7 ms·

Dash now available on iOS

85 points by davidbarker 12y ago

tmikaeld 12y ago
I guess you mean "Dash API Docs now available on iOS"
- hk__2 12y ago
  The original desktop app is called Dash: http://kapeli.com/dash http://kapeli.com/dash
  - dimman 12y ago
    When speaking of dash, one usually means 'Debian Almquist SHell'. [In the context: 'dash is now available on iOS' to make it abundantly clear]
    - mikeash 12y ago
      Seriously, "one usually means"? I could see that phrase being applied to the meaning of "dash" as the punctuation mark, or "run fast," but an obscure UNIX shell only used in a couple of Linux distributions? I hope that was a joke.
      - dimman 12y ago
        ... in the context "dash is now available on iOS", since thats what we're talking about, right. Obscure UNIX shell? Wow.
        mikeash 12y ago
        How does adding iOS, an OS with no shell and a walled garden that prevents third parties from adding any such functionality, help your case at all? The ash shell seems somewhat well known. Dash, not so much, what with it only being used on one Linux distribution and some derivations.
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
UUMMUU 12y ago
What is the use case for this? I can't imagine that I would be doing a lot of hardcore development on a machine that wasn't my dev machine which has Dash on it.
- slantyyz 12y ago
  How about screen real estate? If you have a super crowded monitor, you can take advantage of a mobile screen that is otherwise underutilized?
  - smweber 12y ago
    That's exactly it. I've been waiting for this since Dash first came out. At the time I was doing iOS dev in a lot of coffee shops and airports with spotty wifi on an 11" MacBook Air. This would have been perfect then, having searchable offline docs on a second screen! Even though I'm working in an office most of the time now, I still bought it to use on my iPad.
    - graublau 12y ago
      I would still rather cmd+tab and copy&paste into a desktop app than carry around an extra device to view docs, personally.
- sswaner 12y ago
  Coding in Vim on a Raspberry Pi with a really small screen.
  - slantyyz 12y ago
    It doesn't solve your screen size issue (or if you're not using a gui on your Pi), but it's worth noting that Zeal (http://zealdocs.org/ http://zealdocs.org/) is compatible with Dash's docsets and runs on Linux and Windows.
    - seanp2k2 12y ago
BinaryIdiot 12y ago
I can certainly see the use case for this being on the desktop (and for those that don't know: it is). I have been in plenty of situations where I can not access the internet so having offline copies is incredibly helpful. I don't understand the use case on iOS. I don't want to just outright poo on the idea so is there anyone who is going to pick this up that can articulate why? I feel great value in having it offline but being able to ctrl + f or copy and paste on a larger screen (the same screen I'm developing on), I just don't get the mobile.
- emsy 12y ago
  > I have been in plenty of situations where I can not access the internet so having offline copies is incredibly helpful. Other advantages for me are: The search function. It's incredibly well implemented. Some online docs just flat out suck at searching. A more consistent look and feel across different docs, especially when searching or browsing classes. Easy management of docset versions and automatic updates.
- Glide 12y ago
  I don't understand how well it'll work on an iDevice. I love Dash. I recommend it to people as it makes going to the official docs easier (for me, ymmv). I just hit a shortcut to pop up alfred and I type what I'm looking for and I'm good to go. I don't really read docs on the go.
- hrktb 12y ago
  I never used Dash (I never heard of it before, I might actually give it a try now), but a use case would be to have an iPad as a second/third/fourth screen. I have a dual screen setup at work, but windows gets buried really fast. A coworker would printout the most static bits of information (API docs, design mocks, storyboard etc.); this could be an alternative to that.
  - e28eta 12y ago
    I definitely use an iPad as another screen, like for a UI spec. I'm skeptical about using the iPad keyboard to look things up, usually I'm copying symbols from code to lookup, or typing into Alfred. Even just moving my hands to a new keyboard would probably be slower. Which means I'm looking forward to when Dash iOS uses some of the continuity/handoff features to stay in sync with desktop Dash. (Maybe it already does?)
kevinSuttle 12y ago
I designed the docs for my product team, which are extensive, to be mobile-first. There is no such thing as a mobile context or "use case". http://kevinsuttle.com/posts/the-right-questions-to-ask-mobile-first-deniers/ http://kevinsuttle.com/posts/the-right-questions-to-ask-mobi...
- kevinSuttle 12y ago
  I love that this was downvoted.
philgr 12y ago
I like the idea of using the iPad as a second screen while I develop, keeping Dash at arm's reach all the time. If you don't find the necessity for that on a Mac (or if your desk is short of space), use the OS X version, if you're on Windows, I suggest you take a look at Zeal (http://zealdocs.org http://zealdocs.org).
- tomengland 12y ago
  Yep. Dash also has support for in-editor lookup. For sublime, highlight the function IE: app.use and hit ctrl+h, it'll popup the express documentation. Very handy!
tosh 12y ago
Great app, awesome plugins.
sudhirj 12y ago
Dash has long since become my technical Kindle app. I think of the doc sets as technical books, so being able to carry them around is a massive boon.
kennymeyers 12y ago
I've been using the Dash beta, and the use case I have for it is offline docs and quick lookup. I can certainly access Apple's docs in a browser on my iPad, but being able to parse through programming guides, do searches and quick lookups is really helpful. If I want to read up on a Go class, or find something when not at my machine, it's been great. I've really enjoyed using it.
willtheperson 12y ago
I didn't say that you couldn't , I said that you shouldn't
niutech 12y ago
If you don't mind being online, you can use http://devdocs.io http://devdocs.io for free.
- mikeash 12y ago
  It doesn't seem to have any Apple documentation, which is a common use case for Dash.
agrippanux 12y ago
Dash is one of those Mac apps you didn't realize you absolutely needed until you have it (like Bartender or FlyCut or Divvy). That said, buying it again for iOS isn't appealing.
- cmyr 12y ago
  Is the 'buying' not appealing, or is using Dash on iOS not appealing? If you don't think you would look up API much on an iOS device, fair enough. For me, being able to use an iPad as my go-to documentation viewer is tremendously appealing. This is a professional tool, that I use daily (on OS X), and having it on iOS will make my life better.
- mkhalil 12y ago
  I don't even have the app, but I really don't like this argument if it has to do with "buying it again". It's not easy writing an application for iOS even if you have one for MAC. They are going to have different feature sets, and now, parallel maintenance times. Why shouldn't he charge for it? (It's also half the price)
ThompJackie 12y ago
This is incredibly useful, but I don't know why they are charging $9.99. In my experience they would make more with a free/advertising app
- teacup50 12y ago
  ... advertising in developer documentation? Seriously?

