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I managed to get VS Code (as code-server) running natively and dotnet running on my Android tablet. It makes it a nice little development machine. Basically a

I managed to get VS Code (as code-server) running natively and dotnet running on my Android tablet. It makes it a nice little development machine. Basically anything Android native is horrible for developers; you can't even get a decent IDE or text editor. You still don't have source control, web servers, programming languages, etc. Termux with a few addons gives you all that. I wish Google would recognize the value of a real Linux/Unix environment the way that both Apple and Microsoft have in recent years.

mav3rick 6y ago
Google is shipping a full Linux VM integrated in the base OS on Chromebooks.
- wvenable 6y ago
  Where's the love for Android, though?
  - mav3rick 6y ago
    You mentioned Microsoft and Apple they have shells etc..on desktop OSes not phones.
    - wvenable 6y ago
      My Android device is a tablet with a keyboard and trackpad. It's not all just phones.
      - mav3rick 6y ago
        Android tablets have very few users. And I doubt giving a Linux shell will change that. Chrome OS runs Android apps now. It also has tablets and convertibles.
        pjmlp 6y ago
        And the low market penetration outside the US school system proves how much consumers actually care about it.
        mav3rick 6y ago
        And yet it has the features the op wanted.
pjmlp 6y ago
I am happy with Shader Editor and C# Shell, though. For anything better I use a proper laptop.
- wvenable 6y ago
  That's my point. Everything available for Android proper is a toy. I have a Tab S6 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage -- it can do a lot more than play Netflix.
  - pjmlp 6y ago
    My point is that I am fine with it, I don't want to code on the go on my phone, beyond some toy programming while on the bus, train or waiting for check in. Coding on Nokia Communicator (even the latest versions) or Nokia's Linux based phones/tablets was also not the best ergonomics. Also I don't care about having a Linux CLI or something like Termux, any kind of devenv is ok for me, so to extend my list, if you want to develop Android apps on S6, then install AIDE- IDE, it will surely appreciate those 8GB.
    - wvenable 6y ago
      I think you missed that my Android device (the Tab S6) is a full 10" tablet with a keyboard and trackpad.
      - pjmlp 6y ago
        No I did not, from my point of view we should embrace new computing models instead of trying to turn everything into a PDP-11, and from that point of view there is AIDE- IDE, and plenty of other developer like experiences. If none of them are good enough, it is like my business professor used to say, market opportunity. I also own a tablet with keyboard, by the way. More Playgrounds, less POSIX CLI.
        wvenable 6y ago
        New computing models are more restrictive and less focused on creation and more on consumption. That's fine for some people but this is hacker news. If there were a new computing model that supported my use case, fine, but there isn't. Playgrounds suck for adults. I've tried every Android editor and IDE and it's like going back 20 years. Our hardware is now powerful enough to support all computing models in whatever sandbox you want. There's no reason I have to give up my POSIX CLI. Personally I'd prefer Android native GUI software capable of interfacing with a Linux technology stack that can run programming languages, web servers, etc. This should be obvious and yet somehow it's not available. No market opportunity because the OS is locked down making all this impossible. Right now on Android I'm using Termux with an proot Ubuntu userland and running code-server which allows me to run VS Code as a PWA on Android. This is, by far, the best configuration I've found. But soon Google will make even this hack on hack impossible.

mav3rick 6y ago

Google is shipping a full Linux VM integrated in the base OS on Chromebooks.

wvenable 6y ago
Where's the love for Android, though?
- mav3rick 6y ago
  You mentioned Microsoft and Apple they have shells etc..on desktop OSes not phones.
  - wvenable 6y ago
    My Android device is a tablet with a keyboard and trackpad. It's not all just phones.
    - mav3rick 6y ago
      Android tablets have very few users. And I doubt giving a Linux shell will change that. Chrome OS runs Android apps now. It also has tablets and convertibles.
      - pjmlp 6y ago
        And the low market penetration outside the US school system proves how much consumers actually care about it.
        mav3rick 6y ago
        And yet it has the features the op wanted.

pjmlp 6y ago

I am happy with Shader Editor and C# Shell, though. For anything better I use a proper laptop.

wvenable 6y ago
That's my point. Everything available for Android proper is a toy. I have a Tab S6 with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage -- it can do a lot more than play Netflix.
- pjmlp 6y ago
  My point is that I am fine with it, I don't want to code on the go on my phone, beyond some toy programming while on the bus, train or waiting for check in. Coding on Nokia Communicator (even the latest versions) or Nokia's Linux based phones/tablets was also not the best ergonomics. Also I don't care about having a Linux CLI or something like Termux, any kind of devenv is ok for me, so to extend my list, if you want to develop Android apps on S6, then install AIDE- IDE, it will surely appreciate those 8GB.
  - wvenable 6y ago
    I think you missed that my Android device (the Tab S6) is a full 10" tablet with a keyboard and trackpad.
    - pjmlp 6y ago
      No I did not, from my point of view we should embrace new computing models instead of trying to turn everything into a PDP-11, and from that point of view there is AIDE- IDE, and plenty of other developer like experiences. If none of them are good enough, it is like my business professor used to say, market opportunity. I also own a tablet with keyboard, by the way. More Playgrounds, less POSIX CLI.
      - wvenable 6y ago
        New computing models are more restrictive and less focused on creation and more on consumption. That's fine for some people but this is hacker news. If there were a new computing model that supported my use case, fine, but there isn't. Playgrounds suck for adults. I've tried every Android editor and IDE and it's like going back 20 years. Our hardware is now powerful enough to support all computing models in whatever sandbox you want. There's no reason I have to give up my POSIX CLI. Personally I'd prefer Android native GUI software capable of interfacing with a Linux technology stack that can run programming languages, web servers, etc. This should be obvious and yet somehow it's not available. No market opportunity because the OS is locked down making all this impossible. Right now on Android I'm using Termux with an proot Ubuntu userland and running code-server which allows me to run VS Code as a PWA on Android. This is, by far, the best configuration I've found. But soon Google will make even this hack on hack impossible.