Hi everyone I've been working on a personal project over the past few months. It's called Codify and it's for creating game prototypes on iPad. As developers, I'm very interested to hear what you think about it. Too often I've been stuck without my laptop, or been too lazy to take my laptop when a good game idea comes to mind. I like to prototype game ideas rapidly and iterate over them, so I thought this tool would be really useful. This is Codify, it's available now Subscribe to the TouchArcade YouTube channel I've modeled the API after processing, except it uses Lua. Basically you write code, press play and it runs. You can create custom parameters that show up as sliders in the UI, handle touches, and so on. I've tried to design it around touch-friendly coding. You can touch and drag any number to change its value, tap on colors to change them, you can touch the autocomplete that happens above the keyboard. Edit: It's released Codea Two Lives Left "It’s kind of like the Garage Band of coding." – Wired "Codea for iPad is a super slick way to write and run programs … $14.99 Buy Now Watch Media Details"It’s kind of like the Garage Band of coding." – Wired "Codea for iPad is a super slick way to write and run programs on your iPad." – Gizmodo Codea lets you create games and simulations — or just about any visual idea you have. Turn your thoughts into interactive creations that make use of iPad features like Multi-Touch and the accelerometer. We think Codea is the most beautiful code editor you'll use, and it's easy. Codea is designed to let you touch your code. Want to change a color, or an image? Tapping will bring up visual editors that let you choose exactly what you want. Codea is built on the Lua programming language. A simple, elegant language that doesn't rely too much on symbols — a perfect match for iPad. Here's how you use it: type your code. Press play to watch it run. Interact with it. Get creative. FEATURES • A fully featured 2D and 3D renderer • Lots of great example projects to learn from, including games • Touch your code: tap colors, images and sounds to adjust them • Export your finished projects to Xcode to produce real apps • Complete in-line reference documentation accessible from keyboard • Intelligent syntax highlighting and auto-completing code editor • Import your own assets from Dropbox • Full 2D and 3D physics engines for complex motion • Add parameters so you can tweak variables at runtime • Interact with accelerometer and multi-touch on your device • Generate retro-game sound effects • GLSL Shader Language support with live shader editor • Bluetooth keyboard support and keyboard shortcuts • Air Code: code live from your PC using WiFi • Much, much more IMPORTANT INFORMATION • Join the forums at https://talk.codea.io to ask questions, share ideas and get help when you need it • If you need help or wish to get in contact with us, please use the support link on this page Information Seller:Two Lives Left Genre:Education, Simulation Release:Oct 26, 2011 Updated:Mar 09, 2024 Version:3.10 Size:165.9 MB TouchArcade Rating:Unrated User Rating: (3) Your Rating:unrated Compatibility:HD Universal As developers, what do you think of a tool like this? How often and rapidly do you prototype ideas yourself? mr.Ugly Well-Known Member Dec 1, 2009 1,673 0 36 Berlin, Germany #2 mr.Ugly, Sep 26, 2011 well first, codify looks like a neat tool.. but i think its the wrong platform.. i recall a discussion about a tilemap editor on ipad and my personal feeling about real productivity tools on the ipad is that the platform is not right.. - too small screen (with lousy resolution) - virtual keyboard makes the screen space even smaller - wonky unprecise controls (compare to mouse and keyboard) - rapid prototyping against slow input methods the question is why do i need this on the ipad. where is the benefit? surely if you are on the run taking an ipad with you instead of an notebook makes no big difference imho also if you are really working on the go the ipad is even worser at handling than a laptop because you need to hold it at least with a hand that leaves you another hand for input labor.. thats negates the hole purpose of "rapid" in the end its a gadget tool..(a nice one tho) and the audience imho is more than limited.. maybe the honest question is, how much rapid prototyping do you really need todo on your daily commute to x or y.. and how much real work do you make on the run instead of in your office, at home at your desk or wherever you usualy work out your ideas.. the place where you can start working (coding) in a relaxed and focussed way is usualy also a place where a laptop is the alot better tool to use. but this is all more about then general usefullness of the ipad as an productivity tool instead of an media conumption tool (which is its purpose and does pretty well) i've tried alot html editors, 3d tools, 2d tool , vector tools etc. on the ipad but i always went back to desktop applications because of too much limitations with the ipad itself and the way the tools have to workaround the many flaws there is.. even for the most obvious