11 ms·

Buffereditor – Code and Text Editor for iPhone, iPad and iPad Pro

135 points by denisw 4y ago

iNic 4y ago
This is so good. Back in undergrad I had a setup with a powerful PC at home running Linux with jupyter notebook running. Then I could connect with my iPad from the university and get all the power. This makes me want to try that setup again!
rado 4y ago
I couldn't find a screenshot/video of the headline feature, “Preview on localhost”, is it just me?
osy 4y ago
Does it support searching regex expressions in all files in a directory as well as all open files?
uuyi 4y ago
I appreciate the effort that goes into these products but I find the market position weird. Case in point: by the time I add a keyboard case to my 11" iPad Pro, it weighs more than my MacBook Air does and it's not a lot smaller. I think I should just take the MacBook Air with me. That has the same CPU, storage and memory and I can run full stack on it fine. That is not to denigrate the usefulness of the iPad, which I run a big chunk of my life on, but editing text or code is one place it really doesn't add up. The killer app I find with my iPad is when you need pen input. For drawing, doing route planning in OS maps and general research and note taking it's an amazing little device.
- Etheryte 4y ago
  I think there's a target market segment you're missing here and it's hinted at in the lede: > Easily develop software, view code or take notes on the go. iPads are very popular with students in markets where they can afford them, and tools like these are a great fit for them.
  - uuyi 4y ago
    I think you're extrapolating that far beyond the specification. Honestly I've actually tried to sit and write code on an iPad. I forced myself to exclusively use one for 2 months. It's one of those things where it's entirely the wrong tool for the job. Casual note taking perhaps but that's about it.
    - null_object 4y ago
      > I think you're extrapolating that far beyond the specification. I think you're extrapolating that far beyond your own datapoint of one person.
    - panzerboiler 4y ago
      I write a lot of code on the iPad (more than 40h/week, both webdev and native, since at least 4 years) and I like it better than using my (aging) laptop or a desktop computer. It's incredibly smooth and forces me to do mostly one thing at a time. I find it a better match with how my brain works. That being said, you cannot do everything on it, but that is part the point.
- lnxg33k1 4y ago
  I think I don't want a laptop, but the only thing preventing me from getting the most powerful iPad is Apple policies, you are right, when you put a keyboard on the iPad it weights as much as your MacBook Pro, but then the tablet is on his desk, and the ability to remove it and just use it in the bath to read something, or to hang it to a iron arm and watch a video are not that easy with a MacBook, as soon as iPad supports virtualization and proper development workflow I am sold, I go and never come back to laptops (but I don't have laptops, only the work one)
  - uuyi 4y ago
    That's never going to happen. I guarantee it.
    - lnxg33k1 4y ago
      I think it could happen given legislation allowing easy sideloading of apps and competition on app stores, and maybe a production simplification where it would make sense to use the same CPU on both Macbook and tables
      - geoffpado 4y ago
        Apple already uses the same CPU in the lower-end MacBooks (Air, Pro 13") and higher-end iPads (Air, Pro).
  - aspenmayer 4y ago
    Another potential benefit of the iPad over macOS alternatives: you can get a waterproof case for an iPad. There’s just no easy way to make a macOS device waterproof. As for virtualization of other OS on iOS: already exists! https://getutm.app/ https://getutm.app/
    - lnxg33k1 4y ago
      Ah shit that looks awesome, didn't know it! thank you!
- w4rh4wk5 4y ago
  Plus, your MacBook Air comes with a calculator.
  - brimble 4y ago
    This continues to baffle me. Apple's usually so good at the extra first party software, and they already have an iOS calculator on iPhones. WTF. I get that they don't do it for polish reasons or whatever, but just letting the iPhone version run on the iPad would be a huge improvement.
  - AnonymousPlanet 4y ago
    FYI: You can do simple calculations in the Spotlight-like search prompt of the iPad.
  - uuyi 4y ago
    Yeah this one actually pisses me off about the iPad. The Mac calculator in RPN mode is my goto but on iOS, nope!
    - jonsen 4y ago
      I use this free and good RPN calculator app: https://apps.apple.com/no/app/42s-rpn-calculator/id301525577 https://apps.apple.com/no/app/42s-rpn-calculator/id301525577
      - uuyi 4y ago
        Yeah I've got that one (and a real 42s) :)
        jonsen 4y ago
        For offpad I have the DM42 from SwissMicros. It has a 4 line display like the 42s app.
        uuyi 4y ago
- deepstack 4y ago
  >The killer app I find with my iPad is when you need pen input. For drawing, doing route planning in OS maps and general research and note taking it's an amazing little device. this is one of things I still love about Apple (being Mac user since Apple II). They really done their market research and how users use the devices. Each device is designed for some specific purposes on daily usage.
- maccard 4y ago
  At least for me, I do'nt have a Macbook Air. I've got a 10" ipad air, and a 14" Macbook Pro - this would make a huge amount of sense for me for travel.
  - uuyi 4y ago
    I don't have a MacBook Air either despite writing that. I sold it and bought a 14" MacBook Pro. That's still better.
- makeitdouble 4y ago
