Related
I've seen multiple questions, along the same lines as this, however they're usually quite outdated, and/or not answered well if at all.
I've been experimenting with Visual Studio LightSwitch, but it has many problems, and is also considered dead by much of the community now, just as Access is.
There isn't really much to say, so my question is, IS there a decent alternative? Or do I just have to make do with Access?
As you've already seen, there is no straight route. What to choose usually ends up in "that depends", and so it does - the only common factor is, that you are facing a total rewrite.
However, one way to cut it really short for a setup with few and known remote users, is to use Remote Desktop and Terminal Services of a Windows Server.
LightSwitch is not officially dead. I have done a few applications with it, and it is fun because it is so much different from Access with its firm screen design. Originally, it required Silverlight which now is dead, but today you use HTML5 at the client, so it won't get outdated right away.
From Access to Web the usual path is PHP.
I'm a relative beginner using Google Apps Script and JavaScript, but I've been playing around with bot for days now and I've created a few simple programs and I'd really like to try and get started on my dream project, even if it takes me forever. I'd like some advice on what I should use in terms of making the UI and what database I should use to hold the information (and if this app is even possible).
The App
I'd like to create an online novel management app that utilizes Google Drive as it's source for files. The UI would have a tree that showcases all the google drive files in the novel. When a scene is clicked, the scene opens up for editting.
Questions
Is this app a possibility?
If so, in terms of a UI, what do you think I should use? The google
provided UIbuilder? The HTML service - for example, can I have a
frame on the right that the google doc that needs to be editted
can open up in on the right?
Lastly, what database should I use? The database would have to store
chapter names and positions, as well as scene names, positions,
and the google doc ID that the scene corresponds to. I've got a
handle on ScriptDB and Spreadsheets... And if either of these two
aren't the best option, would some other database work better? And
why?
This app will, hopefully, be able to give an overview of a novel in tree form, allow you to open a particular scene and edit it, create new scenes, and also change the order in which the scenes are displayed. And then when the person finishes their novel, the app will compile all the scenes into one novel (also in google Drive).
Any insight or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Having a look at the questions you recently posted I think I have a pretty good idea of what you are trying to do and it looks like an exciting project... I can only encourage you to start it as soon as you can even if you're not comfortable with all the tools you will need to use, the best learning method is probably to work on something important to you.
Now your 3 questions : 1 - This is perfectly doable in the GAS environment and shouldn't be too hard to go through.
2 - the GUI builder is an easy way to start with UI but it lacks a number of features and tools that you will be needing (tree for example ) and is not so easy to expand if you ever need to. Depending on your knowledge in html, the choice is mainly between UiApp and html service... I would choose UiApp because I'm not good at all in html (but that's not relevant here ;-) but both are capable of building what you want, are easily expandable and not too hard to debug. The advantage could go to html service if you are going to look for 'nice looking features' because it opens the door to 3rd party tools... but again, this is a matter of personal choice.
3 - A recent post from Mogsdad showed that spreadsheet are faster than scriptDb for data storage and manipulation. I find it also easier since I can have a global view on data in the spreadsheet when debugging. Of course Spreadsheet must be considered as a container and data manipulated at array level to benefit from maximum performance. I use that in a lot of database application with full satisfaction.
Sorry for these "general considerations" that don't comply to sto standards ;-)
Yes, it seems that all of the things you are requesting are not too ridiculous. I recommend sticking to Google services because they are all easily integrated. To start off, you may want to use the UI builder/UI services. There may be a point in this project where you may want some functionality that the UiApp doesn't provide. At that point, you might want to switch over to HtmlService.
My answer is the same for the databases question. You might want to use a spreadsheet for your database so that you will be able to easily edit it by hand if you need to. You may not have the performance that another database would give you, but it will be fairly easy to test and mess around with your spreadsheet "database."
You could start out with getting the basics down. There's a serious amount of data out there. I would suggest you research on an "as-needed" basis. Design some work-/dataflow patterns for your app, for which you could try to use the Fluid UI extension for Chrome. Have a look at this from Mozilla on the designing of apps.