productivity.. painting.. i never found the right tools or way to make it really work.. and the real pro artists i talked to asked for a stylus and pressure sensitivy which is obviously not avaiable and the interest into drawing on the go on with an ipad dimished to scribble level. i personaly never carry my ipad anywhere nowerdays.. it became the couch device.. i always have my iphone with me and it does everything i really need on the go for non developement.. like putting in ideas, scribbling something on the go if needed etc.. for anything else, like some more serious work than doodling i would suggest a notebook.. if you need to carry a device that does not fit into a pocket then it can the real deal instead of an half one thats my rambling about that.. except of the above codify looks neat, but i think the platform of choice is wrong for this kind of tasks.. but still some nice ideas there and would be (for me) more interesting if it would be an desktop tool.. you may even look into making it corona compatible they use lua if i recall right and you may got yourself a bigger audience by simply offering it to an actualy target audience.. cheers TwoLivesLeft Well-Known Member Oct 19, 2009 265 0 0 Adelaide, Australia http://www.twolivesleft.com #3 TwoLivesLeft, Sep 27, 2011 Thanks for your thoughts, mr.Ugly I agree that coding on your desktop or laptop is faster than iPad. But the current response to Codify beta has really surprised me. One thing I've found with Codify is that people collaborate a lot more when someone has their iPad out. A friend is coding up a snake game, for example, and others are looking over his shoulder making suggestions and so on. It's not fast, but it's strangely social. Another friend surprised me by writing a Verlet rope simulation that uses the accelerometer. Sure, you can do these things on your laptop but Codify really encourages you to toy around with quick ideas. Perhaps because it's not as serious as a laptop, it makes you feel like experimenting and just having fun writing code. In addition to my own ideas like draggable numbers and the color picker, I've tried to make coding on iPad fast by borrowing a lot of ideas from modern IDEs. There's a math palette button that pops up easy operators and functions, a jump-button to jump to any function definition, and a code snippets button to insert common code structures with touchable markers for parameterization. Also, if you add a bluetooth keyboard (Codify has special support for this) it essentially becomes as quick as a netbook for prototyping. One major point is that people who don't have iOS developer licenses can explore touch based prototypes directly on their iPad. Sure if they're serious about it they can move to a full development kit. But this allows for some easy and fun exploration. In the end I agree that functionally it doesn't compete with a laptop. But I would argue that there's a lot more to offer than the pure function of coding. There's a lot of pleasure in the creative and social aspects that I feel are exemplified by Codify. MindJuice Well-Known Member Sep 20, 2009 977 0 0 Vancouver, Canada http://www.mindjuice.net/charmed #4 MindJuice, Sep 28, 2011 Pretty sweet! Would love to try doing a Game Jam with just this. Limitations can often bring focus and new solutions. How close are you to releasing it? TwoLivesLeft Well-Known Member Oct 19, 2009 265 0 0 Adelaide, Australia http://www.twolivesleft.com #5 TwoLivesLeft, Sep 28, 2011 Thanks MindJuice. I've put a version through review with Apple - they rejected it on the basis of "Downloadable Code" - the app had iTunes File Sharing enabled so you could download your own creations to your computer. I have disabled this and resubmitted it to Apple. jwfrosty Member Sep 9, 2011 9 0 0 #6 jwfrosty, Sep 28, 2011 Wow. This looks incredible, and definitely something I'd use. The presentation and interface for Codify look really, really slick - I'm really impressed by the videos. This looks like it could be a great way to introduce kids to programming, too, which I think is really important and increasingly difficult these days. I'll be *very* interested in picking this up once it's released. I hope it gets past review! DemonJim Well-Known Member Nov 19, 2010 416 5 18 App Developer UK http://www.demonstudios.com/ #7 DemonJim, Sep 28, 2011 I completely agree that this is absolutely brilliant as an educational tool. Kids these days don't have the simplicity of having BASIC on their computers like I and many others here did back in ye olden days of the 80s with the 8-bit machines. You started them up and seconds later it said "Ready" with a flashing cursor tempting you in. People with no interest in learning programming were writing 10 print "billy woz ere"; 20 goto 10, and to many this was a fascinating step into a new world and got them interested in learning how to do more. While nowadays yes of course they do have all the tools at their disposal to make anything, but the initial hurdle puts so many of people off. If someone has no [known] interest in programming why would they go to the trouble of installing