  > I think I should just take the MacBook Air with me. This is the core differenciator: people who don’t take a MBA with them will benefit from the product. And there can be so many reasons. Obviously not everyone buys laptops. Or they might not want to bring the work laptop on a trip but still have an option to do some coding by just pairing a keyboard. Or they hate the laptop keyboard and bring an external keyboard with them anyway. Or really love iOS and prefer the iPad. Or they killed a laptop screen when bringing it around on a tough trip and don’t want to do that again. Or they have cellular on the iPad.
  - uuyi 4y ago
    All of these problems are working back from the solution to the problem. Life has taught me to start at the problems.
    - ericlewis 4y ago
      Problem: don’t want to bring thing that must be attached to a keyboard at all times to be useful. Solution: iPad.
      - uuyi 4y ago
        That's a terrible causal relation. Run a KT decision analysis. The iPad will never come out as the device you actually end up writing code on if you're honest with yourself.
        jll29 4y ago
        What I see a lot at airports is: people traveling with ALL of the following: - mobile phone - iPad - Laptop So each time another smaller device gets invented people just _add_ it instead of the smaller devices replacing the bigger ones. So despite all the technical integration, the weight of people's hand luggage (gadgets + adaptors) actually goes up, not down!
        4y ago
- ericlewis 4y ago
  As a person who codes on MacBooks and iPads and also uses them for fun.. You’re missing the segment of people who are traveling and don’t want to take their entire MacBook places. Even if it’s smaller, I can’t simply detach it’s screen and hold it to watch Netflix or such. I often take on the extra size an iPad may have for size versatility down the road. One doesn’t always have or want to figure out a flat surface to place your device when on the road, in bed, on toilet, or in a bath. I also code quite a lot on my iPad as an iOS dev, because playgrounds are a fantastic way to create mini libraries, apps, or explore some idea you may have on the go. Performance is amazing with the M1 series as well. The one thing I dont do with my iPad is any sort of pen input. I’ve never found it useful, but I’m also faster at typing than drawing or annotating. I used to always by the pencil to go with the pro, but stopped doing that a couple years ago because I simply never use it.
  - uuyi 4y ago
    > You’re missing the segment of people who are traveling and don’t want to take their entire MacBook places. Even if it’s smaller, I can’t simply detach it’s screen and hold it to watch Netflix or such. This is the solution being applied before the problem again. It is a case of applying compromises to fit the solution into the available device rather than look at the problem and choose a device suitable for it. I travel with my iPad. It's fine for that. But I'm certainly not going to be writing up anything extensive or writing any code on it. > I often take on the extra size an iPad may have for size versatility down the road. One doesn’t always have or want to figure out a flat surface to place your device when on the road, in bed, on toilet, or in a bath. I prefer not to shit or wash where I compute :). As for the surfaces, the iPad is the least flexible device. At worst you have to hold it constantly which is painful after an hour or so. > I also code quite a lot on my iPad as an iOS dev, because playgrounds are a fantastic way to create mini libraries, apps, or explore some idea you may have on the go. Performance is amazing with the M1 series as well. Having used Swift Playground extensively, I think you must be living in the future where they fixed all the show stopping bugs and crashes. It's totally unusable for me and doesn't meet even a minimum bar for quality. >The one thing I dont do with my iPad is any sort of pen input. I’ve never found it useful, but I’m also faster at typing than drawing or annotating. I used to always by the pencil to go with the pro, but stopped doing that a couple years ago because I simply never use it. It's definitely quicker to type. But it's quicker to draw than type if the scenario isn't suited to textual description.
- joeman1000 4y ago
  I bought an M1 iPad Pro (12”?) last year and feel about the same. The processor is overkill and the battery life suffers as a result. It’s bulky, not nice on my lap (w/ keyboard) and is heavier than the more capable MBA. It does have some redeeming features which stop me from selling it: + Excellent mini-LED screen (some bad ‘blooming’ effects though) + It’s highly portable without the keyboard + It’s great for weird locations, like watching something in the bath, or while cooking + Enables me to easily sign and fill forms without printing I am disappointed by the offerings for note taking with the pencil. I’m nearly through with a civil engineering degree and have had the iPad for 2 semesters. I thought this thing would be super handy for marking up plans, highlighting in textbooks, making hand-written notes in class… nope. I’ll read a pdf on it every now and then, but I find all of the other tasks too cumbersome to repeatedly perform on the iPad. Notes are annoyingly stored inside apps (goodnotes) until you manually export them. Goodnotes itself is not very ‘good’ either. It’s clunky and turns the device into a space heater. I cannot find a pdf/note-taking app that: + Doesn’t have intrusive menu bars that are permanently on + Has sane keyboard shortcuts + Can edit/markup pdfs in-place without ‘importing’ them + Has a smooth drawing feature. (Goodnotes is smooth. Apple default is crap) + Has drawing tools that are more than just making squares and circles + Has good support for equations and scientific notation (OCR or other interaction). Have any other science or engineering students found anything better than goodnotes or notability?
