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I'm looking for insight from someone who has used at least AWS (if not also Parse.com). My iOS app currently uses Parse.com for these purposes: 1) to store user data (by translating between JSON and core data) 2) to run javascript functions to update my database with data from the web 3) for easy Facebook authentication, which is the basis for user accounts

I am now eligible for a massive hosting credit from AWS, so I am trying to assess the difficulty of switching (not to mention new concerns about Parse.com's quality). From what I've read, it seems AWS offers a variety of hosting options. However, in reference to (1), I have not seen any specific mention of JSON tables, and that's the only kind of database I'm familiar with.

So I'm looking for better understanding of which AWS database options would most closely approximate Parse.com's JSON-based database. And I'm also interested in any comments about (2) and (3)---what AWS features would provide the nearest substitutes. Thank you

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  • @gnat It would be nice if it were a more straightforward topic, but I'm sure you understand the value of this question to anyone contemplating moving to AWS from Parse, and the fact that there is certainly someone in the community who can provide valuable input. Is there a more appropriate stack exchange?
    – mkc842
    May 20, 2014 at 16:07

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Ugh. Almost none? They are really different beasts. I would suggest that you look at DynamoDB if you want a fast key-value store, and RDS for a good old fashioned database.

There's a mobile SDK that Amazon provides that will let you connect to Dynamo directly from the device.

You might, might, might get something interesting by using CoreData and an RDS instance together, but that's probably not something that you want to do.

For users, you'll have to use AWS federated identity and force your users to login with one of the supported services (Facebook etc).

The two services operate at very different levels of abstraction, Parse is significantly higher level.

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