Dash now available on iOS | Hacker News Reader

Dash now available on iOS

itunes.apple.com

85 pointsdavidbarker37 comments

I can certainly see the use case for this being on the desktop (and for those that don't know: it is). I have been in plenty of situations where I can not access the internet so having offline copies is incredibly helpful.

I don't understand the use case on iOS. I don't want to just outright poo on the idea so is there anyone who is going to pick this up that can articulate why? I feel great value in having it offline but being able to ctrl + f or copy and paste on a larger screen (the same screen I'm developing on), I just don't get the mobile.

> I have been in plenty of situations where I can not access the internet so having offline copies is incredibly helpful.

Other advantages for me are:

The search function. It's incredibly well implemented. Some online docs just flat out suck at searching.

A more consistent look and feel across different docs, especially when searching or browsing classes.

Easy management of docset versions and automatic updates.

I don't understand how well it'll work on an iDevice. I love Dash. I recommend it to people as it makes going to the official docs easier (for me, ymmv). I just hit a shortcut to pop up alfred and I type what I'm looking for and I'm good to go. I don't really read docs on the go.

I never used Dash (I never heard of it before, I might actually give it a try now), but a use case would be to have an iPad as a second/third/fourth screen.

I have a dual screen setup at work, but windows gets buried really fast. A coworker would printout the most static bits of information (API docs, design mocks, storyboard etc.); this could be an alternative to that.

I definitely use an iPad as another screen, like for a UI spec.

I'm skeptical about using the iPad keyboard to look things up, usually I'm copying symbols from code to lookup, or typing into Alfred. Even just moving my hands to a new keyboard would probably be slower.

Which means I'm looking forward to when Dash iOS uses some of the continuity/handoff features to stay in sync with desktop Dash. (Maybe it already does?)

> I'm skeptical about using the iPad keyboard to look things up

Yeah this would be my main concert about the use case. Though if you have a bluetooth keyboard that can switch between devices it might not be so bad.

That's my thought too, especially since I lug 2 iPads with me for testing.

Nice searchable Javadocs formatted to fit on my iPhone? That's actually going to be quite useful when brain storming ideas in meetings or over lunch.

Having picked up the habit of reading docs (iBook or web site) on my iPad in relaxed mode (couch, terrace, bed, etc.), the case for an iOS version seems rather obvious.

I've admittedly never heard of Dash though. How good is their search compared to using Google on whatever site hosts the docs?

I like the idea of using the iPad as a second screen while I develop, keeping Dash at arm's reach all the time.

If you don't find the necessity for that on a Mac (or if your desk is short of space), use the OS X version, if you're on Windows, I suggest you take a look at Zeal (http://zealdocs.org).

Yep. Dash also has support for in-editor lookup. For sublime, highlight the function IE: app.use and hit ctrl+h, it'll popup the express documentation. Very handy!

What is the use case for this? I can't imagine that I would be doing a lot of hardcore development on a machine that wasn't my dev machine which has Dash on it.

How about screen real estate? If you have a super crowded monitor, you can take advantage of a mobile screen that is otherwise underutilized?

That's exactly it. I've been waiting for this since Dash first came out. At the time I was doing iOS dev in a lot of coffee shops and airports with spotty wifi on an 11" MacBook Air. This would have been perfect then, having searchable offline docs on a second screen! Even though I'm working in an office most of the time now, I still bought it to use on my iPad.

I would still rather cmd+tab and copy&paste into a desktop app than carry around an extra device to view docs, personally.

Coding in Vim on a Raspberry Pi with a really small screen.

It doesn't solve your screen size issue (or if you're not using a gui on your Pi), but it's worth noting that Zeal (http://zealdocs.org/) is compatible with Dash's docsets and runs on Linux and Windows.

Not compatible with OSX on purpose:

https://github.com/jkozera/zeal/issues/97

I've been using the Dash beta, and the use case I have for it is offline docs and quick lookup. I can certainly access Apple's docs in a browser on my iPad, but being able to parse through programming guides, do searches and quick lookups is really helpful. If I want to read up on a Go class, or find something when not at my machine, it's been great. I've really enjoyed using it.

Dash has long since become my technical Kindle app. I think of the doc sets as technical books, so being able to carry them around is a massive boon.

Dash is one of those Mac apps you didn't realize you absolutely needed until you have it (like Bartender or FlyCut or Divvy). That said, buying it again for iOS isn't appealing.

Is the 'buying' not appealing, or is using Dash on iOS not appealing? If you don't think you would look up API much on an iOS device, fair enough. For me, being able to use an iPad as my go-to documentation viewer is tremendously appealing. This is a professional tool, that I use daily (on OS X), and having it on iOS will make my life better.

I don't even have the app, but I really don't like this argument if it has to do with "buying it again". It's not easy writing an application for iOS even if you have one for MAC. They are going to have different feature sets, and now, parallel maintenance times. Why shouldn't he charge for it? (It's also half the price)

If you don't mind being online, you can use http://devdocs.io for free.

It doesn't seem to have any Apple documentation, which is a common use case for Dash.

This is incredibly useful, but I don't know why they are charging $9.99. In my experience they would make more with a free/advertising app

... advertising in developer documentation? Seriously?

Great app, awesome plugins.

I didn't say that you couldn't , I said that you shouldn't

I guess you mean "Dash API Docs now available on iOS"

The original desktop app is called Dash: http://kapeli.com/dash

When speaking of dash, one usually means 'Debian Almquist SHell'. [In the context: 'dash is now available on iOS' to make it abundantly clear]

Seriously, "one usually means"? I could see that phrase being applied to the meaning of "dash" as the punctuation mark, or "run fast," but an obscure UNIX shell only used in a couple of Linux distributions? I hope that was a joke.

... in the context "dash is now available on iOS", since thats what we're talking about, right. Obscure UNIX shell? Wow.

How does adding iOS, an OS with no shell and a walled garden that prevents third parties from adding any such functionality, help your case at all?

The ash shell seems somewhat well known. Dash, not so much, what with it only being used on one Linux distribution and some derivations.

I designed the docs for my product team, which are extensive, to be mobile-first. There is no such thing as a mobile context or "use case".

http://kevinsuttle.com/posts/the-right-questions-to-ask-mobi...

I love that this was downvoted.

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