Visual Studio Express? How do they even know that's the best option? There are just so many things you need to understand before you can even write hello world these days they simply don't bother. Apps like Codify are what fill this gap. This thinking is what initially got me writing my 3D LOGO programming app Logograph, but the issue of Apple rejecting this sort of thing made me put it on hold ~50% complete. TwoLivesLeft - in case you don't know about it you should take a look at the Raspberry Pi (that $25 linux computer, www.raspberrypi.org) - it is the sort of platform that Codify is perfect for. In my opinion as well as iOS too of course - I agree totally that an iPad version of this would be fantastic. jwfrosty Member Sep 9, 2011 9 0 0 #8 jwfrosty, Sep 28, 2011 TwoLivesLeft - I just took another look at your 'sharks with fricking laser beams' Crabitron video from August... have you been using Codify to make that? It looked like it had a similar editor sidebar on the left hand side. If so... wow. TwoLivesLeft Well-Known Member Oct 19, 2009 265 0 0 Adelaide, Australia http://www.twolivesleft.com #9 TwoLivesLeft, Sep 28, 2011 @jwfrosty thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you like it! Unfortunately I have to say space sharks was not Codify. It's the in-game editor for Crabitron developed by my friend John. It's great for building scripted physics rigs to use in game. Thanks for the kind words about the interface. UI design is something I'm really passionate about. Codify is soon to get sprites and a nice sprite picker (you tap the code and a grid of images pops up allowing you to visually select your graphics). And I'm considering integrating a Box2D API down the track so things like the Space Sharks will be possible. @DemonJim I really hope people find it educational. Sometimes you miss the joy of writing code, especially when you work on large projects. However I did make Codify primarily as a tool that I wanted to use I prototype ideas a lot, so that has really defined my goals. If Apple approve this then perhaps you could reconsider submitting your Logograph App? I actually submitted Codify in an unfinished state for just this reason. There are some iPad apps on the App Store right now that interpret code. So there is hope. Raspberry Pi looks fantastic. After the iPad version of Codify is complete I plan to start a Github project to open source the renderer and code system for other platforms. jwfrosty Member Sep 9, 2011 9 0 0 #10 jwfrosty, Sep 28, 2011 @TwoLivesLeft Oh well, still looks great! I guess is it best to follow you on Twitter to know if / when Codify is released? TwoLivesLeft Well-Known Member Oct 19, 2009 265 0 0 Adelaide, Australia http://www.twolivesleft.com #11 TwoLivesLeft, Sep 28, 2011 @jwfrosty hopefully when, more than if yes I tend to post more status updates there. But I'll try to post here too. The current build is sitting 'In Review' again with Apple (this time with iTunes File Sharing disabled). Last time it took them about 3 days of 'In Review' time before they got back to me on the file sharing issue. I am considering expanding the Codify beta testing soon too. I would really like to attract people who are passionate about creating games and simulations. So if you feel like you would use the app and provide feedback, the TestFlight sign up is here. jonbro Well-Known Member Nov 20, 2010 86 0 0 right hand at luckyframe #12 jonbro, Sep 30, 2011 Hey there, I signed up, and just added my ipad to my testflight. I have been working on a lua based engine for my current game project. I am also way into doing LDs and that kind of thing. Hopefully you have enough devices free to add me. I am really interested to see how you do the sharing to get past apples filters. GlennX Well-Known Member May 10, 2009 761 0 0 UK #13 GlennX, Oct 1, 2011 Last edited: Oct 1, 2011 Looks great to me. Mr Ugly almost has a point about it being on the wrong platform but, in my opinion is wrong. I've been wondering about how to get my kids into programming for a while now. It was so much easier back in the days when you had no distracting net connection, games were mostly crappy and a cursor just blinked at you, waiting for lines of basic as your switched the machine on. I've started looking into good starter languages several times. should I use one of the game basics? encourage them to learn flash? maybe tidy up my lib slightly and teach them C. If Codify was on a computer it would just be one more option to add to the list. If Apple aprove it on the iPad (and I hope they do) it will be the only option, making it much more like that old built in basic. These things do work, I actually played with the built in basic like language on old Psions and a simplified C interpreter thing on ancient Palm devices. I'd love to see this work out. TwoLivesLeft Well-Known Member Oct 19, 2009 265 0 0 Adelaide, Australia http://www.twolivesleft.com #14 TwoLivesLeft, Oct 1, 2011 Last edited: Oct 1, 2011 Codify got approved! @GlennX one of the key things I wanted in codify was an instant transition from coding to visuals. I find it motivating when