85 points by davidbarker 12y ago

tmikaeld 12y ago

I guess you mean "Dash API Docs now available on iOS"

hk__2 12y ago
The original desktop app is called Dash: http://kapeli.com/dash http://kapeli.com/dash
- dimman 12y ago
  When speaking of dash, one usually means 'Debian Almquist SHell'. [In the context: 'dash is now available on iOS' to make it abundantly clear]
  - mikeash 12y ago
    Seriously, "one usually means"? I could see that phrase being applied to the meaning of "dash" as the punctuation mark, or "run fast," but an obscure UNIX shell only used in a couple of Linux distributions? I hope that was a joke.
    - dimman 12y ago
      ... in the context "dash is now available on iOS", since thats what we're talking about, right. Obscure UNIX shell? Wow.
      - mikeash 12y ago
        How does adding iOS, an OS with no shell and a walled garden that prevents third parties from adding any such functionality, help your case at all? The ash shell seems somewhat well known. Dash, not so much, what with it only being used on one Linux distribution and some derivations.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]

UUMMUU 12y ago

What is the use case for this? I can't imagine that I would be doing a lot of hardcore development on a machine that wasn't my dev machine which has Dash on it.

slantyyz 12y ago
How about screen real estate? If you have a super crowded monitor, you can take advantage of a mobile screen that is otherwise underutilized?
- smweber 12y ago
  That's exactly it. I've been waiting for this since Dash first came out. At the time I was doing iOS dev in a lot of coffee shops and airports with spotty wifi on an 11" MacBook Air. This would have been perfect then, having searchable offline docs on a second screen! Even though I'm working in an office most of the time now, I still bought it to use on my iPad.
  - graublau 12y ago
    I would still rather cmd+tab and copy&paste into a desktop app than carry around an extra device to view docs, personally.
sswaner 12y ago
Coding in Vim on a Raspberry Pi with a really small screen.
- slantyyz 12y ago
  It doesn't solve your screen size issue (or if you're not using a gui on your Pi), but it's worth noting that Zeal (http://zealdocs.org/ http://zealdocs.org/) is compatible with Dash's docsets and runs on Linux and Windows.
  - seanp2k2 12y ago