When you've gone through this you might want to have a look at Phonegap and the basics of web development and how you could combine the two.
There's also several ways of using/storing data. You could try WebSQL though it they no longer develop it. You could look at IndexedDB. You could try to use cookies.
Seriously, have a look around. You might also like the books of Wrox. They're very informative and have great work with reading demo's. Though the books are huge ;)
In your experience as a developer, what kinds of things have turned away users and prospective users from using your programs? Also, what kinds of things turn you away from using someone else's programs?
For example, one thing that really bugs me is when someone provides free software, but require you to enter your name and email address before you download it. Why do they need my name and email address? I just want to use the program! I understand that the developer(s) may want to get a feel for how many users they have, etc, but the extra work I have to do really makes me think twice about downloading their software, even if it does really great things.
Requiring lots of information when signing up -- name and email is bad enough, as you say, but some registration forms have many many fields. The fewer the better.
Charging money but refusing to disclose the price unless you speak to a sales rep
Having a web site that only works in certain browsers
No releases since 2003
No documentation
Support forum with many questions and no answers
Here are a few annoyances that I haven't seen anyone else mention:
Programs that auto-launch one or more processes at system startup that run constantly in the background (invisibly, in the clock tray, or otherwise).
While some of these are necessary, most would either be better implemented with a utility that runs periodically (use the system's task scheduler!) or don't need to be launched until the associated program is launched.
Dialog boxes that pop up on top of all open windows (even those of other applications).
This is even more annoying if you run full-screen apps.
Pop-up dialogs that won't let you switch to another app until they are dismissed make me want to throw something.
Stealing my file type associations or changing the icons associated with a MIME type when I already have that type assigned to another application. At an absolute minimum, ask me first.
Storing user data/documents in file types that can't be opened by other applications
The worst is when files are also bound to a specific version of the application
Automatically cluttering my desktop and quick launch menus with icons
Automatically adding a link to your crappy website into my web browser's bookmarks
Assuming I use Internet Explorer and launch it specifically instead of querying the system for the default browser (same goes for media player, email client, etc)
Failing to understand the difference between user-specific settings and system-wide settings
Re-mapping common, near-universal keyboard shortcuts (cut, paste, undo, print, refresh, etc) for no good reason
If you're going to re-map Ctrl+C from "copy" to "close without saving anything", at least pop up a dialog warning people when they use it
Requiring an exact version of a library or framework. I don't want to have to uninstall the .Net 2.0 framework and re-install 1.1 just to run your program.
Spelling, punctuation, or grammar errors in the user interface or documentation. If you can't be bothered to at run (at least) an automated spelling checker, then you probably also didn't bother testing your app properly.
Displaying error messages to the user in a way that isn't useful. I don't care if "unexpected error #3410 occurred", I want to know what on earth that means and what I should do about it.
If you thought the error was important enough to program in a unique error message, why did you instead program error-handling code that could gracefully handle the situation? Only let me know about an error if I caused it directly or if I can fix it.
On a related note, aren't all errors unexpected?
Sending me to a website when I click "Help" instead of including help files with the local installation. I don't mind if you periodically download updated help files from the web, but people still need documentation when an Internet connection isn't available.
Bulleted lists that are way too long.
Setup programs that come bundled with all sorts of freeware (even things like Google toolbar) that are selected by default. I just want the program I downloaded, not all sorts of other programs. I can understand that developers might get something in return for including these add-ons in their setups but I hate it when they are selected to be installed by default.
Automatic updates and "information" screens that pop up every single system startup.
Yes, you updated yourself good job but I don't care nor want to know that you have. Do I really have to click "No, I don't want to upgrade to the pricier version" every single time I start my computer?
Ad infections. You know the kind where if you scroll your mouse over the text your reading it'll pop up a thing so you can't read it anymore. And flash ads that have sound(especially that you can't turn off. this was the reason I installed adblock plus) and pop up windows that happen multiple times while your sitting on a page.