I can see things on the screen. What are your favourite languages? I find there are some that make you appreciate the joy of coding, and others that get in your way. I chose Lua for Codify because it's a very "wordy" language, which is more appropriate for the iPad keyboard (less transitioning to symbols all the time). And also the runtime is very, very lightweight. @jonbro thanks, would really like to get your feedback on the help features I'm developing. And I'm looking for testers to submit small example projects that could be included in the release version (fully credited, of course). @DemonJim perhaps there is a chance for Logograph? DemonJim Well-Known Member Nov 19, 2010 416 5 18 App Developer UK http://www.demonstudios.com/ #15 DemonJim, Oct 1, 2011 That's great! The iPad is the perfect platform for something like this. I would quite fancy an early test of this to see what I can come up with and give you honest feedback. It looks like a breeze to use (and fun too with all the fancy UI elements and transitions). I hope so about Logograph - it needs quite a lot more UI work before it can be submitted (really don't like doing UI!). I do believe the Raspberry Pi will create an explosion in demand for basic computer science learning apps, on all devices not just for the Pi itself. To answer your question in the first post yes I would actually use Codify to play around as a developer to quickly try out a basic idea. In fact I have one game idea which I would do first which I've been wanting to prototype but just can't be doing with all the messing around setting up a bunch of lower level stuff. GlennX Well-Known Member May 10, 2009 761 0 0 UK #16 GlennX, Oct 1, 2011 I'm not very multilingual. I went from basic to assembler then C, C++ in '98 and haven't really learned one since then unless you count shader languages (HLSL, CG and GLSL- all basically the same and very c like) and the objective C I cut and paste from Apple samples for that tiny bit of iOS coding that has to use it. Lua seems cool, i've worked on larger projects that have used it for everything from scripting to data definitions but never had to get my hands dirty. When this is released I will be looking at it and encouraging my kids to do the same. Anything to make that first step simple has got to be a very good thing and this looks like exactly that. I understand you will not be able to download code but will it be possible to drag files in via iTunes? TwoLivesLeft Well-Known Member Oct 19, 2009 265 0 0 Adelaide, Australia http://www.twolivesleft.com #17 TwoLivesLeft, Oct 1, 2011 @GlennX Lua is an imperative language, but it sometimes annoys established C programmers due to its array indices starting at 1 instead of 0. (You can start them at 0, but the few built in iterators always assume 1.) I find Lua's metatables incredible though, the entire object oriented class model with inheritance in Codify is a single 50-line Lua function. It's also a bit wordy with if-then-end, for-do-end instead of the familiar braces. But that makes a good fit on iPad. Unfortunately Apple considers iTunes File Sharing to be "downloading code," so I've had to disable it for the initial release. I'm going to try to re-enable it in an update, and if Apple rejects it I will appeal to the review board. Another solution I am looking at is sharing your creations on the web for others to view. jonbro Well-Known Member Nov 20, 2010 86 0 0 right hand at luckyframe #18 jonbro, Oct 3, 2011 How are you going to handle loading new projects? I am pretty sure that the clipboard on iOS is big enough to support massive things, perhaps you could have a website the loaded the code into the clipboard with the proper separation between the files, and then a loader in the app itself that would parse these clipboards into projects. That is great news that it got approved, I can't wait to play with it. emotionrays Well-Known Member Jun 15, 2011 75 0 0 Cherkasy, Ukraine #19 emotionrays, Oct 3, 2011 I think it's a great application for both professional developers and students who would like to try their skills. I agree that desktop is more comfortable for development, but in other hands but still i can imagine many places where you can have iPad and lots of time, and where idea can strikes you. iPad is much better to carry along that a laptop, and it takes much less code (according to video) to make a prototype in your program than on Objective-C. And yes, for those who doesn't have an Apple developer subscriptions and don't want to jailbreak their device it's a nice solution. mr.Ugly Well-Known Member Dec 1, 2009 1,673 0 36 Berlin, Germany #20 mr.Ugly, Oct 3, 2011 thumbs up for the approval.. with such apps you never know how apple reacts @glenn: not sure how old your kids are but it always digs up bad memory when i read that parents want to get kids into "specific" activity.. which may or usualy may not be of interest to the kids themself.. i would rather see parenty trying to spark interest in being creative in general no matter in what direction.. art, music, writing, whatever.. -- in general maybe i'm too much looking from a more professional usability apporach to things.. of course such tools like alot of painting apps, modelings app etc. could be a creativity tools for younger or (even older) but more casual audience.. but maybe thoose are rather be found in the general forums than here *shrug* let us know when codify is out (You must log in or sign up to post here.) 