5 ms·

There are no current plans but never say never (the app is 100% AppKit, so porting means a full rewrite). I wish I had the time to port it to all three desktop

by milen 1y ago

There are no current plans but never say never (the app is 100% AppKit, so porting means a full rewrite). I wish I had the time to port it to all three desktop OSes.

asimovDev 1y ago
as a noob Swift dev (Swiftie?) , why AppKit over SwiftUI? Maturity of former?
- jamil7 1y ago
  Not the OP but Monodraw predates SwiftUI by quite a while. On top of that SwiftUI is pretty bad on macOS.
- milen 1y ago
  As jamil7 noted, Monodraw predates SwiftUI by about 4yrs. But more importantly, my priority is delivering the best user experience and that's where AppKit shines.
SirFatty 1y ago
ok.. web app? (not a programmer, so no idea if a web app is any different from a development standpoint)
- milen 1y ago
  Targeting Windows/Linux/web still means I cannot re-use the sources. But targeting web might be faster in terms of development time, although I don't have deep expertise on non-Apple platforms, so I cannot say for sure.
  - criddell 1y ago
    Targeting the web will remove your giant advantage: native UI.
    - thimabi 1y ago
      Agreed, but between having a web version and having the app stay exclusive to MacOS, I’d prefer the former.
      - criddell 1y ago
        Why? There are already all kinds of web sites that do this kind of thing. Monodraw's unique selling point is that it's a native Mac app that takes advantage of the Mac UI and it's done well so the UX is top notch. If you don't care about making the best possible app that you can, go ahead and do it in the browser. You will get something that's probably good enough and runs everywhere. But it's going to use more battery, more memory, and more bandwidth and not feel like a Mac app. Plus (IMHO) it's less fun to develop for the browser.
        thimabi 1y ago
        I believe the attention to detail that sets Monodraw apart can be transposed to the web as well — albeit diverging from MacOS conventions. It’s possible to make great web apps, it just takes the kind of care and dedication that @milen has already proven to have. If the web interface lowers the barriers to developing a cross-platform version of Monodraw, then I think it would be silly not to consider investing in it.
Bedon292 1y ago
It definitely looks like a cool app, and I was excited to test it out, but I don't have a Mac. If you ever hit the point where a rewrite makes sense, it would be awesome as a universal app.
ezekg 1y ago
Monodraw is one of the apps I miss the most after switching to Windows. Would love to see it one day! Would be a buyer for sure.
- milen 1y ago
  One idea I've been toying with would be to do a Kickstarter-style campaign and if it reaches a certain threshold, then I know it would be worth porting.
fragmede 1y ago
LLMs make that far more tractable these days than it would have been in the past.
Gormo 1y ago
Only three? I want to run it on Haiku and AROS!

by milen 1y ago

There are no current plans but never say never (the app is 100% AppKit, so porting means a full rewrite). I wish I had the time to port it to all three desktop OSes.

asimovDev 1y ago

as a noob Swift dev (Swiftie?) , why AppKit over SwiftUI? Maturity of former?

jamil7 1y ago
Not the OP but Monodraw predates SwiftUI by quite a while. On top of that SwiftUI is pretty bad on macOS.
milen 1y ago
As jamil7 noted, Monodraw predates SwiftUI by about 4yrs. But more importantly, my priority is delivering the best user experience and that's where AppKit shines.

SirFatty 1y ago

ok.. web app? (not a programmer, so no idea if a web app is any different from a development standpoint)

milen 1y ago
Targeting Windows/Linux/web still means I cannot re-use the sources. But targeting web might be faster in terms of development time, although I don't have deep expertise on non-Apple platforms, so I cannot say for sure.
- criddell 1y ago
  Targeting the web will remove your giant advantage: native UI.
  - thimabi 1y ago
    Agreed, but between having a web version and having the app stay exclusive to MacOS, I’d prefer the former.
    - criddell 1y ago
      Why? There are already all kinds of web sites that do this kind of thing. Monodraw's unique selling point is that it's a native Mac app that takes advantage of the Mac UI and it's done well so the UX is top notch. If you don't care about making the best possible app that you can, go ahead and do it in the browser. You will get something that's probably good enough and runs everywhere. But it's going to use more battery, more memory, and more bandwidth and not feel like a Mac app. Plus (IMHO) it's less fun to develop for the browser.
      - thimabi 1y ago
        I believe the attention to detail that sets Monodraw apart can be transposed to the web as well — albeit diverging from MacOS conventions. It’s possible to make great web apps, it just takes the kind of care and dedication that @milen has already proven to have. If the web interface lowers the barriers to developing a cross-platform version of Monodraw, then I think it would be silly not to consider investing in it.

Bedon292 1y ago

It definitely looks like a cool app, and I was excited to test it out, but I don't have a Mac. If you ever hit the point where a rewrite makes sense, it would be awesome as a universal app.

ezekg 1y ago

Monodraw is one of the apps I miss the most after switching to Windows. Would love to see it one day! Would be a buyer for sure.

milen 1y ago
One idea I've been toying with would be to do a Kickstarter-style campaign and if it reaches a certain threshold, then I know it would be worth porting.

fragmede 1y ago

LLMs make that far more tractable these days than it would have been in the past.

Gormo 1y ago

Only three? I want to run it on Haiku and AROS!