  - 58x14 4y ago
    Concepts (https://concepts.app/en/ https://concepts.app/en/) has been my go-to for several years. Several engineers I know use it for much of their draft work. I don't do much beyond diagrams and wireframes, but I think it covers at least half your points, and the UI is pretty wonderful. Last I checked, you can markup PDFs in iCloud without importing / exporting, but YMMV.
sjroot 4y ago
Another option people may want to consider is hosting a version of Code Server[1]. I do this with my iPad Pro and it has been incredibly convenient. I even have it configured so that ports can be routed to via my domain, meaning I can do web development with a local server on port 3000 and view it live at 3000.my.domain.tld. 1: https://github.com/coder/code-server https://github.com/coder/code-server
- robenkleene 4y ago
  Blink Shell also now has Code Server built-in https://docs.blink.sh/advanced/code https://docs.blink.sh/advanced/code
  - jz10 4y ago
    Using Blink shell VSCode connected to a remote VM (for a working terminal) is quirky but absolutely amazing nonetheless
  - hobr 4y ago
    The VScode in Blink is editor-only, essentially what you get from https://vscode.dev https://vscode.dev. To actually compile/execute you'll need to connect it to something like Codespaces or code-server.
  - monkin 4y ago
    It’s not Code-Server, but actual VSCode with additional fixes for mobile backed in inside Blink itself. Which is extremely awesome, having this in mind you can connect to variety of services to start coding on the fly(Codespaces, Gitpod, etc.) without thinking about setting up VPS. Here’s more on that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCbhbCWA_G4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCbhbCWA_G4
- gorbypark 4y ago
  GitHub Codespaces works decently well on an iPad as well. I had to send in my MacBook for a repair that took and week and I managed to use the iPad with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse fairly successfully. It was a web project, so that helped.
reeeeee 4y ago
I've been looking for a good code editor for my phone for a very long time already. This looks supernice, but I have an Android smartphone... Can anyone recommend a good IDE that runs on an Android phone?
- mynameismon 4y ago
  Termux is your best friend. It is basically a fully featured Linux shell on your Android phone.
  - reeeeee 4y ago
    I have termux to execute commands such as git, builds etc. But outside of vi, are there really IDEs for termux?
- pjmlp 4y ago
  Depends of what you're after, Pydroid 3, C# Shell and AIDE are okish.
- jpindar 4y ago
  I like DroidEdit.
jfmc 4y ago
I do not understand why people can be happy with the artificial software barriers. I'm really happy with my Apple M1 but I'd never use it if I could not run Emacs and free software on it.
- celeritascelery 4y ago
  I feel the same. Until the iPad can run emacs it will always a “toy” device.
  - monkin 4y ago
    I’m probably from alternative universe, but I just managed to work and play with Doom Emacs on my iPad.
    - joeman1000 4y ago
      How did you do this?
      - celeritascelery 4y ago
        They are using an terminal app to ssh into another non-toy machine that is running doom Emacs. Not quite the same.
- quesera 4y ago
  Artificial software barriers are the norm, and often desirable. Cars, TVs, dishwashers, game consoles, etc etc. General purpose computers are the exception. While most people have never given it any thought at all, many of the rest of us absolutely do not want our phone to be a GPC.
  - ben-schaaf 4y ago
    Cars, dumb TVs, dishwashers, etc. aren't general purpose computer platforms. There's no market for running arbitrary software on them, nor do they contain a web-browser. Smart TVs, game consoles, phones and tablets on the other hand already are general purpose computers. It is possible for someone to run whatever they want on them, be it by jumping through all the hoops or just by hosting a website. These artificial software barriers exist purely as anti-consumer rent extraction; they don't limit the functionality of the device beyond putting a price on participation.
lispm 4y ago
No Emacs commands?
yosito 4y ago
The marketing website totally sold me on it, but as soon as I opened the App Store and saw that it's only 3.9 stars I decided I don't really want to pay for it. The only reason I bother to start using apps under 4.1 stars is if I have no choice. 3.9 stars hints that there is a major problem with the app that the developers haven't addressed. Meanwhile, the similar app Textastic has 4.8 stars.
- yokoprime 4y ago
  Not sure if this is satire or not
- jonsen 4y ago
  On the Norwegian store it's got 4.3 stars.
- tobyhinloopen 4y ago
  In other words, you only support apps that bothered to pay for good reviews
- k8sToGo 4y ago
  Would it not be better to just read the low score reviews instead and decide then if those apply to you?
- alin23 4y ago
  My 4.8 star rcmd app (https://lowtechguys.com/rcmd https://lowtechguys.com/rcmd) had 1 stars on the Germany store for a long time, because one guy gave a 1-star "App is terrible. It isn't working." review. I responded as soon as I noticed the review (App Store doesn't notify me for some reason) and the reviewer never responded back. The issue was most likely on his side, because some keyboards send the wrong Command event (Left instead of Right) Screenshot (it has 4.3 stars now in Germany, thankfully because of other 5 star reviews): https://cln.sh/mmWPd8 https://cln.sh/mmWPd8 Just trying to say that you shouldn't put too much price on the reviews. A lot of the most vocal reviewers are those that don't understand what the app should do and give it 1-3 stars because they think they were robbed when the app doesn't do what they expected. They don't even know that they can ask for a refund within 14-days of the purchase and nothing is lost.
