

Show HN: Super Debugger, a realtime messaging iOS Debugger tool - jbrennan
http://shopify.github.com/superdb/

======
gfodor
This is cool. I have been building an app in RubyMotion and the REPL has been
pretty useful.

That said, at least for me, the REPL is a bit overhyped. In most cases the
stuff you will tweak with the REPL is UI stuff. But the thing is if you are
using IB and designing your screens in Photoshop or Sketch, the UI should be
pretty much in place before it hits the code.

As far as other use-cases beyond UI, if you are doing any other type of
"testing" in the REPL, you probably should be writing unit tests :)

~~~
niggler
> if you are using IB

For anything nontrivial, IB is more of a hindrance than an aid. You probably
are constructing the view programmatically.

~~~
andrewroycarter
I'm so tired of all the IB hate. IB is a tool, and it should be used when
appropriate. Sure you can't do _everything_ in it, but for 80% of even
"complex" views, things can be done _significantly_ faster in IB. Doing all UI
creation and layout isn't faster and more "hardcore", it's ignoring a tool
that has been around longer than OS X and iOS that was literally made for the
job! Have fun maintaining that mess of UI layout code!

~~~
krichman
Isn't it fair to hate it just due to the clunky interface?

Many times I find it difficult to select a subview under another subview. Or,
when adding a subview, it is too eager to be the subview of a subview. Those
are the tip of my list of grievances.

I use it! Sometimes it's simpler and faster to go with IB instead of code, and
you are definitely right about maintainability. But I sure wish there was
something as convenient that wasn't awful to use. That's actually how I feel
about all of Xcode. (Yes, I've tried AppCode, I liked it even less.)

~~~
jmah
You can select a specific view under others with ctrl-shift-click. I don't
know anything to help with its over-eagerness to add subviews, though.

------
jbrennan
Builds on F-Script to give a Smalltalk-like syntax to iOS apps.

You can read a bit more about it here:
[http://www.shopify.com/technology/7183290-introducing-the-
su...](http://www.shopify.com/technology/7183290-introducing-the-super-
debugger-a-wireless-real-time-debugger-for-ios-apps#axzz2I9qFiFse)

------
grinich
I love when people put a bit of personality into their project pages. Those
first 4 frames are delightfully fun. Nice Nintendo throwback.

~~~
misnome
"Personality" is one thing, but this is just awful.

I'm a developer, looking at the page to find out about a potentially useful
tool. I'm not a graphic design student looking for inspiration; I value
succinct, direct information, preferably with short examples that I don't have
to go hunting (or scrolling miles) for. (Are there any real developers who
seriously prefer a video?)

After the first couple of screens of scrolling with no more than a couple of
scattered words, I gave up. The information density is so low that I've
forgotten what the last screen says before I've read the next one.

~~~
carson_
Sooo what you're looking for is the Github readme, available from the button
at the top of the wiki page. Wikis are for first looks, readmes are for the
skin-and-bones usage guidelines.

<https://github.com/Shopify/superdb>

~~~
pdenya
I wish the link went straight to this github page. In my experience wikis
haven't been worth opening to get an overview of the product. Thanks for the
link though.

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jpsim
Well I'm adding this to my current PonyDebugger, Charles Proxy & OHHTTPStubs
debugging stack. Great job!

~~~
seivan
Using the same stack :)

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scrumper
Very interesting! I just started building a CLI for one of my apps to aid in
debugging; this means I can scrap that dead-end work. Forked, will check it
out.

~~~
googletron
Why would you scrap your work?

~~~
scrumper
Fair question. Superdb does what I want: interactive state examination without
breakpoints. I hadn't got very far with mine at all, and it was intimately
bound up with the design of my app so wouldn't have been reusable even in my
own future projects. Then there is the chance that I'll be able to contribute
to superdb, something which appeals to my sense of community far more than
writing some for-my-eyes-only, debug code for a closed-source app.

Mainly, though, I hate reinventing wheels. I'm not a very good programmer and
it would take me far too long. I'll always look for a friendly giant to stand
on before I try and build my own ladder.

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mpweiher
Here's a possibly more comprehensive take on the same idea, illustrated by
creating a badge:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RkvUX_4Ros>

It demonstrates the creation of a graphical element in a live coding
environment. The finished badge is then transferred to an iOS app and tweaked
interactively.

One thing that isn't shown is that the code is simultaneously saved to a file
within the Xcode project, so live tweaks and XCode project stay in sync.

~~~
jbrennan
Although I haven't attempted it, I'm guessing that example would also be
possible with Super Debugger. It would require a different interface, but I
think it's possible.

>One thing that isn't shown is that the code is simultaneously saved to a file
within the Xcode project, so live tweaks and XCode project stay in sync.

That's one thing I've yet to solve for superdb but would really love to get
figured out. If you (or anyone) has any suggestions on how to implement it,
let me know.

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khangtoh
superdbg is a more fitting name, anyone searching for a super database that's
cloud-based, auto-scales, handles web-scale type load for their next
generation social network might stumble upon superdb and be utterly
disappointed.

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drudru11
wow - where are these developers getting the designers to do these landing
pages?

~~~
jbrennan
I'm the developer and I did the design myself! (I'm not much of a designer,
but I try to stick to the essentials. Typography, contrast, and direction)

