https://panic.com/blog/the-future-of-code-editor/ Panic Panic Blog May 10th, 2021 The Future of Code Editor By Michael [codeeditor-cover] If you're pressed for time, here's the short version: * We'll stop selling our Code Editor app for iOS soon * The app should continue to function for a long time, but won't receive further updates * If you bought Code Editor in the last 60 days, contact us if you need help with a refund * We're working on a new version of Prompt, though! Code Editor -- originally called "Diet Coda" then later "Coda for iOS" -- was our powerful and full-featured iOS editor for developers. Introduced in 2012, it was packed with innovation, like our "Super Loupe" designed to make iOS cursor placement more precise -- even fun, and an "iPad Preview" that let you use your iPad as a dedicated website preview screen long before Sidecar. The goal was to make a great code editor for iOS that anyone could use on-the-go. Unfortunately, like Transmit iOS and Status Board before it, we're discontinuing Code Editor as it doesn't generate enough revenue to cover its continued development. But that's not the only reason. Read on. Why? First, we must apologize to those of you disappointed by this news. But here's the backstory: The process of web development changed dramatically in the years after our release of Coda in 2007, and our products needed to change with it. This ultimately led to our release of Nova for Mac, which supports more modern workflows and replaced Coda 2. (Not to be confused with the other document editor named Coda, not developed by us.) Those same changes to web development workflows also affected Code Editor. A significant number of web developers now use tools like TypeScript and JSX, which often require a build or compilation process before they can be previewed. The only way to make this work in Code Editor was to separately run the compilers on a remote computer in a different app; a cumbersome proposition for a mobile device like an iPhone or iPad. So, as the time went on, fewer and fewer web developers found Code Editor useful, and sales declined. What about making a version of Nova for iOS? As of right now, we don't have any plans to bring Nova to iOS because, well, it's hard to imagine how it would work. Launching Nova reaffirmed to us how technologically diverse web development has become. During its development, we got requests to support libraries and technologies we thought long dead, as well as requests for brand new frameworks we'd never heard of. The churn of new web tools and tech is rapid and constant. This is why having a flexible extension system is essential for a modern web-focused IDE. But that's where the trouble lies. The biggest technical hurdle is the inability to run external processes on iOS and iPadOS. There's just no way around it: this is required for modern web development. For example, the TypeScript extension is one of the most popular Nova extensions right now, and it launches and runs the TypeScript compiler. While we could attempt to build the TypeScript compiler into Nova, we can't possibly anticipate and include every such tool that might be needed by a developer. We'd need to bundle compilers, interpreters, and language servers for just about every programming language in existence, not to mention tools like linters, JavaScript transpilers, and bundlers. The scope would quickly become unmanageable, and we'd always be lagging behind the latest versions of these tools. Even if it were viable, we'd likely run afoul of App Store policy as well. Apps on iOS and iPadOS must use Apple's Javascript interpreter, JavaScriptCore. Although JavaScriptCore is excellent, many developer tools rely on features or behaviors only present in Google's V8 JavaScript interpreter. Similarly, WebKit is the only allowed web rendering engine on iOS. And still, even if we could find some clever technical way around all of these limitations, we wouldn't know if our approaches would be allowed on the App Store until we'd fully built and submitted them for review. So, we'd be facing a huge investment of time with the possibility that it would all ultimately get rejected. Faced with this situation, we considered a more modest design: what if we combined Apple's new File Provider technology with a streamlined text editor? Then we could at least create a version of Code Editor with robust local file support. In the end, we concluded that this hypothetical app didn't fully address the needs of modern web developers, plus we'd be facing stiff competition from other high-quality apps that are laser focused on this space. We just weren't confident that the additional work required could sustain itself. That's a long way of saying: we gave it our best shot. But, you know us -- we love to make things, and we never say never. None of this means we're permanently, irrevocably turning away from professional iOS tools. We'll keep a close eye on the market and see where it goes. If the stars align and the platform shifts, who knows? There may be a way forward for a better product in the future. What next? Soon, we'll remove Code Editor from sale. The good news for Code Editor users is that it should continue to work fine on your devices for the foreseeable future. (For comparison, even Transmit iOS, discontinued in 2018, continues to work fine today for those who purchased it.) We can't promise these discontinued apps will work indefinitely, but barring any dramatic iOS changes, they should keep going for a good long while. Any customers who purchased Code Editor in the last 60 days or so may contact us -- Apple doesn't provide us with the ability to issue refunds for App Store purchases directly, but we'll do everything we can to help get you one if desired. And what was that bit about a new Prompt? Well, here's some good news, at least! We're still actively working on Prompt, our iOS terminal/SSH app. Having the ability to tackle quick or urgent administrative tasks from your pocket is a great fit for an iOS app. So, we'll be rolling out Prompt 3 in the future, and we'll keep you posted on our progress. We don't want to tip our hand just yet, but we're hopeful we've come up with some great features to keep Prompt rolling well into the future. And of course, our Mac apps