kosolam 4y ago
No option to try before buy
- alin23 4y ago
  The App Store doesn't provide a native way to do trials. They have some convoluted process with a $0 in-app purchase. I'm a macOS and iOS developer myself and constantly struggling with adding trials for App Store apps in a way that's not confusing for users.
- falcolas 4y ago
  It's $5. Even if it sucks and I only ever used it once, it's $5. I spend way more than that on a book I know I'll only read once. Our sense of value is kinda skewed these days when it comes to app costs. Probably because so many folks believe that ad supported free apps should be the norm.
rwalle 4y ago
> Easily develop software, view code or take notes on the go "Develop software", which means writing code without the ability to run them, or the ability to compile multiple files as a "project", like all the other code editors on iOS? I stopped paying attention to these apps because of how App artificially limit what apps can do. Writing Java offline? Good, but you can compile one class at a time, and the possibility of importing another user package is thrown out of the window. This makes it only useful for absolute beginners. There are alternative approaches, e.g. using a web browser, online compilation (which is not too different from web browser) and using a terminal that happens to support JDK. I saw developers literally say "Don't write reviews to complain, we have to follow the rules" Which is sad because these devices as expensive as $1k are very powerful and have all the necessary APIs to make that work, it is only the app store rules that prevent the device from becoming a "real" computer
- rwalle 4y ago
  *Apple
- ramraj07 4y ago
  Used to be on android and it wasn’t that much better either. I love the GitHub app, and with good CICD I have made many PRs from my phone itself and let the GitHub actions tell me if I did something wrong (though creating PRs I need to open the website). If I can get a really good code editor integrated with GitHub I can totally see myself working half my day from the phone.
  - naikrovek 4y ago
    I don't think it's meant to work from a mobile device (iPad with keyboard and mouse is probably very acceptable) but pushing the period key on your keyboard while viewing a GitHub.com repo will give you a fully client-side vscode editor in the browser.
  - spicybright 4y ago
    That's a bit surprising actually. The play store kinda sucks but I generally can find more flexible apps on there than iOS store. I see a lot of people run an SSH client to a server in order to edit and run code. Is that an option for you?
emrah 4y ago
On Mac/iOS, Notes is hard to beat honestly. No I can't code in it, but I don't want to code on my phone and on my laptop I have other tools to code in, sorry..
- falcolas 4y ago
  I will agree that Notes is pretty awesome. But, and it's a big but, it's not at all portable across OS. This bit me recently as I had to switch to a PC for recording, and the sudden loss of access to all my notes was a bigger blow than I'd expected. I took that as a sign, and take notes with synced text and markdown files now.
  - msh 4y ago
    All your notes are available on icloud.com
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- emrah 4y ago
  No idea why this got voted down. The app in question is for Apple ecosystem, it's not cross-platform. In the Apple ecosystem, yeah, Notes is simple, capable and hard to beat
mrfusion 4y ago
I wrote a program on the iPhone once using Pythonista. It was a little slower to type but I found it kind of revolutionary. I started writing it on the couch while watching tv, then finished it lying in bed. It was just such a relaxed experience compared to sitting up straight at a desk and forcing myself to write. It’s hard to describe.
blurker 4y ago
I definitely read the title as "buff redditor"
alexnewman 4y ago
I've been using vsts via a webpage using codespaces on my ipad combined with copilot. It's pretty amazing.
nafey 4y ago
Read this as Buff Redditor. Did a double take.
nafey 4y ago
Read this as "Buff Redditor" the first time
vmoore 4y ago
Maybe I could code on an iPad Pro, but definitely not an iPhone. The thought of coding on a phone is terrifying, unless you're one of those people who is super good at manipulating text on a phone. I'm not one of those people.
- jnovek 4y ago
  I’ve written short scripts on my phone using Pyto (https://pyto.app/ https://pyto.app/). It’s a bit of a hassle but if you just need to write ~15 lines or modify some copypasta it’s not too bad. The Pyto GUI feels sympathetic to phone users.
- favadi 4y ago
  I even struggle with typing short SMS messages. I can't imagine writing anything useful with a touchscreen keyboard.
- 1123581321 4y ago
  Different preferences. Some people are in situations where they only have a phone and want to be able to do something. The app shouldn’t be restricted to iPad only due to lack of imagination. My friend wrote two(!) novels on his lunch breaks using an iPhone and a Bluetooth keyboard.
itsdwit 4y ago
FR10 4y ago
Looks great, just a comment on the marketing screenshots. There seems to be an awful lot of "wasted" space in the editors. Maybe at least consider showing code that is a bit wider ? ~80 chars? (maybe HTML Code?) I feel like horizontal space is way more important on a 9.7" screen than on a 24" monitor.