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well first, codify looks like a neat tool.. but i think its the wrong platform.. i recall a discussion about a tilemap editor on ipad and my personal feeling about real productivity tools on the ipad is that the platform is not right.. - too small screen (with lousy resolution) - virtual keyboard makes the screen space even smaller - wonky unprecise controls (compare to mouse and keyboard) - rapid prototyping against slow input methods the question is why do i need this on the ipad. where is the benefit? surely if you are on the run taking an ipad with you instead of an notebook makes no big difference imho also if you are really working on the go the ipad is even worser at handling than a laptop because you need to hold it at least with a hand that leaves you another hand for input labor.. thats negates the hole purpose of "rapid" in the end its a gadget tool..(a nice one tho) and the audience imho is more than limited.. maybe the honest question is, how much rapid prototyping do you really need todo on your daily commute to x or y.. and how much real work do you make on the run instead of in your office, at home at your desk or wherever you usualy work out your ideas.. the place where you can start working (coding) in a relaxed and focussed way is usualy also a place where a laptop is the alot better tool to use. but this is all more about then general usefullness of the ipad as an productivity tool instead of an media conumption tool (which is its purpose and does pretty well) i've tried alot html editors, 3d tools, 2d tool , vector tools etc. on the ipad but i always went back to desktop applications because of too much limitations with the ipad itself and the way the tools have to workaround the many flaws there is.. even for the most obvious productivity.. painting.. i never found the right tools or way to make it really work.. and the real pro artists i talked to asked for a stylus and pressure sensitivy which is obviously not avaiable and the interest into drawing on the go on with an ipad dimished to scribble level. i personaly never carry my ipad anywhere nowerdays.. it became the couch device.. i always have my iphone with me and it does everything i really need on the go for non developement.. like putting in ideas, scribbling something on the go if needed etc.. for anything else, like some more serious work than doodling i would suggest a notebook.. if you need to carry a device that does not fit into a pocket then it can the real deal instead of an half one thats my rambling about that.. except of the above codify looks neat, but i think the platform of choice is wrong for this kind of tasks.. but still some nice ideas there and would be (for me) more interesting if it would be an desktop tool.. you may even look into making it corona compatible they use lua if i recall right and you may got yourself a bigger audience by simply offering it to an actualy target audience.. cheers
Thanks for your thoughts, mr.Ugly I agree that coding on your desktop or laptop is faster than iPad. But the current response to Codify beta has really surprised me. One thing I've found with Codify is that people collaborate a lot more when someone has their iPad out. A friend is coding up a snake game, for example, and others are looking over his shoulder making suggestions and so on. It's not fast, but it's strangely social. Another friend surprised me by writing a Verlet rope simulation that uses the accelerometer. Sure, you can do these things on your laptop but Codify really encourages you to toy around with quick ideas. Perhaps because it's not as serious as a laptop, it makes you feel like experimenting and just having fun writing code. In addition to my own ideas like draggable numbers and the color picker, I've tried to make coding on iPad fast by borrowing a lot of ideas from modern IDEs. There's a math palette button that pops up easy operators and functions, a jump-button to jump to any function definition, and a code snippets button to insert common code structures with touchable markers for parameterization. Also, if you add a bluetooth keyboard (Codify has special support for this) it essentially becomes as quick as a netbook for prototyping. One major point is that people who don't have iOS developer licenses can explore touch based prototypes directly on their iPad. Sure if they're serious about it they can move to a full development kit. But this allows for some easy and fun exploration. In the end I agree that functionally it doesn't compete with a laptop. But I would argue that there's a lot more to offer than the pure function of coding. There's a lot of pleasure in the creative and social aspects that I feel are exemplified by Codify.
