4 ms·

Develop iOS apps using an iPhone/iPad (with code)

42 points by mmmmax 16y ago

mmmmax 16y ago
The reason I'm so excited about this is that it exports objective-C right into Xcode.
- joezydeco 16y ago
  And more importantly, it seems to skip Interface Builder. I hate that thing.
  - mmmmax 16y ago
    Agreed.
  - andreyf 16y ago
    Seems more like a replacement for Interface Builder. And quite a useful one. I'd love to be able to work on an iPad interface on my commute, come into the office, and start hacking away at the actual code at my desk.
  - rimantas 16y ago
    There are people who prefer to write out all those CGRects by hand? Interesting. What will you do when Xcode 4 comes out? ;)
    - Xuzz 16y ago
      I do. I find Interface Builder unworkable for anything but the simplest of projects: there's just too much "magic".
- mahipal 16y ago
  This is also the most exciting feature to me. But, looking through the reviews, it sounds like the buggiest feature. Worst of all, they process your UIs server-side and then send the code to you. Unacceptable. I just picked up Dapp (http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au/ http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au/) and put together the first screen of an app that's been bouncing around in my head for a couple weeks. It was pretty intuitive and quick to put it together. I also confirmed that Dapp generates all its code client-side, by using the app only in Airplane mode. Looking over the code, I'm not thrilled about the coding style, but it's not bad for auto-generated code. So I can't speak for Interfaces (I wasn't going to drop $10 on an app that had terrible reviews about the one killer feature I need) but it seems like Dapp is a winner. YMMV.
tehjones 16y ago
I cant see this lasting very long
- jrnkntl 16y ago
  Why not?
  - spearo77 16y ago
    See http://blog.robrhyne.com/post/659211315/almost-on-the-app-store http://blog.robrhyne.com/post/659211315/almost-on-the-app-st...
    - kmfrk 16y ago
      I got it half or a whole year ago. Back then, you could preview your mock-ups on the iOS devices as actual apps, but the new iOS rules forced them to ditch that feature. (Which sucks when you're a Windows user.) It's not going to be pulled all of a sudden.
- mmmmax 16y ago
  Buy it before Apple destroys it (or buys them)!
jcsalterego 16y ago
This reminds me of Briefs: https://github.com/capttaco/Briefs https://github.com/capttaco/Briefs
- lux 16y ago
  Wow, the video on giveabrief.com is too funny! I really like the idea of mocking up via more of a scripting language, especially since it's exportable to a real project in Xcode. As a developer, clicking that many times to build a mockup still seems a bit dreadful to me. Edit: I believe all the apps mentioned here export to Xcode, just specifying a preference for typing vs clicking :)
patr1ck 16y ago
Has anyone played with Dapp? http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au/ http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au/ Does the same, costs the same, and has been updated as recently as this week – unlike Interface, which was last updated in June.
mmmmax 16y ago
This also reminds me of pg's RFS5: Development on Handhelds http://ycombinator.com/rfs5.html http://ycombinator.com/rfs5.html
jp 16y ago
"So you are almost done ! Great! Here is $2000. Go build my GroupOnTwitterFacebook iPad client post haste !"
rbarooah 16y ago
It has surprisingly bad reviews on the App store - enough to put me off even though I want something like this and my threshold for just trying stuff is usually quite low. Also, although I'd rather it was a universal app, having to pay twice is not fatal, but not being able to prototype iPhone apps on the iPad seems like a pretty weird and artificial limitation.

42 points by mmmmax 16y ago

mmmmax 16y ago

The reason I'm so excited about this is that it exports objective-C right into Xcode.

joezydeco 16y ago
And more importantly, it seems to skip Interface Builder. I hate that thing.
- mmmmax 16y ago
  Agreed.
- andreyf 16y ago
  Seems more like a replacement for Interface Builder. And quite a useful one. I'd love to be able to work on an iPad interface on my commute, come into the office, and start hacking away at the actual code at my desk.
- rimantas 16y ago
  There are people who prefer to write out all those CGRects by hand? Interesting. What will you do when Xcode 4 comes out? ;)
  - Xuzz 16y ago
    I do. I find Interface Builder unworkable for anything but the simplest of projects: there's just too much "magic".
mahipal 16y ago
This is also the most exciting feature to me. But, looking through the reviews, it sounds like the buggiest feature. Worst of all, they process your UIs server-side and then send the code to you. Unacceptable. I just picked up Dapp (http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au/ http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au/) and put together the first screen of an app that's been bouncing around in my head for a couple weeks. It was pretty intuitive and quick to put it together. I also confirmed that Dapp generates all its code client-side, by using the app only in Airplane mode. Looking over the code, I'm not thrilled about the coding style, but it's not bad for auto-generated code. So I can't speak for Interfaces (I wasn't going to drop $10 on an app that had terrible reviews about the one killer feature I need) but it seems like Dapp is a winner. YMMV.

tehjones 16y ago

I cant see this lasting very long

jrnkntl 16y ago
Why not?
- spearo77 16y ago
  See http://blog.robrhyne.com/post/659211315/almost-on-the-app-store http://blog.robrhyne.com/post/659211315/almost-on-the-app-st...
  - kmfrk 16y ago
    I got it half or a whole year ago. Back then, you could preview your mock-ups on the iOS devices as actual apps, but the new iOS rules forced them to ditch that feature. (Which sucks when you're a Windows user.) It's not going to be pulled all of a sudden.
mmmmax 16y ago
Buy it before Apple destroys it (or buys them)!

jcsalterego 16y ago

This reminds me of Briefs: https://github.com/capttaco/Briefs https://github.com/capttaco/Briefs

lux 16y ago
Wow, the video on giveabrief.com is too funny! I really like the idea of mocking up via more of a scripting language, especially since it's exportable to a real project in Xcode. As a developer, clicking that many times to build a mockup still seems a bit dreadful to me. Edit: I believe all the apps mentioned here export to Xcode, just specifying a preference for typing vs clicking :)

patr1ck 16y ago

Has anyone played with Dapp? http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au/ http://dapp.kerofrog.com.au/ Does the same, costs the same, and has been updated as recently as this week – unlike Interface, which was last updated in June.

mmmmax 16y ago

This also reminds me of pg's RFS5: Development on Handhelds http://ycombinator.com/rfs5.html http://ycombinator.com/rfs5.html

jp 16y ago

"So you are almost done ! Great! Here is $2000. Go build my GroupOnTwitterFacebook iPad client post haste !"

rbarooah 16y ago

It has surprisingly bad reviews on the App store - enough to put me off even though I want something like this and my threshold for just trying stuff is usually quite low. Also, although I'd rather it was a universal app, having to pay twice is not fatal, but not being able to prototype iPhone apps on the iPad seems like a pretty weird and artificial limitation.