135 points by denisw 4y ago

iNic 4y ago

This is so good. Back in undergrad I had a setup with a powerful PC at home running Linux with jupyter notebook running. Then I could connect with my iPad from the university and get all the power. This makes me want to try that setup again!

rado 4y ago

I couldn't find a screenshot/video of the headline feature, “Preview on localhost”, is it just me?

osy 4y ago

Does it support searching regex expressions in all files in a directory as well as all open files?

uuyi 4y ago

I appreciate the effort that goes into these products but I find the market position weird. Case in point: by the time I add a keyboard case to my 11" iPad Pro, it weighs more than my MacBook Air does and it's not a lot smaller. I think I should just take the MacBook Air with me. That has the same CPU, storage and memory and I can run full stack on it fine. That is not to denigrate the usefulness of the iPad, which I run a big chunk of my life on, but editing text or code is one place it really doesn't add up. The killer app I find with my iPad is when you need pen input. For drawing, doing route planning in OS maps and general research and note taking it's an amazing little device.

Etheryte 4y ago
I think there's a target market segment you're missing here and it's hinted at in the lede: > Easily develop software, view code or take notes on the go. iPads are very popular with students in markets where they can afford them, and tools like these are a great fit for them.
- uuyi 4y ago
  I think you're extrapolating that far beyond the specification. Honestly I've actually tried to sit and write code on an iPad. I forced myself to exclusively use one for 2 months. It's one of those things where it's entirely the wrong tool for the job. Casual note taking perhaps but that's about it.
  - null_object 4y ago
    > I think you're extrapolating that far beyond the specification. I think you're extrapolating that far beyond your own datapoint of one person.
  - panzerboiler 4y ago
    I write a lot of code on the iPad (more than 40h/week, both webdev and native, since at least 4 years) and I like it better than using my (aging) laptop or a desktop computer. It's incredibly smooth and forces me to do mostly one thing at a time. I find it a better match with how my brain works. That being said, you cannot do everything on it, but that is part the point.
lnxg33k1 4y ago
I think I don't want a laptop, but the only thing preventing me from getting the most powerful iPad is Apple policies, you are right, when you put a keyboard on the iPad it weights as much as your MacBook Pro, but then the tablet is on his desk, and the ability to remove it and just use it in the bath to read something, or to hang it to a iron arm and watch a video are not that easy with a MacBook, as soon as iPad supports virtualization and proper development workflow I am sold, I go and never come back to laptops (but I don't have laptops, only the work one)
- uuyi 4y ago
  That's never going to happen. I guarantee it.
  - lnxg33k1 4y ago
    I think it could happen given legislation allowing easy sideloading of apps and competition on app stores, and maybe a production simplification where it would make sense to use the same CPU on both Macbook and tables
    - geoffpado 4y ago
      Apple already uses the same CPU in the lower-end MacBooks (Air, Pro 13") and higher-end iPads (Air, Pro).
- aspenmayer 4y ago
  Another potential benefit of the iPad over macOS alternatives: you can get a waterproof case for an iPad. There’s just no easy way to make a macOS device waterproof. As for virtualization of other OS on iOS: already exists! https://getutm.app/ https://getutm.app/
  - lnxg33k1 4y ago
    Ah shit that looks awesome, didn't know it! thank you!
w4rh4wk5 4y ago
Plus, your MacBook Air comes with a calculator.
- brimble 4y ago
  This continues to baffle me. Apple's usually so good at the extra first party software, and they already have an iOS calculator on iPhones. WTF. I get that they don't do it for polish reasons or whatever, but just letting the iPhone version run on the iPad would be a huge improvement.
- AnonymousPlanet 4y ago
  FYI: You can do simple calculations in the Spotlight-like search prompt of the iPad.
- uuyi 4y ago
  Yeah this one actually pisses me off about the iPad. The Mac calculator in RPN mode is my goto but on iOS, nope!
  - jonsen 4y ago
    I use this free and good RPN calculator app: https://apps.apple.com/no/app/42s-rpn-calculator/id301525577 https://apps.apple.com/no/app/42s-rpn-calculator/id301525577
    - uuyi 4y ago
      Yeah I've got that one (and a real 42s) :)
      - jonsen 4y ago
        For offpad I have the DM42 from SwissMicros. It has a 4 line display like the 42s app.
        uuyi 4y ago
deepstack 4y ago
>The killer app I find with my iPad is when you need pen input. For drawing, doing route planning in OS maps and general research and note taking it's an amazing little device. this is one of things I still love about Apple (being Mac user since Apple II). They really done their market research and how users use the devices. Each device is designed for some specific purposes on daily usage.
maccard 4y ago
At least for me, I do'nt have a Macbook Air. I've got a 10" ipad air, and a 14" Macbook Pro - this would make a huge amount of sense for me for travel.
- uuyi 4y ago
  I don't have a MacBook Air either despite writing that. I sold it and bought a 14" MacBook Pro. That's still better.
makeitdouble 4y ago
> I think I should just take the MacBook Air with me. This is the core differenciator: people who don’t take a MBA with them will benefit from the product. And there can be so many reasons. Obviously not everyone buys laptops. Or they might not want to bring the work laptop on a trip but still have an option to do some coding by just pairing a keyboard. Or they hate the laptop keyboard and bring an external keyboard with them anyway. Or really love iOS and prefer the iPad. Or they killed a laptop screen when bringing it around on a tough trip and don’t want to do that again. Or they have cellular on the iPad.
