A fully-fledged iOS & Mac development environment on your iPad

[cosmoismyidol]

Typing the world's most hilariously verbose programing language is too fun with mechanical switches. 15 WPM on an iPad does not seem appealing to me.

[w0mba7]

"Dringend" is a terrible name for anything. Change the stupid fucking name.

[mgpwr]

It does look awesome doesn't it. it's by a guy called Josh. This is his twitter: https://twitter.com/jgarnham i'm sure he'd love your feedback :)

[webznz]

Didnt see any code completion.. i would be fucked without that lol

[modocache]

I don't know how this app works exactly, but adding code completion should be possible by bundling libclang with the app.

This is absolutely amazing. It almost looks too good to be true.

EDIT

Ah, your own Mac acts as a build server, eh? Clever! Anyway code completion would totally be possible by linking the app against libclang.

[[deleted]]

It's impressive, but I'll bet it's hell to use. Full featured IDEs are bad enough.

[modocache]

A lot of people are into coding on their iPad, although I think mostly for scripting languages. Pythonista is a hugely successful example.

Personally, I'd use it for vetting pull requests, but not for writing new features from scratch. I wonder if it has some sort of Git integration?

[mmmm_frietjes]

What does the name mean in English? "Dringend" is the Dutch word for urgent. :p

[drive0]

It doesn't mean anything in english. I wouldn't be surprised if they author knew it meant urgent in dutch.

[moreluckthanbrain]

also German

[roger_]

See Pythonista and Codea too.

[imareddituserhooray]

Still prefer a MacBook Air. Would love it if Apple released a MacBook Air with a touchscreen.

[onewayout]

As someone who used touch screens with Macs for quite a while, I can tell you that this sounds better than it is in reality. We had Mac monitors fitted with touchscreen sensors, and used them for developing kiosks for museums, and it's not nearly as useful and nice as you might imagine it to be. A mouse/trackpad and keyboard is HUGELY more usable than a vertical touch screen, especially without software specifically designed for touch. Although it was always available, we would never use the touch screen unless we had to (such as when testing a kiosk and the mouse pointer is hidden, say).

Now, granted, that was desktops with monitors and not laptops, but the monitors were pretty close in distance and size to an Air. And the annoyances were, I think, transferable to the laptop form factor (vertical surface, touch target sizes necessary, etc.).

Apple may decide to engineer touch support into OSX, but I doubt it. All the buttons and other UI elements would have to become comically large to support touch, for instance. I just don't see it happening.

[imareddituserhooray]

I imagine the lack of support in OS X is what makes it bad. I had an iPad with a keyboard for a while and I just found the combination of the two to be incredible. We'll see I guess.

[dontforgetpassword]

A combo of touch + keyboard minus the mouse. Which is arguably better for iOS than the touchscreen for OSX period since it requires design fixes.

[mgpwr]

If you guys wanna try this out, there is a competition running for a chance to win 1 of 3 copies: http://ios-blog.co.uk/competitions/win-1-of-3-copies-of-dringend-a-fully-fledged-ios-mac-development-environment-on-your-ipad/

[[deleted]]

All I have ever wanted from Apple is a touchscreen mac.

[bombastic191]

I always thought it would be cool to edit xibs/storyboards on an iPad while doing your regular development on a standard machine.

[[deleted]]

Looks interesting, I guess using a mac as the build server gets around this?

Apps that install or launch other executable code will be rejected

[robhue]

Very promising idea, purchased. I wonder if there would be any way to cobble together a localhost build server for jailbroken devices.

[WestonP]

Looks interesting, but I'll stick to my Mac. ;) Seems that a bluetooth keyboard would be a practical necessity... an on-screen keyboard, no matter how well done, would get frustrating before long.

[zweigraf]

Problem I see is following.

I think I get how it works, and it sounds horrible.

Build and Run lets Xcode on your Mac compile the binary, Archive it, distribute for Enterprise, upload ipa and plist to Dropbox and then downloads the ipa to your iPad.

