johndamaia's comments

Great feedback. Were you thinking of any specific data sources?

That's a good point. I argue that "clicking around" on a UI isn't actually coding. Because the end user doesn't have to know how to code to create logic and workflows. Makes sense?

Really happy to know you were positively surprised. I'd love to get your feedback on the product.

Thanks! Are you talking about the features description or /about /product pages?

Interesting. Can you elaborate on that?

Founder here. The text editor is the living force of the modern world. We use it everyday for countless use cases. It’s our go to tool for putting words down. But I feel there’s room to improve it for the next generation of makers and builders that grew up with the cloud, collaboration and information at the tip of their fingers.

So, I built one. The goal is to be able to create apps with a familiar interface. The result is a simple text editor tool that helps you i) stay organized and productive, ii) build your own custom apps or iii) design and launch landing pages. All in one platform.

The main features include: • Markdown editor • Connect to your databases • Add logic operations • Build web pages with UI components

You can check these features demos below [1].

I’ve decided to have these fairly large set of features in the beginning but with limited functionality (e.g. we only have a handful of Components and Functions to start with). This will allow us to learn from your usage and requests and build from those.

On a more personal note, it has been an unbelievable ride. I’ve been working on this since the beginning of the pandemic. This version is still pretty rough (expect bugs… let me know when you find them) but I decided to launch sooner rather than later to get as much feedback as possible.

I know it’s a hot topic, this “no code” trend, but I actually believe software development is becoming ubiquitous and want to help shape that future.

If you think this makes sense, sign up for early access [2]. We are making Zecoda free during the early access period.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on the product. Did you find it useful?

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[1] https://zecoda.com#demos

[2] https://zecoda.com/#subscribe

[-] Spread your love (or anger) at Twitter: https://twitter.com/zecodahq

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PS - This was built 100% by myself, please expect bugs. If you find any just let me know. I'd love to fix them asap.

PS 2 - We are actually pivoting Zecoda from a “design to code” tool [3] to this broader text editor. Also, happy to talk about the pivot decision.

[3] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20624140

Working on it as we speak :)

Thanks so much for all your feedback. We are working on a examples page and we'll make the "Front end created with Zecoda" badge a link to that page.

Thanks for the support!

All valid points you are making. Will definitely add 2 and 3 today. Thanks!

Yes, our goal is to have as much input and output tools as possible.

The hover state was indicated on the Sketch file with a pointer hand cursor. This decision was made by the human layer.

Or even an if else.

Thanks for the heads up. Will definitely work on an examples page.

I see your point. And I also understand your skepticism. You're not the first and don't expect you to be the last :) Trying to sum why we are calling AI to our product:

- Our model learned the website's components visually (e.g. what is a navbar, an input, a button, etc) - The AI outputs the UI elements' coordinates - Without the output from our deep learning model we aren't able to automate the whole process

Regarding examples of the generated code, as said previously, it's definitely on our top priorities.

Not sure I agree. From our own experience the boring and time consuming part is translating the specific design to front-end code. "Connecting the dots" is the essential and most important part, not necessarily what it takes more time.

Our NN actually learn from images. However the Sketch file is essential to get texts and specific element styles. It's a good idea to explore though. Thanks!

We trained a NN to learn UI elements like buttons, inputs, navbar, etc. With that information we can grab the Sketch elements and build the correct UI in the correct coordinates.

Already made the change, thanks!

Thanks! Will push to production later today.

It basically turns Sketch into a WYSIWYG editor, yes. Regarding the marketing angle, I agree. It has been a fairly common advice here; we'll review our approach to market.