Also, pop ups telling me to join a sites news letter mailing list. (where the "no" button is very small)
I will rethink downloading something if I think they will start sending me SPAM if I give them my e-mail address.
At a previous employer we had a program I helped write that was online as a "free" download. They had to put something in for Name, address, phone, and e-mail. Oh, and no opt-out checkbox. It annoys me when other companies do this, but I didn't have any say in the matter.
The info needed for free things gets me too, but other than that:
Bundled software, most of the time adware or browser bars
Having to click too many times to do a simple action
Websites that advertise "Free Download!" for something that turns out to be a paid app. Wow, so generous to allow me to transfer data over the internet for free.
Putting an icon in the taskbar when I don't want it there.
I installed an app called Pamella that records Skype calls. I'm fine with 1 icon in the taskbar -- Skype's icon -- but Pamela adding a second just got me angry and I uninstalled it.
Ugly / unfit user-interface. For me, this is really important.
Having to register to download the program (specially if it's freeware)
Browser-specific / requiring special/other applications to work properly
Bloated applications that start with a few MBs and finally grow to 100's of MBs and huge mem consumption.
That'd be most of the things that turn me away from a program.
One of the things that bugs me the most (using, not downloading to try in the first place...):
I download or buy software it is because I want to USE it for something. If it is so friendly that it is 100% intuitive and needs no documentation before being useful, great! If it has comprehensive on-line or other help that answers all my questions as they come up, that's OK too.
However, if it has any kind of learning curve at all and nothing but my own persistent trial and error before I can do anything with it.... Off the drive it goes, within the first 5 minutes. Well, maybe I will use it if I am being paid to, but even in these cases I would probably recommend something else.
A user interface that is so simple that practically no documentation is required, or that has documentation that is accessible is a joy to use. If the program is complex and requires non-trivial documentation, that documentation should explain EVERYTHING a user might want to know, making no assumptions about his or her prior knowledge. That also puts my appreciation meter way up there.
Make your software actually do something people want done, and make it painless for them to do that with it, and you will have lots of satisfied users and word of mouth recommendations.
I left this on my list but it's a big enough annoyance that it probably stands on its own:
Software that requires users to pay for bug fixes, security patches, or critical updates.
If you have a patch that adds some new feature that I want, I don't mind paying for it. If you made a mistake and you are trying to get me to pay you to fix your mistake, then that's where we have a problem. Any physical product manufactured and sold would call this a "recall" and wouldn't dare charge customers to fix it.
In the past, some software products have shipped with known flaws to encourage users to buy the "critical updates subscription". This is downright evil.
How much pain am I going to endure to develop a conscious competence in using the program? Some computer games I tried to play but after a few hours if I haven't figured things out, I'll stop playing. If a program is hard to use and I don't have a really good motivation to resolve it, that will stop me right there.
How complicated is the installation process? How many minutes will I spend getting the basics of the program understood so I can be productive with it? How close to other programs is it, so that I can leverage how I use other programs to use this,e.g. if I've used Microsoft Office for years are the menus similar to that or is it someone else's idea of the ultimate menu system? Those are the questions I tend to wrestle with in a new program.
If something takes hours to install and then more hours to configure for my use, this really makes me question how useful is the software, really. I can understand the appeal of software that can be customized in a bazillion ways, but if I'm just getting used to the software, do I want these options at this point? To give an example of how absurd this would be in other situations, imagine if you had to list all the ingredients in a pizza or an automobile before getting to the options that mattered to you? You have to list everything in the pizza dough or car's body that most people don't think twice about what is there.
Situation
I have been working on a project lately where the UI development seems to be way too time consuming. In this case, the "Business Rules" on the server-side are much more complicated than the presentation aspects as far as a Computer Science or complexity perspective.
I've found myself scratching/banging my head against the wall with problems with behaviour that differs from the intuitive approach all the way to being a black hole of time waste and poor documentation, where I might be trying to get a simple UI element to line up correctly.