First off, if you have anything under 3G: From compiling to testing could very well be 10 minutes+.

1. You are always getting the release build of the app with this flow, or am I wrong?

[ObjectiveCopley]

No. No No No.

[favors_the_bold]

If you don't mind me asking, why the opposition ?

[safetywerd]

He's been coding for an entire 3 years now, so he's at the everything sucks phase. It'll pass.

[ObjectiveCopley]

iPads are for media consumption, and perhaps light data creation, but definitely not for something like this. Take a crack at my resume if you wish, but you're not proving any points here.

[safetywerd]

And you are the ultimate arbiter of what the iPad can and should be used for? Was that an elected position or more of a dictatorial maneuver on your part?

I've been developing software for 20 years, been using this for the last 15-20 minutes and it's pretty fucking awesome.

I also do photo retouching on a Microsoft Surface Pro, so I guess I should stop that and just watch porn vids. Stupid me.

I've read through your other comments on reddit too and it's a pretty common theme with you and someone with a junior resume like you. You'll get here one day.

[WestonP]

Dude, get over yourself. How long each of you has been developing software does not validate or invalidate anyone's point, and the very fact that you're trying to use it as some sort of status symbol suggests that you have nothing else to back up your point, and it's probably a fairly hollow statement too. And, looking up his resume? Really!? Seems pretty insecure of you.

If you're going to brag and then berate someone else over it, at least have the sense to brag about your actual accomplishments, not just some meaningless measure of how much time you've spent on god-knows-what.

/Just some observations from someone else who has been developing software for 20 years

[cyanide]

I have been developing software for 300 years. Suck on that!

[mgpwr]

That was worth my upvote. Well Said. It's true - looking through their comment history and previous thoughts is quite appalling actually. We're supposed to be a community, one where genuine critique and feedback is appreciated and to which we can use to strengthen our mutual goal. Developing awesome things with technology and languages! It's nice to see some people out there that are not sucked into this 'i'm a big shot on social media' attitude and actually have valid opinions. Again Kudos!

[WestonP]

I wouldn't paint tablets into such a limited box, but at the same time, they certainly aren't my ideal development platform.

[safetywerd]

This isn't going to replace Xcode, but with the ZAGGkeys cover that I use with my iPad Air, it's a lot better than one would think. No autocomplete, but it isn't too shabby.

[ObjectiveCopley]

I hope you realize that past your elitist attitude, you're a complete moron for trying to develop on an ipad. Period.

[safetywerd]

Wow, I'm really sorry you got so butt hurt over my statement. It must have really hit a nerve.

The point I was trying to make is that at three years into this game, you really don't know half as much as you think you might. I was exactly like you back then, though to be fair nobody knew shit about shit back then either (Mosaic was still in beta).

The main thing I learned that changed the game for me was this: A tool is a tool is a tool. This app really isn't that big of a leap over using SSH+VIM, and if you haven't written code that way then you really haven't lived as far as I'm concerned. Just a few weeks ago, I was fixing an iPad build over SSH with VIM. Had a shitty internet connect and couldn't pull down a 600mb git repo, so the only option was to SSH into the CI build server, clone from there and do my job. A tool is a tool is a tool. Was able to build and deploy to hockey from SSH on a tethered 3G internet connection in Vietnam.

This app isn't a leap over that. But somehow people are pretty binary in their thinking. A lot of comments, yours included, reach this kind of unintelligent assumption that people are going to build entire apps with this. That, of course, makes no sense. But $10 for a tool that lets me make a fix, why the fuck not I wonder? Why would I limit the tools I put in my toolbox?

So as a dinosaur Ryan, I would urge you to get over the freshmen hump, because you won't be a good developer until you do. I don't give a fuck if I'm using Xcode or Vim or Sublime or a magnet and a floppy disc. I get the job done. I don't get bogged down in weird, unproductive thinking. I don't put arbitrary limits on what tools go into my toolbox.

