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Show HN: My 1-year project, iPad IDE with GitHub and Heroku integration
- donny 14y agoHi HN, I've been implementing it since July last year. I'm still developing / improving it. Well, Apple just approved the latest version. Well, it's not LightTable, but with it, you can commit to GitHub and deploy to Heroku, StackMob, or AppHarbor from your iPad.
- josephcooney 14y agoNo, it's not lighttable, it's real working software that you can buy/use now, not slideware. Kudos to you.
- veyron 14y agoIs there a custom keyboard like with iSSH: http://www.zinger-soft.com/support_g_3.html http://www.zinger-soft.com/support_g_3.html The problem is that certain punctuation symbols (: . { }) are used often and they require a modal change to input them. I point to iSSH because the ability to reconfigure the keyboard makes it easy to type large blocks of code.
- donny 14y agoHmm.. Not at the moment. I need to think about it. I'm a bit wary to add additional keys. On landscape, the text window becomes a bit too small to my liking. But. I'll think about it.
- veyron 14y agoYou can make a custom keyboard smaller than the standard text keyboard, solving your problem :)
- cdcarter 14y agoThat's a really good way to confuse and annoy iPad power users. Moving the key positions slightly in just one app just leads to typos.
- cubicle67 14y agoHave you seen Codea (nee Codify)? It implements what looks like the standard keyboard with an extra row on top containing things like parenthesis, quotes, tab and left/right cursor keys. Screenshot here http://www.twolivesleft.com/Codea/Talk/discussion/206/progress-update%3A-new-tab-bar/p1 http://www.twolivesleft.com/Codea/Talk/discussion/206/progre...
- shawndumas 14y agohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heq16nJvTKA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Heq16nJvTKA the next version codea supports hooper selection
- benwerd 14y agoThis looks lovely! Nicely done. Big question that I couldn't see an answer to in the screenshots: how do you tab? Also, is there any chance of custom syntax highlighting for people like me who need to code in languages like (say it quietly) PHP from time to time?
- donny 14y agoThanks. Well, just tap the files and the tabs will open automatically. Send me an email. Syntax highlighting can be done quickly.
- biot 14y agoHow do you type a tab into the text editor?
- tluyben2 14y agoProbably good to add PHP ; although it's cursing here on HN, a lot of people use that language and will not use this if not supported.
- donny 14y agoMost probably after this, I'll add server side execution (since Apple doesn't allow execution of downloaded code on iPad) Thus, you can run Python, Ruby, etc from the iPad. Worqshop will transfer the code to server, execute, and bring the results back to the iPad. Seamlessly and transparently.
- jwarzech 14y agoI think that would a huge addition. Only thing is how could you handle execution of web apps (not just services)?
- donny 14y agoOh, I need to clarify. In my mind, it's like a shell, eg Python shell or Ruby shell. And execution here refers to the traditional execution of programs / scripts. I don't plan to become a PaaS like Heroku that handles web apps execution.
- andrewroycarter 14y agoApple's gotten more lax with that recently. Check out the app 'Python for iOS'!
- xal 14y agoYou may be able to do it through emsctipten versions of ruby and python which you can load in webkits JavaScript engine. http://repl.it http://repl.it works like that.
- joshstrange 14y agoThis looks awesome and with it (when it gets a few more languages for syntax highlighting) I will really have to reconsider buying an iPad + bluetooth keyboard for on-the-road/on-vacation times when I need to make minor edits online for work. Also I would order an iPad today if it also included an ssh terminal. That would seal it for me! Also maybe some way to connect through sftp and edit files directly on a server would be great
- cpenner461 14y agoI've just recently started using Prompt (http://panic.com/prompt/support.html http://panic.com/prompt/support.html) for an ssh app. Using it is what has pushed me to start looking for something like this app to do light development (as in having ssh on my iPad/iPhone has opened the possibilities of getting "real" work done when needed).
- mark_l_watson 14y agoPrompt is really useful. I use it to keep track of my servers while travelling. Doing Java homework for a class was OK also: ssh xterm emacs Makefile - really worked OK.
- plg 14y agoWhat about C? If not remote compilation/execution, then at least syntax highlighting? I guess the obvious thing otherwise would be iSSH to your own GNU/Linux box and Emacs
- tferris 14y agoHow does it compare to Cloud9?
- frou_dh 14y agoCool. Is there or is there plans for a darker theme? A fair number of people don't like big expanses of white on backlit screens.
- darkmethod 14y agoI have several apps on my iPad where I prefer white text on black. Within the general settings, I set my "Triple-click Home" button to toggle White/Black. Not perfect, but helpful.