I'm not complaining; I understand there are complexities and a wide audience to support with web development, but I am perplexed by how long it takes to do what seems should be the easy part compared to how long it takes to write the code with complex logic, math, science, etc.
Question
What are you thoughts and personal experience to go from concept to reality with web development and to do this rapidly, or at least in a way that you can have a sense of how long it might take? I have purposefully not mentioned any frameworks or languages, because I would really like to here what web development stacks you use, what tools or best practices help you get things done faster, and how you end up with code that doesn't feel totally brittle and full of hacks.
Hyperbole, language preferences, and all thoughts welcome, I would at least like to get a sense of what is being used for web development that has a high success rate, even if it isn't the latest and greatest thing around.
I personally have found breaking everything up into small tasks helps.
The way I like to design web pages:
Draw out the design, or photoshop it.
Create the HTML - no CSS, no styling at all
Now add in your style - basic style, like positioning, save making the menu perfect for later
Connect to database if needed / server side code
Now add in any javascript, ajax needed
Tweak it to perfection
If you have all this broken into small tasks, when you get done with each, you feel more motivated to continue working.
Like I said, this is how I do it, and it seems to go quickly, especially since I only get about 1 to 2 hours a night to work.
The answer to this question depends on if you are working alone or leading a group.
If you are leading a group you will want to break apart responsibilities as the following:
Designers - These people should own the creation of graphical mockups and the creation/maintenance of CSS. They should own CSS as a responsibility so that they know not to create outrageous graphical mockups that cannot be created as a webpage without considerable code bloat.
Markup - These people should own the authoring of HTML, accessibility, semantics, RDFa requirements, and any other aspect associated with front end data structure.
UIT - These people should own JavaScript, efficiency requirements, content-management requirements, internal process and front-end tool/process governance, and generally own best practices for all client visible code.
Applications - These people should own server-side application code development, content management system creation/maintenance, and database access requirements. These people are application and services programmers and provide the interface to database and services personnel.
QA - These people test all business requirements of the final product in a certification environment. If errors are seen the bug/ticket should be updated and reassigned. The work is not finished until QA signs off as valid.
Business Owner - The business owner is the person/team responsible for writing the initial project requirements and making a final approving decision about the deployment of the project. This person should have no interface to the technology process outside the drafting of business requirements.
Project Manager - This person ensures that a project is continually moving forward and that milestones are completed in accordance with any deadlines. It is this person and not the business owner that is to interfere with the technology process to ensure things are getting done. This person must act independently of the business owner and must not serve as a tool to the business. The project manager must not own or recommend changes to the requirements to the technology personnel. If changes to the requirements must be made this is a one way process from technology through the project manager to the business owner.
The flow of development should be the following:
1) Designers create the graphic mockup and then reassign the bug/project ticket to the project business owner.
2) Upon business approval the ticket should be reassigned to Markup staff or rejected back to design with specific change requests.
3) Markup writes the HTML and content. Any application or database requirements should be specified by business before the project begins and the Markup team should write code for all possible scenarios. The structure of content should reflect the organization of content on the visual markup completely without regard for presentation. The ticket should be reassigned back to Design for CSS creation.
4) Design writes the CSS to add presentation in compliance with the graphical mockup they created. The design team must have access to the HTML markup to add class attributes as necessary, but should not be allowed to make any other changes. The ticket should be reassigned to Applications to complete all server side requirements.
5) Applications should create all necessary requirements for database access. Ticket should be reassigned to UIT if the prior requirements are satisfactory or reassigned back to Markup for changes/additions.
6) UIT should be the final step to write the JavaScript interactions necessary for user-interface and AJAX requirements. UIT also should proof the prior completed markup for standards conformance, efficiency, and best practices. UIT should quickly reject the project if the work is less the acceptable. If additional Applications work is required reassign to Applications otherwise reassign ticket to QA.
