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I don't agree. I think online tools are great for quick-and-easy testing, and doesn't require any privacy issues. Mostly the benefit is ergonomics: I don't need

I don't agree. I think online tools are great for quick-and-easy testing, and doesn't require any privacy issues. Mostly the benefit is ergonomics: I don't need to set up a bunch of stuff to do the thing I want, someone has done it because they had the exact same need. The kind of thing I typically do with them: - Diff two files - Check brackets. JSON, jwt, that kind of thing - Run code snippets in a fiddle site - Regex - Unit converters, HEX/decimal calculators - Color pickers In all cases, I'm using the tool before anything sensitive has been created. Why shouldn't I use a regex tool to figure out the exact string before I copy-paste it into my code? Or if I want to see if some particular little algorithm works, why not play around with it online, when an editor is already there and ready? In any case, whatever I discover is part of a larger whole that was not set up in a way where this subproblem was going to be easy to test for, eg my particular use case may not make it easy to put a bunch of tests strings through regex.

ahefner 6y ago
I was boggling at how this could be tolerably efficient for someone, but I think I see it. My development workflow is terminal-centric, so copying out of the terminal to paste into a browser is extremely painful, whereas running 'diff', 'json_verify', etc. on local files or typing snippets into python/node/etc. from the shell is almost free. I suppose though if I were spending my day in VS Code or any kind of GUI IDE or similar, and if my workflow isn't optimized to pop open a unix shell with a keystroke for quick throwaway commands, it would be a lot easier just to C-a C-c alt-tab C-v from my GUI editor into a browser.
- bradstewart 6y ago
  Pretty much. I use a mix of terminal and VS Code for development. Quite often I either don't have tools like json_verify, a hex/rgb code converter, jwt pretty printer, etc installed; or I can't remember what/how they're called. At which point its usually easier to slap it in a web search.

ahefner 6y ago

I was boggling at how this could be tolerably efficient for someone, but I think I see it. My development workflow is terminal-centric, so copying out of the terminal to paste into a browser is extremely painful, whereas running 'diff', 'json_verify', etc. on local files or typing snippets into python/node/etc. from the shell is almost free. I suppose though if I were spending my day in VS Code or any kind of GUI IDE or similar, and if my workflow isn't optimized to pop open a unix shell with a keystroke for quick throwaway commands, it would be a lot easier just to C-a C-c alt-tab C-v from my GUI editor into a browser.

bradstewart 6y ago
Pretty much. I use a mix of terminal and VS Code for development. Quite often I either don't have tools like json_verify, a hex/rgb code converter, jwt pretty printer, etc installed; or I can't remember what/how they're called. At which point its usually easier to slap it in a web search.