- geekfactor 14y agoDoes this work with any Git repo or just GitHub? I've been using BitBucket recently for free private repos.
- clintjhill 14y agoI know the future might be LightTable ... maybe. But for now I'm happy to see that it's becoming fashionable to have your IDE "small" and "thin". Not only in the hardware that you use it on, but also in the features and functionality. Even the idea of distributing the execution of scripts is appealing. Sometimes it does feel as though I want my laptop to just deal with the text (format, highlight, modify with ease) and have some other device take care of the execution and simply ping me when things are going well/bad. Right now our world it text based. And efforts like this make that circumstance better IMO.
- terhechte 14y agoThe one thing I always miss on iPad editors is VIM Binding support: Especially on the iPad, where making selections with your finger is a pain, it is so relieving to be able to do a shift-b, 5j to select a piece of code, copy it and paste it somewhere else. On normal computers, the existence of a trackpad or mouse makes navigating code possible. But on the iPad, I see a huge need for the kind of editing that VIM (or Emacs) enabled where you don't need to move your fingers from the keyboard to navigate. Sadly, the only way to have that on the iPad, right now, is running VIM in iSSH (needs server connection) or the ported VIM which doesn't run correctly on my iPad 3.
- jpdoctor 14y agoI see a huge need for the kind of editing that VIM (or Emacs) enabled I'm gonna guess that people using VIM/Emacs is so small a part of the market that apple told us to go pound sand. Hell, even running emacs across iSSH to a linux server is completely screwed up: Bluetooth keyboards put out multiple key sequences through the iPad. Please correct me if my info is outdated. Pretty-please. Esp because I would love emacs on the iPad/bluetooth keyboard even if through ssh.
- terhechte 14y agoiSSH & VIM should be pretty sound. I don't know about Emacs, there may be more difficulties since it Vim doesn't use the command and meta keys so much. This guy does all his coding from Vim in iSSH: http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-for-an-ipad http://yieldthought.com/post/12239282034/swapped-my-macbook-... I understand your point about the small market, but if the target audience is developers, then I think that VIM or Emacs compatible keybindings (if only a small subset for movement and selection) are an attractive feature. On the Mac, SublimeText and AppCode, both beloved editors, feature Vim Bindings. And even some of the Cloud Editors (like Ace or Cloud9) have Vim bindings. I hope it's just a matter of time until the first iPad editor with bindings comes out - and I'll buy right away :)
- cirwin 14y agoAs someone who uses both iPads and vim a lot, I'd disagree with this. The iPad screen should be ideal for making selections with your fingers directly because the keyboard and the code are so close together. It currently doesn't feel ideal, I agree, because text boxes are designed to prevent you shooting yourself in the foot when you touch the screen by accident. A power-user tool could remove a lot of the safety and slowness from making selections.
- cpenner461 14y agoThis looks awesome! I've been casually looking for/thinking about something like this so that I could take my iPad and Bluetooth keyboard when traveling but still be able to get some coding done. Heading to the app store now...
- theone 14y agoHow does it compares with textastic http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textastic-code-editor/id383577124?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/textastic-code-editor/id38357...
- cpenner461 14y agoAt a glance (not having used either one yet) it looks like textastic has more connectivity options (sftp, WebDAV) but lacks deployment integration like this one has. IOW it seems like you could use worqshop for the complete life cycle of your app from dev to deployment.
- fcoury 14y agoIn my opinion the biggest win Textastic has is the amazing key helpers atop of the keyboard: http://www.textasticapp.com/images/screenshot2.png http://www.textasticapp.com/images/screenshot2.png. This is the killer feature of Textastic in my opinion.
- donny 14y agoYup. Textastic is a code editor. I've been developing Worqshop as an IDE.
- abstractwater 14y agoNice job! Just shared it with people at my job. One minor comment: the text in the screenshots is very hard to read without enlarging, and looks blurry at least in iTunes on my mac. I would make the font a little bigger, perhaps like Textastic or even slightly bigger. Also, the bright green for the comments is a little too... bright. This is minor stuff but it affects the first impression a perspective customer might have. An easy fix though. =)
- donny 14y agoThanks. Yup, an easy fix. I've spent months doing the Heroku and GitHub integration; at the expense of better editor. Will improve the editor soon :)
- fcoury 14y agoWhat I really miss in this one is a key helper like the one Textastic brings: http://www.textasticapp.com/images/screenshot2.png http://www.textasticapp.com/images/screenshot2.png. This feature alone made me buy the app.
- ryancarson 14y agoThis looks really exciting. I know that coding will be done on iPads but the model has always been clunky. This looks like a good start in the right direction.
- molecule 14y agonice, looks handy. any plans for coffeescript support?