7) QA is the final technology stop. These people test the business and functional requirements of the final product. The project cannot be released to production without QA sign off. If a business requirement fails QA must not sign off. Upon QA sign off the ticket should be reassigned to the business owner.
8) The business owner reviews the project and determines if all requirements are achieved. If changes/additions are required they can be submitted at this time. Changes/additions MUST NOT be submitted earlier, because frequent changes delays all projects. It is the responsibility of the business owner to ensure their initial requirements are complete and specific. If the requirements are not reviewed for fullness it is the fault of the business owner and changes can be submitted at this point. It is because of this responsibility, and other associated business responsibilities, that the business owner deserves to get paid more for being less involved.
That is the most efficient manner to get the job done. Separation of duties is extremely important and adherence to the process is extremely important. If those two things fail the entire process fails and business incurs significantly increased development costs.
If you are acting on your own and not part of a team I would still follow a similar process and push the role business owner onto the client. If the client wants to make changes/additions premature to the project completion then they can pay more money by amending a change addendum to the original requirements contract. You do not loose pay from increased labor because a client cannot make up their damn mind. If that is upsetting then the client can pay even more money for a contract cancellation. This is not mean it is business. If your time is not a valued commodity then you should not be in business as on your own.
I've been using the .NET stack for about 5 years, the ASP.NET MVC stack for about 3 months, and old ASP for 4 about years.
The key to dealing with complexity is mitigating it. In your code, always abstract away complexity to a reasonable level. For example, say there are 10 steps to placing an order. In that case, at a higher level, you would have a method 'SubmitOrder'; under it might be 10 method calls for inserting appropriate records, dealing with inventory and so on. In each of those 'business' layers, you can just deal with these business problem, and even below those layers, you would deal with data and mechanical details. The benefit to all of these layers is that you make each layer deal with a chunk of the work, and as you go up closer to the UI, you have an 'interface' that makes sense to the UI and the way the application needs to flow.
I think you're a little mistaken about UI development. UI development is difficult and usually underestimated in its importance.
There's a need to know the basics - before you jump to HAML, know your HTML so you know what you're abstracting away. Before you jump into jQuery take the time to learn JavaScript basics - you don't need to be a pro, but when you need to add some numbers together you should not go looking for a plugin. Have a good understanding about how to style things with CSS. There's a lot to topics and technologies to learn to be a competent web UI dev.
That said, for greenfield development Rails is pretty sweet. Pick jQuery. And don't choose a platform that hides how the web really works.
I use UI designers. They are excellent for that sort of thing.
I craft my application requirements around what is practical and sometimes easy in terms of front-end work.
My companies does mostly .NET development and we have been successfully using the 'net-tiers' templates for data access layer. The templates are loaded into CodeSmith code generator and pointed against a database. The end result is anything you could possibly think of. It'll generate your DAL, webservice, winforms UI library, web UI library, a sample website and administration tool and more. A great tool to save some development time. Check it out.
As far as actually working on UI, i think it may benefit to actually hire a professional. We have a professional designer who does some contract work with us. All that we do is wire up the UI to our UI components and code.
To speed up getting an HTML page that looks like you want:
First, decide on a design and draw what you want it to look like using a graphics program (if you've got a UI designer they do this step). Then, write static HTML and CSS that matches what you've drawn. Once that's done, write code that outputs HTML that matches the format that you've decided on.
I did this for a pretty complex set of states for a web app, and found that first writing HTML and CSS by hand, without having to wrestle with your server program, makes it go much faster.
The common mistake web developers do most often is that they start writing markup without thinking what they are making and How it will look like. Later when they stuck in any problem then they have to restructure the markup several times which also affect the design too and not an efficient way.
Good developers have habit to design first then develop. What I mean to is it is better to design your website in Photoshop first the start coding. This help them a lot because they knew what they are making and what they can do later as well.
After planning let's talk something about the coding environment. Of we have a nice setup for web development then it will increase our productivity. The major part is Text Editor .It is very important to have a nice Text Editor because we do most of our work on Text Editor. Text Editor plays an important role in increasing our productivity. Well,You can't use notepad or notepad++ in 2019 . They are outdated. The best Editor in 2019 is VSCODE and Sublime Text.
