has access to, as it can perform tasks that a text editor cannot, such as creating new tables or databases. While some tasks can only be managed by the classic editor, the beta editor has many more advanced features and capabilities.
It’s also important to distinguish between issues with the beta editor and issues with the app itself. The beta editor and the runtime framework are two separate developments, and while they may have bugs or hiccups, they are independent of each other. If a feature in the beta editor is broken, it doesn’t necessarily affect the functionality of the app. Similarly, problems with the app’s performance or server issues are not related to the editor being used.
In my experience, the issues that may arise with the runtime are outweighed by the benefits of using a non-LTS system. Anvil is constantly evolving, which can bring some challenges, but also allows for faster performance and new tools to be added. Being able to access and update older apps with new features and tools is a major advantage. In addition, LTS systems also have their own hardware and OS failures and security holes.