- bergie 14y agoWith CoffeeScript, this might be the tool to get me off a laptop and using tablets for real work. All our code is already on GitHub, with hosted Continuous Integration (Travis for the Open Source parts), and Heroku for deployment of the new Node.js projects. So migrating to a tool like this ought to be feasible.
- jaems33 14y agoSidenote: Annoying how simple slide animations like that on the homepage that I assume are using jquery are super laggy on the iPad itself.
- geon 14y agoHow did you integrate it with github? Do you have a git client in the app, or are you only using the github api?
- thomasfl 14y agoApps like this make the iPad+keyboard a useful development tool.
- donny 14y agoI've been developing Heroku and GitHub integration for months, at the expense of a better editor. But what people want is a better editor: themes, vim keybinding, extra keyboard, etc :) I'll try to do it after I finish with the server side code execution.
- hanswesterbeek 14y agoPoor you, it is obvious that one needs a real keyboard to code, any touchscreen just won't let you type quick enough. The iPad is no good for any kind of authoring. I own one, love it but can hardly make myself even type a 3 sentence email on it, let alone code. I'm afraid you've waisted a year.
- uvTwitch 14y agohttp://ipad.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ipad-keyboard-dock-image-1.jpg http://ipad.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ipad-keyboard-doc...
- rjh29 14y agoAlso known as a 'laptop'
- robmcm 14y agoI don't think it would be a primary environment, but when your on the road and there is a quick bug to fix, or you have a spare hour and didn't bring your laptop... boom
- simonrobb 14y agoThere's no mention of FTP - is it possible to deploy to a server other than Heroku? The iPad IDEs I've tried are all lacking an integrated FTP client which provides a decent workflow for web dev, if you provided this in worqshop I'd adopt it in a heartbeat!
- gurkendoktor 14y agoPardon my shallowness, but the bright green on white on the home page screenshots screams all over the rest of the page for me (in a bad voice). The pills below the screenshots are also hard to click with a trackpad.
- molossus 14y agoWhile I applaud the effort, I do not understand the motivation. When I want to develop something, I use a desktop or a notebook, and I'm never away from one long enough that I would have no choice but to work on a mobile device.
- DeepDuh 14y agoThink about students in CS classes who already have their textbooks on their iPads but need to lug around a notebook just for some trivial coding. IMO this might be an interesting target group. HOWEVER the current language support does not really do that group justice. Add at least C, C++, Java and maybe Pascal and Basic (high school CS classes) syntax highlighting to cover a good portion of CS classes.
- pjmlp 14y agoI would advise any CS student against tablets for the classroom. A laptop is much more productive: - A proper keyboard - Ability to install whatever applications required for the classes - No need of internet connection for software development - Proper office like tooling for school reports
- christiangenco 14y agoAwesome! A fantastic step in the right direction for iPad development. Feature request: hooper selection.
- mdkess 14y agoThat looks excellent, I really like it. Could you talk a bit about how you did the text rendering? Basically my question is, how do you render nice text?
- alecperkins 14y agoI've been looking forward to a proper editor with GitHub integration, if only for writing notes and documentation into a git repo. (PlainText is great for doing so to Dropbox, but I miss the power of git.) Downside, trying Worqshop out and it crashes as soon as I enter my credentials when creating a new project. Consistently. I really hope this gets fixed quickly. (I'm on a 3rd gen iPad, the "new" one, and am using a bluetooth keyboard. Edit: though it crashes without the keyboard on, too. Fully up-to-date and everything.)
- donny 14y agoHi Alec, I'm sorry about this. Could you please send me an email. There is a bug where Worqshop crashes if you have empty projects on GitHub. It's a known issue and I'm fixing it at this very minute. Thanks. Donny
- alecperkins 14y agoThanks for the quick reply. I deleted the empty repos and it's working wonderfully. I look forward to the update. Being able to create entirely new repos from the iPad would be a big plus.
- tibbon 14y agoBuying and trying now. I'm hopeful. I've been thinking that this is an app that clearly needs to happen and (while I'm glad you're charging less) I'd easily pay $99 for if it was perfect. If this is good, I'm going to buy a bluetooth keyboard for the iPad tomorrow.
- crowhack 14y agoSo I'm all for IDE's on the ipad, but why would you want to code on an ipad? but regardless of my question, looks good man
- chriseidhof 14y agoAwesome! Just a very small issue with the website: I wanted to click on the screenshot on the homepage, but it didn't work. I expected it to be clickable and do the slideshow.
- codeodor 14y agoWhat kind of sales are you getting with $7.99 as the price point? Have you considered increasing it?
- nerdfiles 14y agoCrashes on iOS 5.1 after I successfully log in to github.