In 2013 I started App-o-Mat to host content I was creating to teach iOS Development.

App-o-Mat is a totally custom CMS built with Django and Python that I have kept up to date for 10 years. It has been migrated from version to version of Django, from Python 2.x to 3.x, and I just recently replaced all of the Bootstrap with Tailwind.

I had learned Django in 2006, which is also when I learned Python. At the time, Ruby and Rails was probably the more obvious choice, but I’m actually glad I chose Python. Python has proven to be more enduring and useful in more contexts (e.g. AI).

From 2013 to 2021, I was full-time on iOS Development. App-o-Mat was the only web development I did. But, now all of the things I want to make are either for the web or best to be done in Python.

I know that making your own CMS is kind of nuts, but if I didn’t do that I wouldn’t know Python and my webdev knowledge would have atrophied. I think using some back-burner (non primary) tech stacks in side-projects might be a good idea—or it least it was for me.