Explore shifting the tech stack to take a microservices approach

[theecrit]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Currently, the team is getting a lot of javascript/React developers who are interested in contributing. These folks often struggle with our tech stack, and it impacts retention. Additionally, tying the Django database directly into the front-end Zurb framework may cause scalability issues in the future [needs confirmation/clarification from @ifed3].

Describe the solution you'd like
The current proposal is to uncouple the front-end from the current Django back-end, and rebuild the former in React (javascript). The front-end will then rely on the Django (python)-driven API to make calls to/from the PostgreSQL database. See attached diagram and branch ia-set-up-microservices.

Describe alternatives you've considered
See attached diagram for existing solution.

Additional context
This issue adds a design dependency: we'll need to identify a front-end pattern library to use (or create/adapt one). This is currently being addressed in Trello, and will be converted into a Github issue once an MVP pattern library is ready for implementation.

Labels

• Add a status label
  • implementing
• Add additional labels as needed

For Developers

Affected Components
List what pages or backend files will need to be added, removed, or changed

Technical Resources
TBD by @ifed3

Design Documentation
WOAQ-Data-Flow-Diagram-v4.pdf

Testing Outline
TBD by @ifed3

[theecrit]

Closing as addressed by PR125.