Take the 2-minute tour ×  I have big dreams of writing the next
Facebook (unrealistic I know) and I'm in the planning stages as
we speak and I'm umming and ahing about using a php framework
for this and how many development hours it would actually save
me. If any? Also is it unrealistic for one person to hand code
an entire social network solo? Whats the largest application
anyone has written on their own? I should also point out that I
have a day job, so late nights and evenings it is. And pregnant
partners to deal with :)  share|improve this question Whether or
not you succeed, attempting something like this will definitely
make you a better programmer - so, I offer my encouragement.
However, it's difficult to say how many man hours it will take.
Getting a minimally functioning social-networking site up and
running using today's frameworks isn't so difficult - you're
looking at a week or so tops. But getting it polished, usable
and scalable is another story entirely. That could takes months
or years. You al