- uuyi 4y ago
  All of these problems are working back from the solution to the problem. Life has taught me to start at the problems.
  - ericlewis 4y ago
    Problem: don’t want to bring thing that must be attached to a keyboard at all times to be useful. Solution: iPad.
    - uuyi 4y ago
      That's a terrible causal relation. Run a KT decision analysis. The iPad will never come out as the device you actually end up writing code on if you're honest with yourself.
      - jll29 4y ago
        What I see a lot at airports is: people traveling with ALL of the following: - mobile phone - iPad - Laptop So each time another smaller device gets invented people just _add_ it instead of the smaller devices replacing the bigger ones. So despite all the technical integration, the weight of people's hand luggage (gadgets + adaptors) actually goes up, not down!
        4y ago
ericlewis 4y ago
As a person who codes on MacBooks and iPads and also uses them for fun.. You’re missing the segment of people who are traveling and don’t want to take their entire MacBook places. Even if it’s smaller, I can’t simply detach it’s screen and hold it to watch Netflix or such. I often take on the extra size an iPad may have for size versatility down the road. One doesn’t always have or want to figure out a flat surface to place your device when on the road, in bed, on toilet, or in a bath. I also code quite a lot on my iPad as an iOS dev, because playgrounds are a fantastic way to create mini libraries, apps, or explore some idea you may have on the go. Performance is amazing with the M1 series as well. The one thing I dont do with my iPad is any sort of pen input. I’ve never found it useful, but I’m also faster at typing than drawing or annotating. I used to always by the pencil to go with the pro, but stopped doing that a couple years ago because I simply never use it.
- uuyi 4y ago
  > You’re missing the segment of people who are traveling and don’t want to take their entire MacBook places. Even if it’s smaller, I can’t simply detach it’s screen and hold it to watch Netflix or such. This is the solution being applied before the problem again. It is a case of applying compromises to fit the solution into the available device rather than look at the problem and choose a device suitable for it. I travel with my iPad. It's fine for that. But I'm certainly not going to be writing up anything extensive or writing any code on it. > I often take on the extra size an iPad may have for size versatility down the road. One doesn’t always have or want to figure out a flat surface to place your device when on the road, in bed, on toilet, or in a bath. I prefer not to shit or wash where I compute :). As for the surfaces, the iPad is the least flexible device. At worst you have to hold it constantly which is painful after an hour or so. > I also code quite a lot on my iPad as an iOS dev, because playgrounds are a fantastic way to create mini libraries, apps, or explore some idea you may have on the go. Performance is amazing with the M1 series as well. Having used Swift Playground extensively, I think you must be living in the future where they fixed all the show stopping bugs and crashes. It's totally unusable for me and doesn't meet even a minimum bar for quality. >The one thing I dont do with my iPad is any sort of pen input. I’ve never found it useful, but I’m also faster at typing than drawing or annotating. I used to always by the pencil to go with the pro, but stopped doing that a couple years ago because I simply never use it. It's definitely quicker to type. But it's quicker to draw than type if the scenario isn't suited to textual description.
joeman1000 4y ago
I bought an M1 iPad Pro (12”?) last year and feel about the same. The processor is overkill and the battery life suffers as a result. It’s bulky, not nice on my lap (w/ keyboard) and is heavier than the more capable MBA. It does have some redeeming features which stop me from selling it: + Excellent mini-LED screen (some bad ‘blooming’ effects though) + It’s highly portable without the keyboard + It’s great for weird locations, like watching something in the bath, or while cooking + Enables me to easily sign and fill forms without printing I am disappointed by the offerings for note taking with the pencil. I’m nearly through with a civil engineering degree and have had the iPad for 2 semesters. I thought this thing would be super handy for marking up plans, highlighting in textbooks, making hand-written notes in class… nope. I’ll read a pdf on it every now and then, but I find all of the other tasks too cumbersome to repeatedly perform on the iPad. Notes are annoyingly stored inside apps (goodnotes) until you manually export them. Goodnotes itself is not very ‘good’ either. It’s clunky and turns the device into a space heater. I cannot find a pdf/note-taking app that: + Doesn’t have intrusive menu bars that are permanently on + Has sane keyboard shortcuts + Can edit/markup pdfs in-place without ‘importing’ them + Has a smooth drawing feature. (Goodnotes is smooth. Apple default is crap) + Has drawing tools that are more than just making squares and circles + Has good support for equations and scientific notation (OCR or other interaction). Have any other science or engineering students found anything better than goodnotes or notability?
- 58x14 4y ago
  Concepts (https://concepts.app/en/ https://concepts.app/en/) has been my go-to for several years. Several engineers I know use it for much of their draft work. I don't do much beyond diagrams and wireframes, but I think it covers at least half your points, and the UI is pretty wonderful. Last I checked, you can markup PDFs in iCloud without importing / exporting, but YMMV.