Personally I use sublime Text with some plugins.
Another important part of web development is version control. You can use git for this purpose. There are many online free cloud storages too like github , bitbucket etc. on which we can save our code and access it from any part of the world. Now these days many people are remote workers and to share their work they use git. It is not only helpful in web development but it is also helpful in every software industry. This also allow you to try different styles by simply making branches without messing up with the code.
The least famous but most important part of any software developer or web developer is to use comments while coding because on small project it is very easy to find a particular piece of code but when you are working on large projects or work with a team then comments are necessary because the other developer might not be familiar with your naming conventions. If we use comments then you know what this particular code do.
In last one more thing I would like to suggest for web development is to use browser's developers tool. They are truly awesome and very helpful in finding an error. Developers tools contain console, live code preview, responsive website preview with various mobile devices options and much more.
Some useful plugins for web development are:
Emmet
Prettify
Color Picker
File Icon
Git gutter
Integrated Terminal
Hope you get the answer of your question
Developers are extremely prolific individuals. They are continually improving their tools in order to increase their production and produce better outcomes faster.
For over a decade, I've been doing full-stack web development. One of the most difficult hurdles I'm having right now is that I need to focus on a range of tasks in a short amount of time, from designing user interfaces to deploying web applications.
To speed up my output, I use a number of technologies and frameworks. For UI, I usually use Bootstrap 4 and Bulma for most of my projects when it comes to building responsive web apps.
As I continue to focus on developing a variety of Web applications, I've seen that there are certain similar themes that I've noticed when doing so:
Consider the following example:
User Interface for Login/Signup/Forget Password
Layouts like a dashboard
Layouts for User Profiles
Form of Configuration
The list could go on and on.
I believe that most full-stack developers have come across the same UI pattern when developing their Web Apps UI.
So, to make the above procedure go faster, we created a simple tool that allows you to drag and drop — pre-made Bootstrap 4 components like Signup Form with Cover Image, Login Form, Dashboard Layout, and so on...
But wait, there are already a number of comparable Bootstrap builders out there, so why do I need to create another one?
The majority of Bootstrap Builders are focused on creating websites, however we choose to create this specifically for Creating Faster Web Apps UI.
Other aspects have also been taken into account.
Because drag and drop is sometimes a limiting choice for developers to modify the layout, we created an in-built full-featured Code Editor that allows you to generate numerous HTML, CSS, and JS files to extend the UI of your Web Apps.
In conclusion, you may make use of the following advantages.
Drag & Drop — Pre-Made Bootstrap Blocks — Dashboard Layouts, Signup
Forms, *Login Forms, E-Commerce Order Layouts, and more
Drag and Drop — Default Bootstrap Components to improve the layout
even more, such as Buttons, Cards, and so on...
Create/Edit UI enhancements using HTML, CSS, and JS.
Use the entire project for production or future development by
downloading it.
Publish to Netlify to show off your work to potential clients.
I hope, you enjoy using this tool for creating responsive Web Apps UI faster.
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Say I had an open-source project which I wanted to try and generate some exposure for. Would it be considered unethical to set up a project entry for it on several sites such at github, sourceforge and google code, for example?
This would be purely for giving it greater exposure. I realise there might be some practical reasons for doing this, such as wanting to use github for source control, and sourceforge for issue tracking, forums and such. For the sake if this question I'm wanting to focus more on the case where you use one of the sites as the main site for the project, and make "stub" projects on the other sites that point back to the main site.
My gut feeling is that while it may not be outrightly unethical, it might be bordering on the sleezy side...
Stick with one provider. "If you build it, they will come" :)
Besides, once people do start coming, they'll just google the project name anyway. Finding the same project on Sourceforge, Github and Google Code is just going to annoy the hell out of people.
