wordpress coding on your ipad
With the imminent announcement of the iPad 3, there’s little doubt
that we’ve entered the Post-PC age. These devices are often touted as
being more about the consumption of media than its creation, but as
they become more and more powerful, even this line is becoming
blurred. Let’s review the viability of coding for WordPress on an
iPad.
steve jobs
Some Backstory
Since purchasing my iPad, one of the things I’ve enjoyed has been
that I couldn’t really use it for work. It was a kind of enforced
relaxation, but while still feeling connected. As time has gone on
though, I’ve begun to use it more and more for work, and recently
decided to try and develop a WordPress plugin using only my iPad. I’m
still developing the plugin, but here’s what I’ve found so far.
Is the Hardware Ready?
The iPad is plenty powerful enough for running development apps.
Development apps are generally not especially demanding on a
machine’s hardware, and let’s face it, the iPad is more powerful than
computers we might have used for development 10 years ago anyway.
One thing I have found is that for development, or even just article
writing, the iPad’s on-screen keyboard is really not adequate for
regular long-term usage. I’ve bought a wireless keyboard and stand to
use (specifically, a ZaggFolio if you’re interested), and this has
really changed things. Now, writing articles and code on my iPad is
very doable.
Is the Operating System Ready?
Generally speaking, as long as you have the software you need,
operating systems really don’t get in the way of development. So
whether you’re using iOS, or Android, or anything else, it’s more
about the apps. One thing I have found about iOS that could use some
improvement when it comes to development though, is app-switching.
Why?
App-switching is a little clunky and more time-consuming than
Alt+Tab on your desktop or laptop
Some apps don’t support app-switching very well, and lose their
state when they are not the app in focus
Lack of a shared file-system can sometimes be frustrating, though
hasn’t been a major blocker for my particular experiment so far
Are the Apps Ready?
This is really the most important consideration. If the apps aren’t
ready, then it will be impossible to develop on the iPad. So what
apps do we actually need when it comes to developing themes or
plugins for WordPress?
Apps for Planning Your Project
This is one particular area that’s gotten a lot of attention from app
developers, and it shows. There is an extensive collection of apps
available for planning and managing your projects. From expanding on
the kernel of an idea, to interacting with version control systems,
to collaborating on wireframes. Here are some examples of apps I’ve
decided on for these parts of my project:
SimpleMind+ is an app I’ve found extremely useful for mapping out
the flow of a plugin and getting it straight in my head before I
start.
iMockup is an app for wireframing your project and designing the
interface before you get underway with development.
iHub lets you manage and keep up with activity on your GitHub
account and repositories from your iPad, including issue management.
Apps for Developing Your Project
More and more code editors are becoming available, and while they
vary in their exact approach, they all have the basic functionality
you need to get going. There are also apps for interacting with your
web server and file systems.
Dropbox could be one of my favourite apps ever. I barely pay any
attention to it on my laptop, but it faithfully stores all my files
away so when I need them on my iPad, there they are!
Prompt, by Panic! who also make Coda, is my app of choice for
connecting via SSH to my web server and making any command-line file
system changes I might need to make during development.
Gusto is the app I’m currently using as my code editor. It also
includes the ability to (S)FTP files from my project to my web
server, which is extremely useful. Some other code editors I’ve tried
either lacked the simple functionality Gusto has, or were too
unintuitive to use.
More Apps for Your Project
So you’ve been able to plan your project, and develop it, here are
some apps to use once your project is up and running:
WordPress for iOS, obviously! It’s also important to note that
this app is really for managing the content of your site, you’ll need
to use Mobile Safari and wp-admin for managing settings, plugins,
themes, etc.
PSExpress will allow you to tweak your photos and images before
uploading them to your website.
Phraseology makes typing up articles really nice and easy. It’s
very minimalist, but not so minimalist that it doesn’t have the tools
you need. It also supports markdown.
Usage in Practice
Ok, so I augmented my iPad for coding with a bluetooth keyboard, and
I got all the apps I needed for planning, developing, and managing
the project. Now how did they actually work together? Here’s what
I’ve done so far:
Configured the domain and web server on my hosting provider
through Mobile Safari
Connected to my web server over SSH with Prompt and installed
WordPress
Configured Gusto for SFTP access to the WordPress install on my
web server
Planned out the flow for my plugin in SimpleMind+
Created a number of wireframes in iMockup
Started coding the plugin in Gusto
Testing the plugin so far through Mobile Safari
Wrote my readme.txt in Phraseology
Wrote the article you’re reading now in Phraseology!
Conclusion
While I’m still fairly close to the beginning of my plugin
development project, I think things are looking extremely promising
for development on the iPad. I haven’t been forced to abandon the
iPad yet and continue developing on my main development machine, and
other than app-switching, it’s actually been quite a fun experience.