Pretty sweet! Would love to try doing a Game Jam with just this. Limitations can often bring focus and new solutions. How close are you to releasing it?
Thanks MindJuice. I've put a version through review with Apple - they rejected it on the basis of "Downloadable Code" - the app had iTunes File Sharing enabled so you could download your own creations to your computer. I have disabled this and resubmitted it to Apple.
Wow. This looks incredible, and definitely something I'd use. The presentation and interface for Codify look really, really slick - I'm really impressed by the videos. This looks like it could be a great way to introduce kids to programming, too, which I think is really important and increasingly difficult these days. I'll be *very* interested in picking this up once it's released. I hope it gets past review!
I completely agree that this is absolutely brilliant as an educational tool. Kids these days don't have the simplicity of having BASIC on their computers like I and many others here did back in ye olden days of the 80s with the 8-bit machines. You started them up and seconds later it said "Ready" with a flashing cursor tempting you in. People with no interest in learning programming were writing 10 print "billy woz ere"; 20 goto 10, and to many this was a fascinating step into a new world and got them interested in learning how to do more. While nowadays yes of course they do have all the tools at their disposal to make anything, but the initial hurdle puts so many of people off. If someone has no [known] interest in programming why would they go to the trouble of installing Visual Studio Express? How do they even know that's the best option? There are just so many things you need to understand before you can even write hello world these days they simply don't bother. Apps like Codify are what fill this gap. This thinking is what initially got me writing my 3D LOGO programming app Logograph, but the issue of Apple rejecting this sort of thing made me put it on hold ~50% complete. TwoLivesLeft - in case you don't know about it you should take a look at the Raspberry Pi (that $25 linux computer, www.raspberrypi.org) - it is the sort of platform that Codify is perfect for. In my opinion as well as iOS too of course - I agree totally that an iPad version of this would be fantastic.
TwoLivesLeft - I just took another look at your 'sharks with fricking laser beams' Crabitron video from August... have you been using Codify to make that? It looked like it had a similar editor sidebar on the left hand side. If so... wow.
@jwfrosty thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you like it! Unfortunately I have to say space sharks was not Codify. It's the in-game editor for Crabitron developed by my friend John. It's great for building scripted physics rigs to use in game. Thanks for the kind words about the interface. UI design is something I'm really passionate about. Codify is soon to get sprites and a nice sprite picker (you tap the code and a grid of images pops up allowing you to visually select your graphics). And I'm considering integrating a Box2D API down the track so things like the Space Sharks will be possible. @DemonJim I really hope people find it educational. Sometimes you miss the joy of writing code, especially when you work on large projects. However I did make Codify primarily as a tool that I wanted to use I prototype ideas a lot, so that has really defined my goals. If Apple approve this then perhaps you could reconsider submitting your Logograph App? I actually submitted Codify in an unfinished state for just this reason. There are some iPad apps on the App Store right now that interpret code. So there is hope. Raspberry Pi looks fantastic. After the iPad version of Codify is complete I plan to start a Github project to open source the renderer and code system for other platforms.
@TwoLivesLeft Oh well, still looks great! I guess is it best to follow you on Twitter to know if / when Codify is released?
@jwfrosty hopefully when, more than if yes I tend to post more status updates there. But I'll try to post here too. The current build is sitting 'In Review' again with Apple (this time with iTunes File Sharing disabled). Last time it took them about 3 days of 'In Review' time before they got back to me on the file sharing issue. I am considering expanding the Codify beta testing soon too. I would really like to attract people who are passionate about creating games and simulations. So if you feel like you would use the app and provide feedback, the TestFlight sign up is here.
Hey there, I signed up, and just added my ipad to my testflight. I have been working on a lua based engine for my current game project. I am also way into doing LDs and that kind of thing. Hopefully you have enough devices free to add me. I am really interested to see how you do the sharing to get past apples filters.
