Coding is normally done on the desktop, as the keyboard provides special keys. The keyboard of android phones is usually limited in this respect.

Is coding possible smart phones at all ?

  • Caveman@lemmy.world
    3·
    24 hours ago

    You can, but small upgrades go a long way. Upgrade path I’d go for is keyboard -> mouse -> monitor -> used pc/laptop.

    Honestly though, if you’re going to spend some money on it buying a used bargain bin laptop and installing Linux on it will be nice. Plenty of used laptops in $100-200 range are good enough.

  • remon@ani.social
    80·
    3 days ago

    Sure it’s possible. It’s also possible to cut an acre of grassland with scissors. Both are terrible ideas.

    • Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org
      16·
      3 days ago

      possible to cut an acre of grassland with scissors.

      Never heard that. What’s all this modern nonsense? Traditionally you have to use a nail clipper!

    • Pommes_für_dein_Balg@feddit.org
      10·
      2 days ago

      This reminds me of a research project I did in university (I studied ecology).
      The goal was to find out how much food geese need during migration.
      You can’t weigh them before and after they feed.
      So we went to a meadow they always frequent on their migration path.
      And then we used a ruler to measure the length of every single blade of grass, before and after they fed.

      We also collected what they left behind.
      Like coding on a phone, it was fowl shit.

    • OwOarchist@pawb.socialEnglish
      6·
      2 days ago

      It’s also possible to cut an acre of grassland with scissors.

      Honestly, I’m not sure it is. The scissors might get dull and stop being able to cut before you finish. (Grasses often incorporate silica into their structure to grind down the teeth of animals that try to eat it and thus discourage them from eating too much.)

        • OwOarchist@pawb.socialEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          Lawn mowers rely more on speed than sharpness. Even an extremely worn lawnmower blade will still cut grass if you give it enough RPM. They also have a lot more mass to be worn away than a pair of scissors.

  • dewritoninja@pawb.social
    7·
    2 days ago

    I’ve been coding on my Android for 6 years now. At first it was with a native java editor for my programming 1 homework but then I discovered proot-distro for termux that allows you to run Linux distros as containers on Android.

    I have debian 13 on my Android and use scrcpy to screen cast a secondary screen on desktop mode. It can be a bit slow sometimes but for java, JavaScript and python it’s been alright. I know proot-distro can have issues with compiled languages like c and c++ but I haven’t used those there since the semester we used cpp it was for SIMD and arm doesn’t have the avx instructions.

    There’s a guy on GitHub called droidmaster that has the scripts to setup proot

      • dewritoninja@pawb.social
        1·
        1 day ago

        I’m using this mouse /keyboard combo buts it’s not very good, the mouse doesn’t like to share paired and the keyboard doesn’t have very good feedback Something like a k400 or a k480 from logi with a mouse would be better

  • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
    39·
    3 days ago

    The main limitation is your input device, attach a keyboard and a monitor and you should be able to program on anything

    • flambonkscious@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      Yeah, Samsung’s dex is pretty amazing for this (only on the high end gear, I believe). Suck its a Samsung value add, cos they’re horroble devices

      • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
        1·
        2 days ago

        I’ve done the same thing on lineageos using xwindows. A little clunk to be sure. And the phone ran HOT, but it worked.

        • flambonkscious@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2·
          1 day ago

          Nice! I didn’t l know you could (never looked into it it).

          We considered trying dex at work but the cost of the phones was so much more than a thin client it really wasn’t worth it

    • OwOarchist@pawb.socialEnglish
      12·
      2 days ago

      Yeah, lol. Bluetooth keyboard + USB-C display adapter connected to a larger monitor, and the phone becomes kind of usable for coding.

  • HeHoXa@lemmy.zip
    1·
    1 day ago

    It’s possible to Google packages and stuff on your phone and message yourself so that when you finally get to a desk you can quickly implement your findings without distraction

    *It’s also possible to manage your infrastructure on the phone reasonably effectively, which is close to scratching the same itch?

  • Sv443@sh.itjust.works
    3·
    2 days ago

    Termux can do a LOT, even with Android’s heavy sandboxing. I’ve used anWriter before, to make websites and serverside JavaScript apps, and also just as a text editor.
    I do also know there are ways to host VS Codium via a Linux VM in Termux and other ways to make the experience less awful.
    A physical keyboard and mouse hooked up via USB OTG is also recommended.

  • I Cast Fist@programming.dev
    6·
    2 days ago

    Possible, yes. But an awful experience if you don’t have a physical keyboard, even one of those cheap bluetooth ones. It’s barely bearable if you have one, since the screen is still too small.

    On Android, I can vouch for Acode and Xed-Editor, both available on F-droid, as code editors to help you program. Not ideal, but if you have no other option than using your phone to program, they’re good choices.

  • LeapSecond@lemmy.zip
    7·
    3 days ago

    Most android keyboards have all the special keys you need, they’re just 2-3 clicks away instead of 1. Something like Unexpected Keyboard might be more convenient. But the small screen is a bigger problem than the keyboard. Of course it can be done, it’s just a miserable experience.