Coding on Mac for personal needs.

By Unregistered User (not verified), 3 June, 2021

Forum

App Development and Programming

Hi, mac users and mac coders!
I'd like to know if I can code on mac for my other devices not paying to Apple, only for personal needs, certainly.
I don't have any mac device.
But if it's possible then i would think to purchase the relatively inexpensive one.
Thanks a lot for any reply.

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Mac only

As far as I know, this is only possible with Mac apps, I think the others require a paid developer account or periodic reinstallation of the apps.

Very bad

First of all thank you very much for reply.
It isn't suitable for me.
I won't even think to buy any mac.
Cheers!

Please explain further

First off, you can use a mac to sideload an application onto your device. A Free apple account will require that you re-sign the app every 7 days to continue using it. However, there are several tools which Will re-sign the application automatically. It'd also be useful if you could explain what you're trying to code (what language will you be using). Regards

No sense for me.

I don't have any mac.
But i can code using C/C++ and python.
But about coding in general:
I prefer coding in python.
The main purpose to code fast and easily.
Thus, I won't buy mac.
I don't want to have difficulties to code for coding and then to solve the problems reinstall and reinstall already debugged code.
Moreover to pay for developer ID or coding for my personal needs.
Thank you very much all users to help me to buy or not to buy the mac.
I think the topic can be closed.
Good luck!

Looking for beginner resources

I’m having the hardest time finding resources for learning to code (in any language). I was going to take CS50 online, but the IDE isn’t very friendly. I tried Playgrounds (on the Mac and iPad), and it as well isn’t friendly. I tried to map out the grid and input the code, but the map seems backwards or something. I haven’t given up, so looking for advice or resources. Anyone know of a good online IDE or Mac or iPad?
Thanks,
Dave

I think there is an off-top

For me the coding on mac is closed.
But I advise to use on iPad pythonista.
This IDE is enough accessible, even in design inspector.
It isn't any play ground.
It is a very useful tool as for me.
Cheers!

Some suggestions

Hi,
Here is a website that teaches C and C++
https://www.cprogramming.com/
You can use textmate, clang (which you can get from installing Xcode) and the terminal.
You can write your programs in textmate, and then compile them from terminal (using clang)
Here is the link to textmate's source code:
https://github.com/textmate/textmate
Let me know if you have any other questions
Regards

It is a good start for beginners.

Really coding in notepad-style app (with auto-fill functions) is comfortable.
But how many pieces of C++ code will the beginner write to create a graphical user interface?
I Don't know about mac os protocol of creating manually GUI.
But in Microsoft Windows API you have to write a lot of code manually, only for laying-out the MainWindow function.
And you have to handle a lot of window messages.
Thus, the developers use IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
If the beginner wants to code for console apps, then it will be easy in notepad-style App.
I may be wrong.
Ccoding for coding it is not so interesting.
Cheers!

Using Xcode

For apple operating systems, Xcode is used.
Here is a link on how to use Xcode with voiceover:
https://www.applevis.com/guides/voiceover-users-guide-xcode
However, Xcode has interface builder, which can be used to design elements.
I suggested using textmate because, I believe it's important not to overwhelmed a person with their first coding experience

Visual studio code

I'm learning to code in python. I'm using visual studio code in Mac and it works for me. I didn't have to pay ,VS code is free. Actually, you only have to pay to apple if you want to upload an app to the App Store.

Experience with visual studio code

Could you explain the accessibility of visual studio code - what works, what doesn't work?
Many of the postings here describe visual studio code to be "inaccessible".
Regards

I agree with you

If this IDE is accessible for voiceover then it is nice.

It is

Xcode is accessible with voiceover

Don't lose time for studying C++

The mac Os creators recommend coding in swift.
So, study namely this code language.
Cheers!

I beg to differ

There are a lotmore tutorials for C and C++.
I would first suggest either learning C or C++, then swift

Of course I agree with you.

If the beginner wants to study programing history, then he can study Assembler, FORTRAN, COBOL, Basic and other languages.

It's true, I don't know if these languages are supported by Apple.
Then it would better to dive into operating system theory.
And the best solution is to study in the Information technology university.
It is very interesting and very useful, but time is not endless.
You are right if you're a professional coder.
And again you're right because it's very interesting to study C/C++ languages.
Cheers!

Thanks, an excellent start

To all the responses, thanks. I am 50, so University is out of the question. I have a little experience, mostly with scripting languages. I would prefer to learn C before Swift. If I learn (which I’m sure I will) it will be because I use my iPhone and iPad as much as I do. At last count (admittedly a while back) I saw a lot of issues/complaints about X-Code. I will check it out along with the other suggestions. I’m also still planning on going through the CS50 lectures and resources even if I can’t use their IDE. If anyone can explain Apple’s Playground and how Byte works, I would appreciate it.

I am going to assume that Codemate is like a lot of the other code editors out there. I have been through a lot of them, and yet until I can get a real workflow process going it’s hard to tell which will work the best. I am going to add Codemate to the list to check out.
Sometimes I think the language I start with will greatly depend on which becomes the most accessible. Python, C, Lua, Swift, JavaScript, it doesn’t really matter. I have a Mac and no access to Windows at this point. Don’t really see a need to go back either, no offense to the Windows users out there.
Thanks again for the advice. I will try holding off on the deluge of other questions. Everyone be safe.
Dave

Accessibility of Visual Studio Code

The editor is fully accessible. The only thing that doesn't work well is the native terminal. It can be read, but VO doesn't read it automatically and you have to go line by line, so it isn't really confortable. I use the Mac terminal instead.

I love the indent report extension. It, together with the auto indent of the python extension, makes coding python more easy.

My thoughts

So first, VS Code should at least up to a point be accessible enough, as it works quite well on Windows and they're always looking for feedback on how to improve in that space. ou'd use it for pretty much anything that isn't objective-C or Swift. I don't know about c/c++ in regards to VS Code or Xcode being more suitable, but i aim to find out at some point.
Now as for what language to learn first ... really depends on what you want to do. Swift isn't going to do anything for you if you want to build web apps and JavaScript won't help you if you aim to learn how to build iOS apps only*.
Learning c/c++ before Swift is one strategy, learning Swift first is another, learning neither of the two and picking up Python instead is another strategy, but you're going to need to figure out some kind of goal or at least a kind of project you want to build before diving into a neverending rabbit hole of different languages and frameworks.
Disclaimer: I am a blind developer and have been professionally for 5-6 years. Most of that time I've spent on Windows though, relearning the mac as a very recent new project at present.

* You can technically write iOS apps with Javascript, you'd need to use react-native or a similar framework.

Thanks

I appreciate your thoughts and experience. I’m starting with Playgrounds on iOS. From what I understand, first off have a plan. I know what I want to create, and I do want it on iOS so this seems like a good start.
I haven’t owned a Windows PC for many many years. I do have a Mac, and think if this all goes well, maybe I’ll move up to x-code when Playgrounds is finished. I’m having issues with the grid map. I have to make the map each time and it is time consuming.
It will be slow going, but I think I can make it work. I’m writing all the code so far in ‘Drafts’ and then copy/paste into Playgrounds.
Dave …