Most 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.
You may be able to do it through emsctipten versions of ruby and python which you can load in webkits JavaScript engine. http://repl.it works like that.
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.
Hmm.. 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.
The 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.
I have this vision of a custom Vim keyboard for the iPad where every key is labelled according to its function. Hence, in normal mode, 'd' would be labelled 'del' and 't' would be 'goto'. Then press 'd' once, and 'd' is labelled 'line' and 't' is labelled 'upto'. In insert mode, it would display characters, of course.
A keyboard like this (for Vim or otherwise) could seriously change the game for text editing.
Have a special 'keyboard' for entering snippets. Have one for navigation. Have one for actions. Combine them like you combine Vim motions/actions.
Now that is something I look forward to. Maybe that Logitech keyboard with little screens on each character was indeed a glimpse into a better future.
As 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.
I 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.
This 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...
I 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.
I'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.)
Hi 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
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. =)
At 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.
This 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
I've just recently started using Prompt (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).
There'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!
I'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.
Buying 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.
While 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.
Think 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.
Pardon 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.
This 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.
[+] [-] donny|14 years ago|reply
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|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] fcoury|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vilya|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] yuchi|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] donny|14 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] xal|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andrewroycarter|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jwarzech|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] veyron|14 years ago|reply
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|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] terhechte|14 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] Derbasti|14 years ago|reply
A keyboard like this (for Vim or otherwise) could seriously change the game for text editing.
Have a special 'keyboard' for entering snippets. Have one for navigation. Have one for actions. Combine them like you combine Vim motions/actions.
Now that is something I look forward to. Maybe that Logitech keyboard with little screens on each character was indeed a glimpse into a better future.
[+] [-] jpdoctor|14 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] cirwin|14 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] unknown|14 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] frou_dh|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] darkmethod|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cpenner461|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] clintjhill|14 years ago|reply
Right now our world it text based. And efforts like this make that circumstance better IMO.
[+] [-] alecperkins|14 years ago|reply
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|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] abstractwater|14 years ago|reply
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|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] benwerd|14 years ago|reply
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?
[+] [-] tluyben2|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] donny|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] theone|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cpenner461|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] joshstrange|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cpenner461|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] geon|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] simonrobb|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] donny|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tibbon|14 years ago|reply
If this is good, I'm going to buy a bluetooth keyboard for the iPad tomorrow.
[+] [-] molossus|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DeepDuh|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gurkendoktor|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ryancarson|14 years ago|reply