sjroot 4y ago

Another option people may want to consider is hosting a version of Code Server[1]. I do this with my iPad Pro and it has been incredibly convenient. I even have it configured so that ports can be routed to via my domain, meaning I can do web development with a local server on port 3000 and view it live at 3000.my.domain.tld. 1: https://github.com/coder/code-server https://github.com/coder/code-server

robenkleene 4y ago
Blink Shell also now has Code Server built-in https://docs.blink.sh/advanced/code https://docs.blink.sh/advanced/code
- jz10 4y ago
  Using Blink shell VSCode connected to a remote VM (for a working terminal) is quirky but absolutely amazing nonetheless
- hobr 4y ago
  The VScode in Blink is editor-only, essentially what you get from https://vscode.dev https://vscode.dev. To actually compile/execute you'll need to connect it to something like Codespaces or code-server.
- monkin 4y ago
  It’s not Code-Server, but actual VSCode with additional fixes for mobile backed in inside Blink itself. Which is extremely awesome, having this in mind you can connect to variety of services to start coding on the fly(Codespaces, Gitpod, etc.) without thinking about setting up VPS. Here’s more on that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCbhbCWA_G4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCbhbCWA_G4
gorbypark 4y ago
GitHub Codespaces works decently well on an iPad as well. I had to send in my MacBook for a repair that took and week and I managed to use the iPad with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse fairly successfully. It was a web project, so that helped.

reeeeee 4y ago

I've been looking for a good code editor for my phone for a very long time already. This looks supernice, but I have an Android smartphone... Can anyone recommend a good IDE that runs on an Android phone?

mynameismon 4y ago
Termux is your best friend. It is basically a fully featured Linux shell on your Android phone.
- reeeeee 4y ago
  I have termux to execute commands such as git, builds etc. But outside of vi, are there really IDEs for termux?
pjmlp 4y ago
Depends of what you're after, Pydroid 3, C# Shell and AIDE are okish.
jpindar 4y ago
I like DroidEdit.

jfmc 4y ago

I do not understand why people can be happy with the artificial software barriers. I'm really happy with my Apple M1 but I'd never use it if I could not run Emacs and free software on it.

celeritascelery 4y ago
I feel the same. Until the iPad can run emacs it will always a “toy” device.
- monkin 4y ago
  I’m probably from alternative universe, but I just managed to work and play with Doom Emacs on my iPad.
  - joeman1000 4y ago
    How did you do this?
    - celeritascelery 4y ago
      They are using an terminal app to ssh into another non-toy machine that is running doom Emacs. Not quite the same.
quesera 4y ago
Artificial software barriers are the norm, and often desirable. Cars, TVs, dishwashers, game consoles, etc etc. General purpose computers are the exception. While most people have never given it any thought at all, many of the rest of us absolutely do not want our phone to be a GPC.
- ben-schaaf 4y ago
  Cars, dumb TVs, dishwashers, etc. aren't general purpose computer platforms. There's no market for running arbitrary software on them, nor do they contain a web-browser. Smart TVs, game consoles, phones and tablets on the other hand already are general purpose computers. It is possible for someone to run whatever they want on them, be it by jumping through all the hoops or just by hosting a website. These artificial software barriers exist purely as anti-consumer rent extraction; they don't limit the functionality of the device beyond putting a price on participation.

lispm 4y ago

No Emacs commands?

yosito 4y ago

The marketing website totally sold me on it, but as soon as I opened the App Store and saw that it's only 3.9 stars I decided I don't really want to pay for it. The only reason I bother to start using apps under 4.1 stars is if I have no choice. 3.9 stars hints that there is a major problem with the app that the developers haven't addressed. Meanwhile, the similar app Textastic has 4.8 stars.

yokoprime 4y ago
Not sure if this is satire or not
jonsen 4y ago
On the Norwegian store it's got 4.3 stars.
tobyhinloopen 4y ago
In other words, you only support apps that bothered to pay for good reviews
k8sToGo 4y ago
Would it not be better to just read the low score reviews instead and decide then if those apply to you?
alin23 4y ago
My 4.8 star rcmd app (https://lowtechguys.com/rcmd https://lowtechguys.com/rcmd) had 1 stars on the Germany store for a long time, because one guy gave a 1-star "App is terrible. It isn't working." review. I responded as soon as I noticed the review (App Store doesn't notify me for some reason) and the reviewer never responded back. The issue was most likely on his side, because some keyboards send the wrong Command event (Left instead of Right) Screenshot (it has 4.3 stars now in Germany, thankfully because of other 5 star reviews): https://cln.sh/mmWPd8 https://cln.sh/mmWPd8 Just trying to say that you shouldn't put too much price on the reviews. A lot of the most vocal reviewers are those that don't understand what the app should do and give it 1-3 stars because they think they were robbed when the app doesn't do what they expected. They don't even know that they can ask for a refund within 14-days of the purchase and nothing is lost.

