4 ms·

You could get that same educational value from programming things on a smartphone.

by charcircuit 6mo ago

kstrauser 6mo ago
What's your favorite free programming environment for commonly used smartphones?
- charcircuit 6mo ago
  I don't have a favorite. I do not feel like anyone that I am aware of has made proper investment to make a quality development app for mobile due to the low market demand. While development is better than on a calculator I think they are below my expectations.
- ninjagoo 6mo ago
  > What's your favorite free programming environment for commonly used smartphones? Termux pkg install python python print('hello') ctrl+D Haven't tried these, but have seen them recommended: Acode Termux + neovim Termux + code-server (vscode-like, accessed through phone browser at localhost)
- squeaky-clean 6mo ago
  I like Codea for iOS, though the free version has a soft-limit at 500 lines. If a project gets bigger than 500 lines you can still run code but it'll nag you to upgrade.
prab97 6mo ago
Current smartphones are highly optimized for content consumption a.k.a doom scrolling. Nothing serious exists for programming. On top of that, a touch keyboard and hard to reach special characters make programming on a modern smartphone a big chore. I miss the old days of smartphones that had a hardware keyboard with tactile feedback. I used to code up and maintain a PHP based dynamic website circa 2007 with a Sony Ericsson K770i and upload through a J2ME based FTP client that also had the text editor in it. If I remember it correctly it was called MobyExplorer
- charcircuit 6mo ago
  It's much harder to type on a TI calculator than a smartphone.
  - ezst 6mo ago
    Not sure I agree. You can "blind type" on a physical keyboard, and even if it has less sophistication in the way of inputting large amounts of text (lack of auto complete, lack of fuzzy typing/auto correct), a calculator is purpose built with tons of shortcuts and contextual menus that you access from muscle memory without second guessing yourself. Right now, if I've got a mildly complicated mathematical expression to type, I'd rather do it on a last-century calculator rather than e.g. on Android's GeoGebra.
  - duskwuff 6mo ago
    It's been a long time since I've done it, but I could type pretty quickly on a TI-83 - even with the silly ABC keyboard layout and all.
jval43 6mo ago
I did, in Java 2ME for my Nokia. That was a completely different experience and much harder to get going. I did make a color 2D game though in about a week. The TI-200 was much more accessible and fun, creating small little programs during or after class. Only once you wanted to go assembly did it become a chore again. To summarize: not the same.

You could get that same educational value from programming things on a smartphone.

kstrauser 6mo ago

What's your favorite free programming environment for commonly used smartphones?

charcircuit 6mo ago
I don't have a favorite. I do not feel like anyone that I am aware of has made proper investment to make a quality development app for mobile due to the low market demand. While development is better than on a calculator I think they are below my expectations.
ninjagoo 6mo ago
> What's your favorite free programming environment for commonly used smartphones? Termux pkg install python python print('hello') ctrl+D Haven't tried these, but have seen them recommended: Acode Termux + neovim Termux + code-server (vscode-like, accessed through phone browser at localhost)
squeaky-clean 6mo ago
I like Codea for iOS, though the free version has a soft-limit at 500 lines. If a project gets bigger than 500 lines you can still run code but it'll nag you to upgrade.

prab97 6mo ago

Current smartphones are highly optimized for content consumption a.k.a doom scrolling. Nothing serious exists for programming. On top of that, a touch keyboard and hard to reach special characters make programming on a modern smartphone a big chore. I miss the old days of smartphones that had a hardware keyboard with tactile feedback. I used to code up and maintain a PHP based dynamic website circa 2007 with a Sony Ericsson K770i and upload through a J2ME based FTP client that also had the text editor in it. If I remember it correctly it was called MobyExplorer

charcircuit 6mo ago
It's much harder to type on a TI calculator than a smartphone.
- ezst 6mo ago
  Not sure I agree. You can "blind type" on a physical keyboard, and even if it has less sophistication in the way of inputting large amounts of text (lack of auto complete, lack of fuzzy typing/auto correct), a calculator is purpose built with tons of shortcuts and contextual menus that you access from muscle memory without second guessing yourself. Right now, if I've got a mildly complicated mathematical expression to type, I'd rather do it on a last-century calculator rather than e.g. on Android's GeoGebra.
- duskwuff 6mo ago
  It's been a long time since I've done it, but I could type pretty quickly on a TI-83 - even with the silly ABC keyboard layout and all.

jval43 6mo ago

I did, in Java 2ME for my Nokia. That was a completely different experience and much harder to get going. I did make a color 2D game though in about a week. The TI-200 was much more accessible and fun, creating small little programs during or after class. Only once you wanted to go assembly did it become a chore again. To summarize: not the same.