Web Development on iPad

[iRaynor SK]

Hello,

I'm finding some equipment for web developing on iOS.

I need a good FTP client, something for editing HTML/PHP/CSS, global coding keyboard (I have iOS 8) and extension for iOS 8.

Compatibility with iCloud Drive and Dropbox would be good. Also I need function "Open with..." and compatibility with iTunes File Sharing and iMazing (formerly DiskAid).

Thanks.

Lukas.

 

[TonyK]

Normally I don't respond this way, asking if someone has done a web search. It just seems like the expected first step before asking a question.

My search terms for a Google search were: ipad web development tools

The results should be viewable here: https://www.google.com/search?q=ipa...la:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

Here are 3 results. I've not read these yet but the titles seemed encouraging enough.

http://lifehacker.com/how-can-i-use-an-ipad-for-web-development-and-programmi-1356404036

http://apple.stackexchange.com/ques...pad-for-doing-web-development-and-programming

http://blog.teamtreehouse.com/10-apps-for-web-developers-on-an-ipad

One item missing is Diet Code available at: https://panic.com/dietcoda/

Maybe this will help.

 

[csixty4]

iOS is…ok for web development. I wouldn't use it as my primary dev environment but it's handy in a pinch.

Some tools you might want to check out are:

* View Source - an iOS extension that lets you "view source" on a web page with syntax highlighting. This is nowhere near as useful as a browser's dev tools and it fetches a fresh copy to of the year page instead of showing the current state of the DOM. But it's dependable.

* The Snoopy bookmarklet shows the page source, the source behind the DOM (not a tree view), and some basic info about the page. It's not as useful as Firebug but it runs in cases where there aren't enough resources for Firebug Lite to start up.

* Firebug Lite is as close as you're going to get to proper browser dev tools on an iPad. It's written in Javascript runs in the current page's DOM, so things sometimes get crashy. And since it runs in the page's DOM, the network activity tab can't show you the initial page load and its resources.

* Textastic is a text editor/development environment. It has a syntax colored editor and SFTP. It comes with syntax definitions for a lot of common languages.

* Documents (by Readdle) is the cross between a FTP program and the filesystem you never knew you needed on iOS.

* Prompt is my go-to SSH program.

* Get a Bluetooth keyboard

 

[TonyK]

Instead of FireBug Lite maybe look at iDebug which says it includes FireBug Lite in the App Store. Correction: iDebug was inspired by FireBug and other similar apps.

Documents 5 is free and shows no in-app purchases in the App Store. It may well be worth getting because I did. Thanks csixty4.

Textastic is $9 each for iPhone and iPad.

csixty4's advice though is good. The iPad should not be a developer's primary tool. It should be used for validation and for quick things like a quick bug fix (BTDT). A full computer, laptop or desktop, is better suited for web development than just about any tablet, IMHO.

If it is decided to use the iPad for web development then yes, a GOOD bluetooth keyboard is going to be essential.

Take care,

 

[csixty4]

The iPad should not be a developer's primary tool. It should be used for validation and for quick things like a quick bug fix (BTDT). A full computer, laptop or desktop, is better suited for web development than just about any tablet, IMHO.

Definitely. It sounds like the OP is just starting out with static pages, so the iPad might be a good jumping off point. But once you start getting more advanced, there just isn't the kind of software you're going to find yourself wanting.

I gave it an honest try when I was a freelancer. Basically found myself spinning up VPS instances at Digital Ocean to run languages & process my Grunt workflows. The iPad became more or less a dumb terminal at that point. A laptop is much better suited for that kind of workload.

I tried some of the online IDEs like Cloud9 and none of them worked on an iPad. They might have improved since then, but I've got a good workflow going on a rMBP these days & I'd hate to give it up.

 

[Jessica Lares]

I'm using Koder (it's listed in one of those articles mentioned actually). I like the fact that I can put in snippets and it's customizable.

It doesn't have iCloud support, but works with Dropbox, iTunes Sharing, Open In..., has FTP/SSH, and has a built-in server so you can look at your stuff on another machine. Haven't tried it with iMazing, but it probably works.

I also have this extension called "View Source".

There's also an editor called DraftCode PHP IDE.

As for keyboards, there is one called ProType that is a full QWERTY. Most of these editors will give you a bar with a few shortcuts. I'd rather throw stuff into a snippet keyboard though (I use an actual keyboard with the iPad).

 

[PowerBook-G5]

I'm using Koder (it's listed in one of those articles mentioned actually). I like the fact that I can put in snippets and it's customizable.

It doesn't have iCloud support, but works with Dropbox, iTunes Sharing, Open In..., has FTP/SSH, and has a built-in server so you can look at your stuff on another machine. Haven't tried it with iMazing, but it probably works.

I also have this extension called "View Source".

There's also an editor called DraftCode PHP IDE.

As for keyboards, there is one called ProType that is a full QWERTY. Most of these editors will give you a bar with a few shortcuts. I'd rather throw stuff into a snippet keyboard though (I use an actual keyboard with the iPad).

Jessica just recommended ProType to me a few days ago, and while I like its features, the autocorrect feature does not work (at all!). It's a great keyboard for doing a lot of typing with symbols and such, but if you often utilize the autocorrect feature of the stock keyboard, then you won't be happy with it as of now. I hope that the developers can get on it soon and fix this as it is preventing me from using it as my main keyboard on my iPad

 

[Jessica Lares]

Jessica just recommended ProType to me a few days ago, and while I like its features, the autocorrect feature does not work (at all!). It's a great keyboard for doing a lot of typing with symbols and such, but if you often utilize the autocorrect feature of the stock keyboard, then you won't be happy with it as of now. I hope that the developers can get on it soon and fix this as it is preventing me from using it as my main keyboard on my iPad

Ahh, really? See, I have it on my wish list and haven't actually tried it yet. I guess in his case he wouldn't need the autocorrect anyway.

 

[iRaynor SK]

Thanks to all!

I know, web development under iPad looks like little mad, but my main coding machine is Mac, I just want to use iPad for smaller edits, when my Mac is not available.

Thanks

Lukas from Slovakia

And Happy New Year!!!

 

[smallcoffee]

I use FTP manager. Like it quite a bit.

 

[csixty4]

Code Anywhere seems interesting. You get one virtual machine with the free account tier. Decent editor with syntax highlighting. GitHub integration. Some bugs & features missing from the iOS app, but they say an update's coming this month.