kosolam 4y ago

No option to try before buy

alin23 4y ago
The App Store doesn't provide a native way to do trials. They have some convoluted process with a $0 in-app purchase. I'm a macOS and iOS developer myself and constantly struggling with adding trials for App Store apps in a way that's not confusing for users.
falcolas 4y ago
It's $5. Even if it sucks and I only ever used it once, it's $5. I spend way more than that on a book I know I'll only read once. Our sense of value is kinda skewed these days when it comes to app costs. Probably because so many folks believe that ad supported free apps should be the norm.

rwalle 4y ago

> Easily develop software, view code or take notes on the go "Develop software", which means writing code without the ability to run them, or the ability to compile multiple files as a "project", like all the other code editors on iOS? I stopped paying attention to these apps because of how App artificially limit what apps can do. Writing Java offline? Good, but you can compile one class at a time, and the possibility of importing another user package is thrown out of the window. This makes it only useful for absolute beginners. There are alternative approaches, e.g. using a web browser, online compilation (which is not too different from web browser) and using a terminal that happens to support JDK. I saw developers literally say "Don't write reviews to complain, we have to follow the rules" Which is sad because these devices as expensive as $1k are very powerful and have all the necessary APIs to make that work, it is only the app store rules that prevent the device from becoming a "real" computer

rwalle 4y ago
*Apple
ramraj07 4y ago
Used to be on android and it wasn’t that much better either. I love the GitHub app, and with good CICD I have made many PRs from my phone itself and let the GitHub actions tell me if I did something wrong (though creating PRs I need to open the website). If I can get a really good code editor integrated with GitHub I can totally see myself working half my day from the phone.
- naikrovek 4y ago
  I don't think it's meant to work from a mobile device (iPad with keyboard and mouse is probably very acceptable) but pushing the period key on your keyboard while viewing a GitHub.com repo will give you a fully client-side vscode editor in the browser.
- spicybright 4y ago
  That's a bit surprising actually. The play store kinda sucks but I generally can find more flexible apps on there than iOS store. I see a lot of people run an SSH client to a server in order to edit and run code. Is that an option for you?

emrah 4y ago

On Mac/iOS, Notes is hard to beat honestly. No I can't code in it, but I don't want to code on my phone and on my laptop I have other tools to code in, sorry..

falcolas 4y ago
I will agree that Notes is pretty awesome. But, and it's a big but, it's not at all portable across OS. This bit me recently as I had to switch to a PC for recording, and the sudden loss of access to all my notes was a bigger blow than I'd expected. I took that as a sign, and take notes with synced text and markdown files now.
- msh 4y ago
  All your notes are available on icloud.com
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
emrah 4y ago
No idea why this got voted down. The app in question is for Apple ecosystem, it's not cross-platform. In the Apple ecosystem, yeah, Notes is simple, capable and hard to beat

mrfusion 4y ago

I wrote a program on the iPhone once using Pythonista. It was a little slower to type but I found it kind of revolutionary. I started writing it on the couch while watching tv, then finished it lying in bed. It was just such a relaxed experience compared to sitting up straight at a desk and forcing myself to write. It’s hard to describe.

blurker 4y ago

I definitely read the title as "buff redditor"

alexnewman 4y ago

I've been using vsts via a webpage using codespaces on my ipad combined with copilot. It's pretty amazing.

nafey 4y ago

Read this as Buff Redditor. Did a double take.

nafey 4y ago

Read this as "Buff Redditor" the first time

vmoore 4y ago

Maybe I could code on an iPad Pro, but definitely not an iPhone. The thought of coding on a phone is terrifying, unless you're one of those people who is super good at manipulating text on a phone. I'm not one of those people.

jnovek 4y ago
I’ve written short scripts on my phone using Pyto (https://pyto.app/ https://pyto.app/). It’s a bit of a hassle but if you just need to write ~15 lines or modify some copypasta it’s not too bad. The Pyto GUI feels sympathetic to phone users.
favadi 4y ago
I even struggle with typing short SMS messages. I can't imagine writing anything useful with a touchscreen keyboard.
1123581321 4y ago
Different preferences. Some people are in situations where they only have a phone and want to be able to do something. The app shouldn’t be restricted to iPad only due to lack of imagination. My friend wrote two(!) novels on his lunch breaks using an iPhone and a Bluetooth keyboard.

itsdwit 4y ago

FR10 4y ago

Looks great, just a comment on the marketing screenshots. There seems to be an awful lot of "wasted" space in the editors. Maybe at least consider showing code that is a bit wider ? ~80 chars? (maybe HTML Code?) I feel like horizontal space is way more important on a 9.7" screen than on a 24" monitor.