Who said you couldn’t code in a phone?
You can do it better.
Smartphones aren’t mobile phones. They are portable computers built to make you get the facilities of a laptop in a device held at your hand.
Yes, as its name suggests, you can now call a Smartphone a ‘Mobile Computer’.
Think of the workforce now. Coding or programming is needed to work with all sorts of applications; video games, web development, and whatever we do when we’re thinking software.
Previously, only computers and laptops could do coding or programming has been considered a task.
But that is not the case nowadays.
Coding involves nothing but lightweight software and a keyboard (a sturdy one). And these two can pretty much be available with any Smartphone.
Yes, you need some additional tools to run your program and test the app you want to make.
Luckily, your Smartphone can give you that too.
How?
We need to read on.
- Things You Need to Make Smartphone Coding Possible
When we talked with Andy, an 18-year-old chap who made coding on the phone possible in the previous winter, we were more than surprised.
“One of my elder cousins was using his phone and was repeatedly typing “,I need emergency money now in the UK” since he needed a laptop for his gaming career. I have watched him rush through different websites and getting stressed with it.
Then the idea came upon me that had there been an app for this, all made by us…and with our choices…then getting the money or the loan would have been easier, right?”, he said.
“’People think of it you know…they think if they could do in the Smartphone what they do in the laptop…and that has been the thing buzzing in my head…can I make it happen? So, when fall was about to arrive the year before, I kept waiting for my winter holidays…cause I needed time…
So, I made a bunch of researches in the Internet and found out it is possible…and you don’t even need a high-end phone for that. I followed those steps one by one and ended up making a simple app for my phone. The funny thing is I made it for my phone with my phone (chuckling), he ended.
On asking him how it has been possible and doing some research from our end, we have got several ways by which coding on the phone isn’t just possible but is enjoyable.
You need to follow these simple steps.
- To Begin with: A Good File Manager
- Web Server (for Special Purposes only)
- A ‘Special’ Text Editor
- View Source Handlers Are Important (Again for Special Purposes)
- Apps?
Well, that is not too long a list, right? Well, let us now learn how we are going to make it possible.
1. To Begin with: A Good File Manager
iOS users have the upper hand in this as their file manager app is quite good.
Not offending the android developers or the android user, your file manager is great. But, it might not be an apt one for programmers.
The reason is programming involves creating a lot of files. While you may create the file and see them, you should at the same time get access to those files for tracking and manipulating them to initiate an advanced workforce.
In a common file manager, this might not always be possible (or it can be a lengthy task).
Use an advanced file manager instead, like OI File Manager, an open-source app that helps you manage files efficiently.
2. Web Server (for Special Purposes Only)
You need a web server if you are in the realm of making website applications or web apps.
These servers show you real-time data of how the browsers of the people using your app interact with your web server.
You also get the data that are exchanged in this process.
Various solutions for PC have already been made (That’s natural). For Mobile platforms, you can try out Palapa Web Server, which has a full-stack package of MySQL, Lighttpd, and PHP in the default mode.
3. A ‘Special’ Text Editor
Both the Android and iOS platforms already have tons of them.
But, we’re not just talking about a text editor, but what we coders call a ‘source code editor’.
Where else would you write your codes then?
You might need to check these features
- Cut; copy and paste options
- Highlighting syntax
- Managing UTF-8 encoded text
We’ll talk about these editors later. But for now, you can know that these editors we are talking about are available in both the app stores of Android and iOS.
4. View Source Handlers Are Important (Again for Special Purposes)
Yes, this one is important for web applications.
As its name suggests, a view-source handler is a tool that allows your source code to open by typing the URL address in the browser.
Apps are available in two ways.
You can either get an add-on app or a standalone version.
You already need to have an existing browser for the add-on apps, which every Smartphone has.
You can use View Source Mobile as an add-on view source handler tool that needs a browser like Firefox, Opera, or Dolphin.
If you want a standalone app, you can go with VT View Source.
5. Apps?
Of course!
You need an app for everything. People even choose apps to get an instant loan for people on benefits; taking out which becomes simpler and interesting with those apps.
For coding, you need an app!
Firstly, you can go with a keyboard app like Hacker’s Keyboard that gives you special characters like colons and brackets that we programmers use a lot.
Then, there is the learning app like Udemy, where you might be able to learn about Smartphone coding from scratch and that too in a very flexible (and affordable) way.
Speaking of source code editors, you can try out Mobile C (for both android and iOS) and C4Droid (Android) for programming with the much popular and essential C and C++ languages.
You can use AIDE for Android as a terrific source code editor since it has a wonderful UI and gives you the ability to publish codes on Google Play Store in official ways.
Were you Interested in making games? Try out Codea for iOS, as it helps you create games for your iPad.
To Conclude
Technology means flexibility.
But, that is a more functional term.
If you want to love technology, then start having fun with it. And that can definitely start with Smartphone coding.