continue to be as healthy as ever. Thank you! It's always extremely hard to say goodbye to one of our apps. We spent months agonizing over this decision, exploring every approach we could think of that might keep the app viable. This is always our absolute last resort. We know we have customers who love and rely on our apps, and every time we discontinue one, we're letting them down. Thank you for being a Panic customer and fan. We appreciate your support, always. We'll keep working hard to develop apps and products you love. [web-shots4] PS: Nova for Mac is doing great! We hope you've had a chance to check it out. It's kind of beautiful that a big part of Code Editor's core -- the parsing engine, grammars, indexing engine, document architecture and more -- became the foundation of Nova. Code Editor lives on inside Nova! Posted at 2:29 pm 7 Comments [7867a844] Adam 5/10/2021 5:45 PM [314d63f9] Jot Kailay 5/10/2021 9:58 PM Hoped for a different outcome but understood. One thing I do wonder is how many iPad users have a Mac running Nova. The lite editor on an iPad couldn't "call home" to the users mac to run what needed? Keep it light, an addition to Nova for a additional yearly expense? I for one really wish I could have an iMac and my portable light machine was an iPad [9135dd35] Gerry Normandin 5/11/2021 3:24 AM Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I understand why you are shutting down Code Editor/Diet Coda, but this really sucks. I was hoping that with Apple making changes and APIs coalescing between iOS and Mac that this would improve things, not result in yet another awesome app dropping off. Hopefully Panic is considering Nova ssh bookmark sync between Prompt 3 and Nova. Mosh support on both would be a great added bonus. [10e29d22] Alex 5/11/2021 5:06 AM I'm not sure I buy this argument and it seems yet another excuse for Mac developers to ignore the potential market that exists in iOS users (which ironically has quite a few designers due to the pencil and touch tablet). Why? The latest iPad Pro which has just been released is more than capable of handling a decent IDE if built correctly: Hardware wise it supports a decent keyboard, has a better screen than the M1 Macs, has 16gb ram (1TB+ Pro models), and is on equal terms (or better) on all other specs. Software (and OS) wise it does have the limit of multi-tasking, background activity (and threading / external tasks), and being limited to the Safari rendering engine however this can be worked around to some extent. As an example, browser testing can be emulated using a service like BrowserStack which works on iOS perfectly well. Need developer tools? You could create them for us (or use a third parties like Inspect Browser, Eruda or View Source Premier) As for the ability to use TypeScript, Node, Python and such, that hasn't stopped the likes of Code App (https://thebaselab.com/code/) who have built an IDE that allow modules, pip, npm and local servers. So yes, iOS has certain limitations, but saying "times have changed, we're not going too - because too hard?" is the exact same reason Visual Studio Code swallowed a proportion of your customer base while you were leaving Coda to rot. [ac1c0b12] Pele Marse 5/11/2021 6:17 AM Panic is one of the few companies I really love for the apps they develop, but I'm very angry that they won't be building Transimt iOS and Code Editor apps anymore. That was all I needed for the iPad/ iPhone. Elegance and are simply a pleasure.These applications are best for nerds, geeks, hackers with who has aesthetic sense and want for manipulating plain text source code, editing configuration files or documentation, or viewing error logs if you do something on the fly, you do it quickly. But, in recent years, I've noticed that many of those few companies have started to stop updating their products, and the App Store is getting more and more apps that look like Android apps. And I wonder why I need apple products then? If I could just buy a tablet or phone with linux and be unlimited in the choice of software with poor design. The last few years have been Apple sucks, and many companies are developing applications as well. "It's not personal - it's strictly business" - The Godfather. [eeb374f5] Cabel 5/11/2021 8:29 AM @Alex Without question, as mentioned, iPads are incredible devices -- hardware has never been the issue. And you're right, apps like Code do a phenomenal job with bundling Node right into the app -- but there's no end to what a Nova would have to bundle into the app to meet our developer's needs. Ultimately though, the most important part of this difficult decision was the business end. Panic remains bootstrapped, which means revenue = survival. And while tons of artists and designers use the iPad, we're not convinced many developers do. Yet! We're sure someone will crack this equation -- heck, that someone might be us in the future if the tables turn -- but for now, we want to put our focus where our customers are: Nova for Mac. [4d327cd4] room34 5/11/2021 12:39 PM It's a bummer that these apps are being put out to pasture, but it is absolutely understandable. Apple's absurdly strict limitations (which kind of make sense on an iPhone, but do not at all if they're trying to make the iPad the future of computing) are one thing but let's be honest: the biggest problem is the crappy App Store itself and specifically the ludicrously low price people expect to pay for mobile apps. I know there are some pro-level iPad OS apps that sell well at $10 or $20, but their Mac/Windows counterparts often sell for $100 or more. And yet I see people on the App Store reviews complaining about how "expensive" an app is when it's probably less than they paid for their coffee this morning. The iPad is an incredible device but it's only as useful as its software ecosystem, and Apple has created a world where the developers it NEEDS on board to make the iPad useful for professionals -- developers like Panic -- can't make a viable business out of it. Name: [ ] To: [ ] Panic Inc. Email: [ ] Web: [ ] [ ] Required to post: Your real email address and a pleasant demeanor. Do not post tech support questions. Email those! [Post Comment] pencil [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] (c) Panic Inc.