The best programming editor on Android is free
If you are so hooked on programming that you even do it on tablets and phones I have a suggestion for you. A few years back I used Textastic on an iPad. But since that was an iPad one and phones have come a long way I just use Android now (when I have no pc in sight that is).
Android programming apps
There’s plenty of choice for Android when it comes to programming editors since it is less restricted than IOS. So naturally there is also tons of crap.
Another problem is that for Web programming you will mostly need a web server, mostly an app to install separately.
I have used both anWriter and AWD together with SimpleHttpServer.
The latter just does what is says. But both AWD and anWriter leave too much room for improvement.
Both are free in the sense that they are so called nagware. If you don’t want to spend a small amount of cash (around €5) you’ll have to learn to live with adds popping up every now and then.
Command line to the rescue
Somehow I stumbled upon Termux. Which is a Linux terminal wrapped in an app.
Stackoverflow is right: my jaw dropped when I did my first git clone and npm i.
But we were talking about editors weren’t we? Well maybe you’ve heard about VIM. I once tried it and didn’t really get it. But from within Termux it’s actually just as good (if not better) than the two editors mentioned above. I will definitely give it another try on my pc.
Getting started with Termux
Install Termux and run it. You might also want to throw in Hacker’s keyboard for better control.
In Termux run apt update && apt upgrade to get the package manager up and running.
(you can have multiple sessions: swipe the left border to the right)
Do apt install coreutils to get better base utilities
Next install Nodejs: apt install nodejs
Install Vim: apt install vim
Git: apt install git
And we’re done. Actually you are just getting started but don’t think you need me to clone a repo and get it running.
A few more tips
I am not a native Linux speaker but I know enough to get by on a pc using Bash.
In Termux things like typing can get a bit tiresome.
So type this: vim $HOME/.bash_profile,
then enter and save this: alias conf="vim ${HOME}/.bash_profile"
Next time you start a session and type conf you get this file to add some shortcuts to. Mine looks something like this:
export HTDOCS=${HOME}/storage/shared/htdocs
alias size="du -h --max-depth=1 ."
alias vimrc="vim ~/.vimrc"
alias proj="cd ${HTDOCS} && ls"
alias home="cd ${HOME} && ls"
alias conf="vim ${HOME}/.bash_profile"
# git
alias gitadded="git diff --cached --name-only"
alias gitnotadded="git clean -dn"
Notice that vimrc? I have it setup like this currently:
set nowrap
set tabstop=2
set shiftwidth=2
set expandtab
colorscheme sjeiti
Some small downsides
Losing sessions
Termux on my phone has the tendency close (all sessions) when the phone is in sleep mode and Termux was not the last open app.
There is a wake lock functionality butthat solves a different issue.
Storage and npm install
Termux has three types of storage. Unfortunately I’ve only been able to npm install from within internal storage. But the internal storage is not accessible from outside (should you want to copy your files from your phone to somewhere else).
As a workaround you can setup aliases in your /.bash_profile to copy stuff from home to shared or external storage (like the node_modules folder). That way you can even use another editor app.
Or you can just work from internal storage and use GIT to sync your data.
I mostly do the latter, unless I have files that are not in VCS.
If you’ve read this far, I guess you should go check it out.