BinaryIdiot 12y ago

I can certainly see the use case for this being on the desktop (and for those that don't know: it is). I have been in plenty of situations where I can not access the internet so having offline copies is incredibly helpful. I don't understand the use case on iOS. I don't want to just outright poo on the idea so is there anyone who is going to pick this up that can articulate why? I feel great value in having it offline but being able to ctrl + f or copy and paste on a larger screen (the same screen I'm developing on), I just don't get the mobile.

emsy 12y ago
> I have been in plenty of situations where I can not access the internet so having offline copies is incredibly helpful. Other advantages for me are: The search function. It's incredibly well implemented. Some online docs just flat out suck at searching. A more consistent look and feel across different docs, especially when searching or browsing classes. Easy management of docset versions and automatic updates.
Glide 12y ago
I don't understand how well it'll work on an iDevice. I love Dash. I recommend it to people as it makes going to the official docs easier (for me, ymmv). I just hit a shortcut to pop up alfred and I type what I'm looking for and I'm good to go. I don't really read docs on the go.
hrktb 12y ago
I never used Dash (I never heard of it before, I might actually give it a try now), but a use case would be to have an iPad as a second/third/fourth screen. I have a dual screen setup at work, but windows gets buried really fast. A coworker would printout the most static bits of information (API docs, design mocks, storyboard etc.); this could be an alternative to that.
- e28eta 12y ago
  I definitely use an iPad as another screen, like for a UI spec. I'm skeptical about using the iPad keyboard to look things up, usually I'm copying symbols from code to lookup, or typing into Alfred. Even just moving my hands to a new keyboard would probably be slower. Which means I'm looking forward to when Dash iOS uses some of the continuity/handoff features to stay in sync with desktop Dash. (Maybe it already does?)

kevinSuttle 12y ago

I designed the docs for my product team, which are extensive, to be mobile-first. There is no such thing as a mobile context or "use case". http://kevinsuttle.com/posts/the-right-questions-to-ask-mobile-first-deniers/ http://kevinsuttle.com/posts/the-right-questions-to-ask-mobi...

kevinSuttle 12y ago
I love that this was downvoted.

philgr 12y ago

I like the idea of using the iPad as a second screen while I develop, keeping Dash at arm's reach all the time. If you don't find the necessity for that on a Mac (or if your desk is short of space), use the OS X version, if you're on Windows, I suggest you take a look at Zeal (http://zealdocs.org http://zealdocs.org).

tomengland 12y ago
Yep. Dash also has support for in-editor lookup. For sublime, highlight the function IE: app.use and hit ctrl+h, it'll popup the express documentation. Very handy!

tosh 12y ago

Great app, awesome plugins.

sudhirj 12y ago

Dash has long since become my technical Kindle app. I think of the doc sets as technical books, so being able to carry them around is a massive boon.

kennymeyers 12y ago

I've been using the Dash beta, and the use case I have for it is offline docs and quick lookup. I can certainly access Apple's docs in a browser on my iPad, but being able to parse through programming guides, do searches and quick lookups is really helpful. If I want to read up on a Go class, or find something when not at my machine, it's been great. I've really enjoyed using it.

willtheperson 12y ago

I didn't say that you couldn't , I said that you shouldn't

niutech 12y ago

If you don't mind being online, you can use http://devdocs.io http://devdocs.io for free.

mikeash 12y ago
It doesn't seem to have any Apple documentation, which is a common use case for Dash.

agrippanux 12y ago

Dash is one of those Mac apps you didn't realize you absolutely needed until you have it (like Bartender or FlyCut or Divvy). That said, buying it again for iOS isn't appealing.

cmyr 12y ago
Is the 'buying' not appealing, or is using Dash on iOS not appealing? If you don't think you would look up API much on an iOS device, fair enough. For me, being able to use an iPad as my go-to documentation viewer is tremendously appealing. This is a professional tool, that I use daily (on OS X), and having it on iOS will make my life better.
mkhalil 12y ago
I don't even have the app, but I really don't like this argument if it has to do with "buying it again". It's not easy writing an application for iOS even if you have one for MAC. They are going to have different feature sets, and now, parallel maintenance times. Why shouldn't he charge for it? (It's also half the price)

ThompJackie 12y ago

This is incredibly useful, but I don't know why they are charging $9.99. In my experience they would make more with a free/advertising app

teacup50 12y ago
... advertising in developer documentation? Seriously?