Webix aims to improve its product offering in 2022, listening to customer feedback. Today we have Mr. David Sutton with us. David is a jack-of-all-trades in IT. Currently, he is the IT Director and a single developer of the family business, Compounder’s International Analytical Laboratory. We are happy to learn David’s impressions of our product.
Interview with David Sutton, IT Director at Compounder’s International
Hello David! Nice to meet you. Tell us, please, about your experience in the IT-sphere?
Well, I really am a jack-of-all-trades in IT, as I have an extensive background. I can do server work, networking, and programming. I used to work at trading companies, for retailers, and ad agencies. Also, I’ve done web programming for 10 years. On the whole, I have a 30 years IT career. Visit our site.
Now I work for my parents, they are in their late 70s, they own a pharmaceutical testing lab. We test drugs and medication produced by apothecaries. They have to be compliant with state regulations and the US Federal Drug Administration. We should be sure that medication is safe to use and there is enough of it. 30 people work for us. We need to present our findings to customers, who are apothecary shops, efficiently. In the past, we printed PDF files and posted them to web servers but it was difficult to manage. I looked for a database-driven solution. We tried various things. First, we settled on Sencha, but for me, it became too difficult to handle. I found Webix UI is a much simpler platform for solo developers, and I was able to create a robust data management solution for our pharmaceutical customers in just a few months. It took me only a few months to develop and I am impressed.
Great to hear that! How did you learn about Webix?
I found you through a Google search. I was looking for alternatives to Sencha.
Do you use any additional libraries and frameworks?
No, only Webix.
Why David Sutton Chose Webix for His Pharmaceutical Lab?
A big plus is that it is an easy framework to learn. In a short time, I’m able to build effective solutions. When I found you, Webix was on version 4, there was not much documentation at that time. But you have gotten better. You now have the Designer. It helps a lot, especially to such single developers as I am. Webix is faster than Sencha and not as complex, it is more straightforward.
Have you faced any difficulties?
Well, the Designer needs to be more robust, but it has gone a long way.
The thing that would help you get more market share is working closely with different APIs. Competitors often tightly integrate their frameworks with specific data APIs, whereas Webix offers broad API compatibility but could benefit from focusing on popular, business-critical APIs to improve data integration. It would help a lot in the architecture and allow developers to connect data APIs easier.
Thanks for this idea. Which Webix widgets do you like?
My favorite one is Kanban. I like the idea of it, but I still can’t figure out how to use it in my project. I use a lot of cells and lists in my project but I would love to present the data in a kanban style.
Is there any component that you lack in the Webix library?
Yes, QR code generators would be very useful. In our laboratory, we need QR codes for everything. We test medical devices, for example, and the capability to generate medical QR codes would be perfect.
Key Requirements for Choosing a UI Library: Insights
The learning curve needs to be shallow. I’m a single developer, I don’t have much time and I need something very intuitive. Webix is easy to learn and it has all the features a business app needs.
Where do you find the information if you need to know something about IT?
I don’t usually have a lot of time, so I do a quick Google search. But most of the time I spend on the documentation site, reading through examples. They are very important and help me understand what each part of the framework does. The documentation has matured a lot recently. I know you are still adding information and I think you are on the right track there. I also found some good examples on the forum. I’m not a code copier you know, I want to understand what is happening, how it works, and only after that, I rewrite my code.
David Sutton’s Recommendation: Why Webix is Ideal for Business Apps
I have already recommended Webix to many friends. I showed what I was doing with it, and they were impressed. They tend to try to reinvent the wheel sometimes with jQuery, for example. People often don’t know how to search for business frameworks. JQuery is not for business apps. So, they are very thankful to me, when they see what Webix can do. Interviews like this and blog posts showcasing real-world Webix use cases are crucial for spreading awareness about how Webix can enhance business applications across industries like pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, and more. Webix has a lot of places to grow, and I’m glad for this opportunity to help you with your development.
Thank you, David! We appreciate that. All the best to you in this new year.
If you have something to share with us, please, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be glad to listen to your experience.