I don't know about the ethics, but consider the practicalities:
you will have to do multiple repeated
uploads to several different sites,
doing it to a single site can be a
pain
users won't know which site to report
bugs at
if you use the SVN/CVS/git
repositories, you will have multiple
copies of your code in different
repositories - a very bad idea
I'm sure there are other problems. So stick to one site - I've been using Google Code for a small project I've just started (CSVfix, if anyone is interesed) and I can recommend Google as being very easy to set up.
I think this is fine, for the reason that each provider may have something you want. You should pick the services that are best for your project. For example:
Google code has file hosting, but the issue management is terrible, so
Launchpad has great bug tracking, but no wiki, and we use Mercurial, so
Bitbucket.org has mercurial hosting etc..
So it might be reasonable to use Launchpad for bug tracking, and Google code for hosting files and wiki, and Bitbucket.org for hosting source.
I would suggest choose your preferred host for your project. You can publish about your project on many forums. Exposure will come via search engines.
I don't know why you think it would be unethical or sleezy. Maybe you can say more about that so people could address your concerns directly. To measure that, consider if you are intentionally breaking the rules of the service, lying to anyone about how you are using the service, and being deceptive in some other way. If you are using multiple services, I don't think you have anything to hide.
Consider the Perl community, which is the one I deal with. Several projects are hosted on one of the source control services, such as SourceForge, Google Code, or Github. The main distribution for most Perl stuff is CPAN, though. Other people may distribute through Freshmeat or some other service. The main issue tracker comes from Best Practical, which hosts a free RT for every Perl module on CPAN. Most of the people I know use the best from more than one service. Indeed, the Web 2.0 way is to create applications by cobbling together services from multiple vendors. :)
You should also think about the social construction of these free sites. Places like SourceForge and Github give out free accounts, but they also sell services. They get the buzz through the free stuff that allows them to sell the premium services. I don't see anything wrong with that. If you're using the free services, just realize that in return for your free use, they get to use you as free tester, advertiser, and so on. Again, I don't see anything wrong with that. It's just part of the deal. You aren't just taking from them, you are also giving to them. There's an exchange between consenting parties.
What would be unethical, I think, is any service that forbids you to use another service or intentionally sets up a situation which would make it hard for you to use another service by not being compatible with common tools or not giving you access to your data (e.g. somehow disallowing git-svn, and so on).
Services spanning these various hosts will be inconvenient and difficult to maintain. For the above mentioned reliance on search engines to generate traffic take care to chose a name that differentiates your project from the web noise. A clear indication that traffic will not arrive is if your project first gets a re-recommendation on spelling. Take for example the people who brought you the chattr project from GNU. Immediately chatr is suggested as the proper search and your traffic will suffer accordingly.
as i has already been said having to maintain the code on several hosts will make it more trouble then it is worth. What you have to think is you would need to make sure that it uploads properly over several hosts, it would more then likely cause confusion to some over if one copy is legit and the others aren't which in turn could cause a bad name for the project before you even start.
End of the day there are much more, better ways to spread the word of your project, social networking sites, specific related forums are two main ones for you to consider, either way you would be better off spending your time posting to several sites then you would uploading and maintaining code on several sites.
I consider having several (independent) mirrors to be a benefit for the community, because such distributedness assures more reliable accessibility of your public work, now and in future (it will survive the failure of any single hosting site).
That's why I want to keep track of the available diffeent options to publicly host open-source projects:
Which public hosting sites for darcs projects are there?
Which public Git hosting sites are there that are free software?
I believe it's rather ethical (or moral) to put some effort into ensuring that your public work is published in the most accessible way (well documented, and with some guarantees about it being accessible at any moment when someone is interested).
The effort for you to push your work to several places independently (I mean, they won't depend on each other) and manage all this is probably not really a nightmare (as suggested in some other answers here), especially with a DVCS. For example, one can even set up Git so that one pushes to several places with just one command.
I feel that unless you are forcing someone to read something done by you, but you are rather just putting your stuff somewhere for it to be findable and accessible if someone is interested, you are not egoistic or ego-whatever.