 

# What's been happening?
Life.  Life is happening.  Since the last entry a lot has happened. The biggest factor was a family illness that took me away from the rabbit hole for a while.  Today is the first time that I have had the time to work on any of the projects. Quick update here and then to the lab. 😎

## What projects are you working on?
* [H3 Web Elements](https://www.h3webelements.com)
* The Rabbit Hole Lab
* SaaS to offer as a product for H3 Web Elements.
* This is another rabbit hole - I want to add some type of automated data analysis to the lab 
  * using a Python backend and probably a Next.js frontend.


### The SaaS Project (no official name yet)
While I am not going to give away any specifics.  I am working on a docker container stack to be deployed on a VPS for a SaaS for small businesses.  I am close to being in a alpha testing phase but got side tracked because I went down a "rabbit hole" of possible improvement when I stumbled upon [Strapi](https://strapi.io/). It cost me about a week.  I got it working and then realized that I was further along with the current iteration, so I rolled back the changes.

#### Technologies being used & skills learned:
* Docker containers
* Node.js
* Ngnix reverse proxy
* Next.js
* Github - CI/CD
* Automation

Catching Up

 

For the all the good & bad.
I am
Where I am 
because of the decisions I have made. 

Where I am

 

# Off on the right foot
I built this backwards. I wanted a working proof of concept, so I built out the frontend first. Its is pretty much a static hard coded site.

### A few features
While this is a pretty bear bones app, that is only maintained through code and maintence.  Nothing automated about it. (I am planning on adding a curl command to automate the bash script)
* I worked in the blog ability by Markdown file.
* bash script to automate pulling updates and rebuilding

```
sudo docker compose up --build --force-recreate --remove-orphans

```

The real reason I am in this rabbit hole - the app I have been building in my head for years.  I laid out and built the heart and sole of the app - the backend, the database and restFul api's.

**It's not working** 

That is ok, it will.

    

Off on the right foot

 

# Testing update
This app currently uses markdown files for each blog entry.  That means that I have to upload a file each time. This is just a temporay work around - while I go down the real rabbit hole (more to come).

I want to keep everything consistance so that means the work flow is
1. compose article using vscode
2. commit changes to repo
3. ssh into the vps and run script that
   * git pulls the changes
   * rebuild & launch the stack

This post is to test that workflow before writing the script

Future refinement will be creating a cron job do the task on a regular interval 😊



Testing update

 

# Docker
I have been using the same wallet for over 20 years. Its a Docker money clip. 

I always plan out my applications with the hope of future growth.  This is no different.  I decided to go with containers because it gives me the easiest way to scale in a hurry. _(For the past 30+ years, I have always told people that I am only one app away from retirement.  Perhaps this app could be my Facebook, but I would be just as happy writting a MySpace level app. 😎)_  Plus it gave me a chance to play with a different technology.  

## My first impressions
Containers seem pretty cool and Docker installed on my maching pretty easily.  The learning curve to get a container up and running through VScode wasn't anything to bad.  I know that there are developers out there that will shun me, but I found Docker Composer files early and have stuck with them.  They just work and they syntax isn't to extreme.

The rabbit hole app is actually a stack of containers to isolate and handle different aspects of the application.  

The docker-compose.yml file made it a breeze to add a database to the application
'''
db:
    image: postgres:15
    networks:
      - appnet
    restart: always
    env_file:
      - .env
    ports:
      - "${DB_PORT}:xxxx"
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/postgresql/data
'''

### Secrets
Secrets are kept in .env files
Example
'''
# To switch the stack to production, uncomment the next line and comment out the development line
STACK_ENV=development
#STACK_ENV=production
# Database
POSTGRES_DB=hello_world
POSTGRES_USER=your_username
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=your_password
'''

Starting a container or container stack is a simple
'''
docker compose up --build
'''

Not the Pants

 


# Welcome to the _Rabbit Hole Lab_.  

This is the lab created to allow Mark Hart to go down a rabbit hole of IT learning.  The reason this lab exist is... honestly, I have no idea how I got here.  I go down rabbit holes when I really get interested in something.    

Early this year I got an IBM Data Analysts certification because I got obsessed with NBA stats. I am not sure it taught me any new hard skills, but it did show me how to look at data.  The skill set that was required was already in my bag. 😎  Database, python, excel, data sterilization from my IT background - the statical methods from my years as a chemistry major.  

I like to learn new skills, but still not sure how I got here. So far going down this rabbit hole I have:  

* Configured a vps Linux server to run multi-tenant docker stacks 
* Containerized Nginx reverse proxy server 
* Created a multi-container docker stack that includes 
  * Frontend - Static site written in JavaScript 
  * Database - PostgreSQL - coming soon 
  * File Storage 
  * Email 
  * Backend - JavaScript 
  * Admin - ?? 
  * Nginx reverse proxy for the app 
* Deployed container stack from GitHub to the VPS 
* Resolved container port conflicts 
* Add Markdown posting while working on building out the backend and database. 

### I remembered
**Update:** I remembered how I got here. I have been managing cPanel hosting and WordPress sites for the past 10 years. I have had an app on my mind the past few years.Everytime I built it out, I kept running into - how to get it to production on my servers. I got fed up with it. I realized that in order to get exactly what I was envisioning, I would have to have complete control of the server.  So here I am and we will see if I can get this app to production. 😊

 

Mark Hart ❤️ IT Lab

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