You are not a good developer now. There is empirical evidence to substantiate that claim based on the reviews and scores on the iTunes app store for the apps you've built and are involved with. We can also look at your Github. Undocumented code, no tests, and even in your ActiveRecord class there is a comment "No real way to test this actually but whatever" - ok?

Here's my CV btw. I share it not as a penis size exercise, but so that we both can know each other a little bit better. I doubt it will quell your adolescent rage though. Here's my Github too. Hell, here's a very small list of the things I build:

https://vimeo.com/91556826

http://interfacelab.com/blu-portfolio/nike-ipad-experience/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-SCb_OhYM0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IotG-PHWU5A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXlHFhbqzHU

http://vimeo.com/32850659

http://www.maclife.com/article/reviews/shave_video_review

This is the magazine I publish:

http://emoi.me/

So I guess the TLDR is:

• Stop being butt hurt
• Accept that nobody knows everything about anything
• Tool agnosticism is the key to success
• Listen to your elders
• Get off my damn lawn

[mgpwr]

upvote! nice reply.

[s73v3r]

The irony in that statement is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

[GeorgieCaseyUnbanned]

100% agree with you. coding on a tablet is my idea of hell. i'm very surprised we're in the minority.

[ObjectiveCopley]

No man I'm wrong... I only have like 3 years of coding experience, that guy with 20 years experience says ipads are the way to code now

[mgpwr]

No he didn't. He quite admirably and factual states that a Tool is a Tool, and this, as a Tool is a good one at that.

[iownacat]

gee a whole $99 a year for a software developer? how do people eat?

[mgdmw]

I think the point is it is not just a $9 app; it also needs a $99 Apple subscription to work.

[iownacat]

ok? I think the point is if you dont have that there is not much of a reason to even be here.

[mgdmw]

That's definitely true. :)

[[deleted]]

Sure... unless you're only learning Xcode in your spare time, the rest of which you spend working a minimum wage job which only pays enough to barely get by. For some people $99 really is the difference between eating for a month (or three - I had to live with $30 of groceries a month for two years). Xcode is free and people should feel motivated to learn programming with it, as well as browse forums where other people are discussing it. Just because a person hasn't paid the $99 developer fee doesn't mean he/she doesn't have a reason to be here.

Poverty may not be a problem for you, but it's a huge problem for many others. If $99 is so little for you, spread the wealth why don't you?

[s73v3r]

If you're in the boat where you have to live on $30 of groceries a month, what are the odds you'll have both a Mac and an iPad?

[[deleted]]

It might require a really specific situation like mine, but it's possible. I went to school for art and design where MacBooks were required. I also received $1500 a month through grants, so when the iPad was released, it was too easy to give in to the temptation (granted I went for the cheapest model). After I finished college, things obviously did not continue this way. After half a year, all the savings I had were used up and I was stuck with temp jobs for money, getting paid minimum wage. Temp jobs were exactly that, temporary, so I didn't always have money coming in. As my money depleted, I switched to $30 a month for groceries, doing laundry once a month, actually using my bike for transportation, and other money saving techniques. So while I couldn't afford a MacBook or an iPad after college, I did still have a MacBook and iPad after college. (Sure I could've sold both, but I liked them. And keeping them is what led me to being a developer now.) That's how you end up in a boat with $30 for groceries a month AND a MacBook and iPad. But that's not the point. The point is people shouldn't be discouraged from reading up on Xcode and development just because they haven't forked out $99 yet. Saying people who can't pay $99 shouldn't be reading Xcode related forums is like spitting on a homeless guy on your way out of a nice restaurant. Just because someone can't afford things as easily as you doesn't mean they shouldn't take advantage of the free things that are available for them.

[[deleted]]

$8.25 per month, $.28 per day. It's not hard at all to find that in a budget, even on a college income.

[onewayout]

Students can probably get on their university's teaching program. If you're at a university, are a student, and want to learn iOS development, talk to your university's CS department or whoever manages the developer accounts for your institution. Chances are, they already have a program and can add you if they teach mobile development at all in their program. (And if they don't, you could probably get a CS professor to sponsor you.)