Web Application Tech Stack Evaluation

Your proposed tech stack (Django + REST API, Angular, PostgreSQL) is actually quite solid for the requirements you've described. Let me analyze each component and provide some thoughts:

Backend: Django with REST API

Django is an excellent choice for your backend because:

• It has a robust ORM for database interactions
• Django REST Framework provides powerful tools for building APIs
• It includes built-in admin interface for database management
• It scales well for your 100+ user requirement

Frontend: Angular

Angular works well for complex form-based applications:

• Excellent for multi-page forms with validation
• Strong typing with TypeScript helps maintain code quality
• Reactive forms are particularly useful for complex data capture
• Good performance for displaying large datasets

Database: PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL is ideal for your needs:

• Handles 1M+ records efficiently
• Excellent for complex queries and search operations
• Strong ACID compliance for transactional data
• Good integration with Django

Potential Alternatives to Consider

While your stack is solid, here are some alternatives that might be worth considering:

Backend Alternatives

• FastAPI: If API performance is critical, FastAPI offers better performance than Django REST Framework
• Node.js with Express: If your team has JavaScript expertise, this could provide a unified language stack

Frontend Alternatives

• React: Lighter weight than Angular, with a larger ecosystem
• Vue.js: Easier learning curve if your team is new to modern frontend frameworks

Database (Your choice is optimal)

PostgreSQL is the best choice for your described requirements.

Optimization Considerations

For handling 1M+ records efficiently:

• Implement proper indexing in PostgreSQL
• Consider pagination for search results
• Use Django's select_related/prefetch_related to minimize database queries
• Implement caching for frequently accessed data

Your proposed stack is well-suited for the application you've described, particularly for the multi-page forms and search functionality against a large dataset.