Ask HN: Anyone here using their iPad to program on? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Anyone here using their iPad to program on?

10 pointspoletopole9 comments

I recently bought the new iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard not because I had high hopes that I would be able to program on it but mostly got it for hand written note taking. However, I'm curious if anyone here has managed to actually use their iPad to program on? The only way I see that working is to use a terminal emulator app and ssh into a machine. I was thinking about getting a mac mini or something similar to use as a server so I'm also curious if anyone here has managed to that as well? Thanks.

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Interesting you posted this as I have an older 2016 iPad Pro that I have loved using for Notability notes over the past few years.

I just bought a second hand Apple keyboard for it to make more use of it. I don’t expect to be able to fully program with it but with the likes of Blink I can have a fully functional terminal on a remote dev server and do what I need there.

I find that the form factor of the iPad allows me to “think differently” as strange as that sounds. I can move from my laptop/desk and sit down somewhere else and do certain tasks more easily on the iPad, particularly when it comes to thinking/sketching solutions or writing.

Your comment makes me want to write this symbolic generative grammar lang I've been thinking called "Roam" where you hand write code in pseudo natural langs compiled from lower level dialects with a root lang bootstrapped using Rust, so you could either enter natural accented commands or render code to a target natural lang. Mathematically it's possible, but I'm not sure programmers or end users would appreciate it unless their was a global kak like text entry system for keyboard input. Personally, I find writing by hand helps me "think differently" (I've coded on paper napkins) and the end result is usually much better because writing pseudo-code is much easier than having the distraction of writing correct syntax--a fact I always forget about but my professors in college always required.

Not recently, but yes. I used Working Copy + Textastic to write and edit code and markdown files using a CI to build/test/deploy. I haven't tried using a terminal emulator to SSH into a remote machine, but I am replacing my iPad Air (2013) and plan to get the keyboard when I do, so it's definitely something I plan to do soon.

I found that, once the CI system was configured, it worked really well. My bluetooth keyboard gave up the ghost so I stopped working that way a while ago, and have been postponing getting a replacement because I wanted the new iPad Pro first.

Oh snap, that's right! I could use L7 networking to do automated CI using HashiCorp's stuff even though I know Ansible better. Thanks for the hint.

I’m not coding but launched a challenge myself to create a side-project out of iPad only https://www.indiehackers.com/post/challenge-building-and-mak...

At the moment, writing a newsletter and Tweeting some contents with insights from pre-internet companies using GSuite + substack

I do, I use code-server (https://github.com/cdr/code-server) to run a remote instance of VS Code on a $5 DigitalOcean droplet, that I then expose with a pretty domain.

Works great on the iPad, especially as a full-screen PWA. Paired with Blink mosh shell, which was recommended to me here on HN, and you're set.

I do. Mosh into a free tier gcp server for small things. Spin up bigger instances in either gcp or aws for bigger.

Have been experimenting with tailscale with the idea I might transition to an “on prem” code server. Especially for something like remote vs code.

What would really be ideal is a dock I could use both with my iPad Pro & my work Mac so I could easily use my monitor/mouse/keyboard

You can code online (say on Sagemaker) with a keyboard. It's handy if you move around a lot or if you need to do some coding while traveling. I find the 2 monitor adjustable desk setup to be most conducive though.

I’ve done it on and off. Some of my favourite apps: Codea, Play.js, Working Copy.

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