
Show HN: Web development IDE running on Android - kryps
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aide.web
======
deadweight3
I always dislike the negative comments in Show HN, but I have experimented
heavily with writing code on mobile devices, and there are much bigger issues
than the editor. This may be a good product, the screenshots look good (though
the same number of people buying the app as the number of current upvotes on
HN, so that looks fishy as all hell). Regardless, the form factor just isn't
suited to content creation, and nothing in the description or screens
addresses this.

~~~
andybak
The form factor of what? I could be sitting in front of Android running on a
21-inch display using a normal keyboard and mouse. And the CPU behind it might
be the same one that usually runs OS X or Windows.

~~~
drdaeman
Guess, parent meant form factor of a typical _mobile_ Android device. An
external display and HID devices aren't mobile.

Yes, I know, one could move their phone between docks and that would be
mobile, but bet this is a very rare case. If one has stationary terminals, I
think it would be very unusual if they're used solely as a dock station —
one's likely to also have a stationary computer attached to them.

~~~
thawkins
I have a 12 inch tablet with a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, its perfectly
good for content creation, it comes with an office clone that makes creating
docs a snap.

I have been using a bunch of editors, and while many of them are great the
mostly suffer from 3 main problems.

1\. Capacity, most can handle a 200 file project, but they sieze up solid much
beyond that.

2\. Git and github integration is often poor, for some reason they all get ocd
about dropbox and google drive integration, but fall apart on git or svn
integration.

3\. They need a good ssh client embedded, both to provide sftp capability, and
to allow you to have one click access to your dev, staging and production
servers.

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TheTravCav
I've been using AIDE since the early versions and it just keeps getting better
and better. It's actually very usable given it's form factor. They've taken a
lot of the environment's constraint into account. I wouldn't do all my android
development solely from the phone, but I wouldn't mind it too much if I had
to. It's a pretty solid IDE with a lot of great features. Using hacker's
keyboard helps a lot because of all the special characters but most of the
time I get by with the character bar they have above the keyboard. Just
depends on what's being coded. I also have a dock for my Note 2 so i can use a
regular keyboard, but I rarely bother. I use dropbox to sync the code and
usually I'll do the heavy lifting on the computer in eclipse and then make
small changes while I'm away from the computer in AIDE. Also being able to
compile and run right from the phone is huge for me. It's not for everyone I'm
sure but it's a great tool to have in your toolbox.

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mark_l_watson
Their Java IDE for Android development is also nice. Amazing to be able to
write Java on my phone.

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fencepost
The same developer has had IDEs for Java and PhoneGap available for some time,
with a good number of installs and decent reviews for the Java version. I have
both, but haven't really used them since I have more need for a general text
editor. That said, with an external keyboard there's no reason these couldn't
be quite functional for programming.

There are other development options on Android devices as well, including
Terminal IDE
([https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spartacusr...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spartacusrex.spartacuside&hl=en))
for a full command-line based development environment and DroidEdit (Free and
Pro versions)
([https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aor.droide...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aor.droidedit.pro&hl=en))
for a more GUI-oriented programmer's text editor.

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bengali3
This looks interesting for a learning/classroom setting.

For comparison, check out [http://try.jquery.com/](http://try.jquery.com/) if
you haven't seen the wonderful progress lately.

My current recipe for developing on mobile: iPad/iPhone + "ServerAuditor" app
+ bluetooth keyboard + vi

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72deluxe
It looks interesting but I notice that the in-app purchases range from £1.57 -
£23.51 per item. Which bit is £23? Seems steep given that you can write code
in Notepad / TextEdit and then load it in your OS-bundled browser on a non-
mobile device (laptop/desktop).

I would agree that the tablet / phone is not an ideal platform for writing
software or editing code; they are best suited for content consumption.

I also notice that the app is 19MB which seems massive to me for just a text
editor and reuse of the built in HTML renderer?

Hopefully this does not seem too negative - just some issues I have with it
before even installing it. The other AIDE interface (for Java) seemed alright
when I briefly tried it on my Xoom, but it was most effective with a bluetooth
keyboard; even then I quickly found the tablet UI limiting.

~~~
fencepost
The internal lessons beyond the beginning ones are $4.99 for 1 month of access
or $2/month if you sign up for 1 year, so that's the price range. There are
also some "explorers" that look like they're designed for learning more about
some areas, mostly in terms of Bootstrap demos.

~~~
72deluxe
Thanks for the info. I perhaps have fallen into the trap of devaluing "app
store" software given the effort needed to write it.

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n0body
why?

~~~
Sanddancer
Same reason writers tend to carry around a moleskine, or artists a sketchpad.
Ideas don't always come when you're absolutely ready for them, and being able
to get something out right then and there is a lot less frustrating than
trying to remember that idea hours later when you're in front of a "proper"
device.