What do you think about the potential for developing your WordPress
themes and plugins while on the go with your Post-PC device?
apple news
that we’ve entered the Post-PC age. These devices are often touted as
being more about the consumption of media than its creation, but as
they become more and more powerful, even this line is becoming
blurred. Let’s review the viability of coding for WordPress on an
iPad.
steve jobs
Some Backstory
Since purchasing my iPad, one of the things I’ve enjoyed has been
that I couldn’t really use it for work. It was a kind of enforced
relaxation, but while still feeling connected. As time has gone on
though, I’ve begun to use it more and more for work, and recently
decided to try and develop a WordPress plugin using only my iPad. I’m
still developing the plugin, but here’s what I’ve found so far.
Is the Hardware Ready?
The iPad is plenty powerful enough for running development apps.
Development apps are generally not especially demanding on a
machine’s hardware, and let’s face it, the iPad is more powerful than
computers we might have used for development 10 years ago anyway.
One thing I have found is that for development, or even just article
writing, the iPad’s on-screen keyboard is really not adequate for
regular long-term usage. I’ve bought a wireless keyboard and stand to
use (specifically, a ZaggFolio if you’re interested), and this has
really changed things. Now, writing articles and code on my iPad is
very doable.
Is the Operating System Ready?
Generally speaking, as long as you have the software you need,
operating systems really don’t get in the way of development. So
whether you’re using iOS, or Android, or anything else, it’s more
about the apps. One thing I have found about iOS that could use some
improvement when it comes to development though, is app-switching.
Why?
App-switching is a little clunky and more time-consuming than
Alt+Tab on your desktop or laptop
Some apps don’t support app-switching very well, and lose their
state when they are not the app in focus
Lack of a shared file-system can sometimes be frustrating, though
hasn’t been a major blocker for my particular experiment so far
Are the Apps Ready?
This is really the most important consideration. If the apps aren’t
ready, then it will be impossible to develop on the iPad. So what
apps do we actually need when it comes to developing themes or
plugins for WordPress?
Apps for Planning Your Project
This is one particular area that’s gotten a lot of attention from app
developers, and it shows. There is an extensive collection of apps
available for planning and managing your projects. From expanding on
the kernel of an idea, to interacting with version control systems,
to collaborating on wireframes. Here are some examples of apps I’ve
decided on for these parts of my project:
SimpleMind+ is an app I’ve found extremely useful for mapping out
the flow of a plugin and getting it straight in my head before I
start.
iMockup is an app for wireframing your project and designing the
interface before you get underway with development.
iHub lets you manage and keep up with activity on your GitHub
account and repositories from your iPad, including issue management.
Apps for Developing Your Project
More and more code editors are becoming available, and while they
vary in their exact approach, they all have the basic functionality
you need to get going. There are also apps for interacting with your
web server and file systems.
Dropbox could be one of my favourite apps ever. I barely pay any
attention to it on my laptop, but it faithfully stores all my files
away so when I need them on my iPad, there they are!
Prompt, by Panic! who also make Coda, is my app of choice for
connecting via SSH to my web server and making any command-line file
system changes I might need to make during development.
Gusto is the app I’m currently using as my code editor. It also
includes the ability to (S)FTP files from my project to my web
server, which is extremely useful. Some other code editors I’ve tried
either lacked the simple functionality Gusto has, or were too
unintuitive to use.
More Apps for Your Project
So you’ve been able to plan your project, and develop it, here are
some apps to use once your project is up and running:
WordPress for iOS, obviously! It’s also important to note that
this app is really for managing the content of your site, you’ll need
to use Mobile Safari and wp-admin for managing settings, plugins,
themes, etc.
PSExpress will allow you to tweak your photos and images before
uploading them to your website.
Phraseology makes typing up articles really nice and easy. It’s
very minimalist, but not so minimalist that it doesn’t have the tools
you need. It also supports markdown.
Usage in Practice
Ok, so I augmented my iPad for coding with a bluetooth keyboard, and
I got all the apps I needed for planning, developing, and managing
the project. Now how did they actually work together? Here’s what
I’ve done so far:
Configured the domain and web server on my hosting provider
through Mobile Safari
Connected to my web server over SSH with Prompt and installed
WordPress
Configured Gusto for SFTP access to the WordPress install on my
web server
Planned out the flow for my plugin in SimpleMind+
Created a number of wireframes in iMockup
Started coding the plugin in Gusto
Testing the plugin so far through Mobile Safari
Wrote my readme.txt in Phraseology
Wrote the article you’re reading now in Phraseology!
Conclusion
While I’m still fairly close to the beginning of my plugin
development project, I think things are looking extremely promising
for development on the iPad. I haven’t been forced to abandon the
iPad yet and continue developing on my main development machine, and
other than app-switching, it’s actually been quite a fun experience.
What do you think about the potential for developing your WordPress
themes and plugins while on the go with your Post-PC device?
apple news