Looks great to me. Mr Ugly almost has a point about it being on the wrong platform but, in my opinion is wrong. I've been wondering about how to get my kids into programming for a while now. It was so much easier back in the days when you had no distracting net connection, games were mostly crappy and a cursor just blinked at you, waiting for lines of basic as your switched the machine on. I've started looking into good starter languages several times. should I use one of the game basics? encourage them to learn flash? maybe tidy up my lib slightly and teach them C. If Codify was on a computer it would just be one more option to add to the list. If Apple aprove it on the iPad (and I hope they do) it will be the only option, making it much more like that old built in basic. These things do work, I actually played with the built in basic like language on old Psions and a simplified C interpreter thing on ancient Palm devices. I'd love to see this work out.
Codify got approved! @GlennX one of the key things I wanted in codify was an instant transition from coding to visuals. I find it motivating when I can see things on the screen. What are your favourite languages? I find there are some that make you appreciate the joy of coding, and others that get in your way. I chose Lua for Codify because it's a very "wordy" language, which is more appropriate for the iPad keyboard (less transitioning to symbols all the time). And also the runtime is very, very lightweight. @jonbro thanks, would really like to get your feedback on the help features I'm developing. And I'm looking for testers to submit small example projects that could be included in the release version (fully credited, of course). @DemonJim perhaps there is a chance for Logograph?
That's great! The iPad is the perfect platform for something like this. I would quite fancy an early test of this to see what I can come up with and give you honest feedback. It looks like a breeze to use (and fun too with all the fancy UI elements and transitions). I hope so about Logograph - it needs quite a lot more UI work before it can be submitted (really don't like doing UI!). I do believe the Raspberry Pi will create an explosion in demand for basic computer science learning apps, on all devices not just for the Pi itself. To answer your question in the first post yes I would actually use Codify to play around as a developer to quickly try out a basic idea. In fact I have one game idea which I would do first which I've been wanting to prototype but just can't be doing with all the messing around setting up a bunch of lower level stuff.
I'm not very multilingual. I went from basic to assembler then C, C++ in '98 and haven't really learned one since then unless you count shader languages (HLSL, CG and GLSL- all basically the same and very c like) and the objective C I cut and paste from Apple samples for that tiny bit of iOS coding that has to use it. Lua seems cool, i've worked on larger projects that have used it for everything from scripting to data definitions but never had to get my hands dirty. When this is released I will be looking at it and encouraging my kids to do the same. Anything to make that first step simple has got to be a very good thing and this looks like exactly that. I understand you will not be able to download code but will it be possible to drag files in via iTunes?
@GlennX Lua is an imperative language, but it sometimes annoys established C programmers due to its array indices starting at 1 instead of 0. (You can start them at 0, but the few built in iterators always assume 1.) I find Lua's metatables incredible though, the entire object oriented class model with inheritance in Codify is a single 50-line Lua function. It's also a bit wordy with if-then-end, for-do-end instead of the familiar braces. But that makes a good fit on iPad. Unfortunately Apple considers iTunes File Sharing to be "downloading code," so I've had to disable it for the initial release. I'm going to try to re-enable it in an update, and if Apple rejects it I will appeal to the review board. Another solution I am looking at is sharing your creations on the web for others to view.
How are you going to handle loading new projects? I am pretty sure that the clipboard on iOS is big enough to support massive things, perhaps you could have a website the loaded the code into the clipboard with the proper separation between the files, and then a loader in the app itself that would parse these clipboards into projects. That is great news that it got approved, I can't wait to play with it.
I think it's a great application for both professional developers and students who would like to try their skills. I agree that desktop is more comfortable for development, but in other hands but still i can imagine many places where you can have iPad and lots of time, and where idea can strikes you. iPad is much better to carry along that a laptop, and it takes much less code (according to video) to make a prototype in your program than on Objective-C. And yes, for those who doesn't have an Apple developer subscriptions and don't want to jailbreak their device it's a nice solution.
thumbs up for the approval.. with such apps you never know how apple reacts @glenn: not sure how old your kids are but it always digs up bad memory when i read that parents want to get kids into "specific" activity.. which may or usualy may not be of interest to the kids themself.. i would rather see parenty trying to spark interest in being creative in general no matter in what direction.. art, music, writing, whatever.. -- in general maybe i'm too much looking from a more professional usability apporach to things.. of course such tools like alot of painting apps, modelings app etc. could be a creativity tools for younger or (even older) but more casual audience.. but maybe thoose are rather be found in the general forums than here *shrug* let us know when codify is out