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I don't think this page explains well the use cases for this. It alludes to kids programming, but then switches over to explaining how things are sandboxed, wh

I don't think this page explains well the use cases for this. It alludes to kids programming, but then switches over to explaining how things are sandboxed, why the developer is experienced, etc. My question is what is the net benefit of having this? What does it enable us to do? Why should I back it?

wesbos 14y ago
I think he is alluding to programming on an iPad and other locked down devices. It needs to happen in the browser as lower level access isn't an option.
- jackmaney 14y ago
  This may be a bit of a naive question, but why would anyone want to code on a tablet? Touch keyboards are horribly inefficient and are prettymuch impossible to use for touch typing.
  - nilliams 14y ago
    True, but you can get bluetooth keyboards for tablets, and those keyboard-docking ASUS Transformer-esque tablets, which are likely to grow in popularity. (Sadly iPad plus bluetooth keyboard is currently fairly terrible due to a lack of the most basic keyboard shortcuts).
creationix 14y ago
The main thing it allows is developing offline en environments like chromebooks (like the new Pixel). I worked on Cloud9IDE for a year and it was a great experience as long as you were online with a fast connection. With this library, html5 apps will finally be able to do the full developer lifecycle. They can clone from github to the browser's local file storage when online, work offline using an editor like ace or codemirror, and then when they are online again, they can push their changes back to github. I'll implement branching, merging, diffing, and as many other awesome common tasks from git as possible. I've wanted this for years and I'm super excited to finally be able to create it when this kickstarter finishes!
- nwienert 14y ago
  Thank you. This sounds really useful. I'd suggest adding something along these lines to the project!
- sirclueless 14y ago
  This sounds like useful information to have on the KickStarter page. You sort of obliquely reference this stuff in the first few paragraphs, but it would be great if you fenced off a whole section referring to the kinds of tools that could use this (with links to Ace/Cloud9) and talk about the reasons why they can't do this right now and how cool it will be after you implement this and you can use them offline. If you want to jump on a particular recent buzzword hype bandwagon, you can talk about "Always-online requirements" and how you can fix that.
  - creationix 14y ago
    Thanks for the feedback, I've improved the copy on the kickstarter page.
- bsimpson 14y ago
  Any plans for Brackets integration?
  - creationix 14y ago
    No, I'm just writing a library in this phase. I'll have a prototype that uses it, but I expect the IDE authors to want to integrate it themselves.
- city41 14y ago
  When working in this way, how do you run the code? I imagine anything involving a backend would be tough, but would it be possible to run purely client side code when offline?
  - rictic 14y ago
    Judging from recent Chrome commits (an experimental editing mode, integrating the Ace editor into the dev tools, etc) I'd say that it will be.

wesbos 14y ago

I think he is alluding to programming on an iPad and other locked down devices. It needs to happen in the browser as lower level access isn't an option.

jackmaney 14y ago
This may be a bit of a naive question, but why would anyone want to code on a tablet? Touch keyboards are horribly inefficient and are prettymuch impossible to use for touch typing.
- nilliams 14y ago
  True, but you can get bluetooth keyboards for tablets, and those keyboard-docking ASUS Transformer-esque tablets, which are likely to grow in popularity. (Sadly iPad plus bluetooth keyboard is currently fairly terrible due to a lack of the most basic keyboard shortcuts).

creationix 14y ago

The main thing it allows is developing offline en environments like chromebooks (like the new Pixel). I worked on Cloud9IDE for a year and it was a great experience as long as you were online with a fast connection. With this library, html5 apps will finally be able to do the full developer lifecycle. They can clone from github to the browser's local file storage when online, work offline using an editor like ace or codemirror, and then when they are online again, they can push their changes back to github. I'll implement branching, merging, diffing, and as many other awesome common tasks from git as possible. I've wanted this for years and I'm super excited to finally be able to create it when this kickstarter finishes!

nwienert 14y ago
Thank you. This sounds really useful. I'd suggest adding something along these lines to the project!
sirclueless 14y ago
This sounds like useful information to have on the KickStarter page. You sort of obliquely reference this stuff in the first few paragraphs, but it would be great if you fenced off a whole section referring to the kinds of tools that could use this (with links to Ace/Cloud9) and talk about the reasons why they can't do this right now and how cool it will be after you implement this and you can use them offline. If you want to jump on a particular recent buzzword hype bandwagon, you can talk about "Always-online requirements" and how you can fix that.
- creationix 14y ago
  Thanks for the feedback, I've improved the copy on the kickstarter page.
bsimpson 14y ago
Any plans for Brackets integration?
- creationix 14y ago
  No, I'm just writing a library in this phase. I'll have a prototype that uses it, but I expect the IDE authors to want to integrate it themselves.
city41 14y ago
When working in this way, how do you run the code? I imagine anything involving a backend would be tough, but would it be possible to run purely client side code when offline?
- rictic 14y ago
  Judging from recent Chrome commits (an experimental editing mode, integrating the Ace editor into the dev tools, etc) I'd say that it will be.