While most developers use popular IDEs like Xcode and Sublime Text on their Macs, few realize that their iPhones and iPads can also handle coding apps. While they might not be as powerful as their desktop counterparts, there are certainly some capable mobile IDEs that act as a powerful supplementary IDE to your primary device. Let’s take a look at the five best coding apps for iOS.
1. Swift Playgrounds
Whether you’re just starting to learn Apple’s programming language or are an experienced developer, the Swift Playgrounds app is going to amaze you. This app started out as Apple’s initiative to make learning Swift fun, and it grew over the years. Today, you’ll find a whole range of lessons that help you grasp the essentials of coding by solving puzzles in an interactive 3D world. However, that’s just one part of Swift Playgrounds.
The app also gives you a blank canvas for your coding, where you can practice, inspect your code, and even code something from scratch. It integrates with iPadOS frameworks and even allows you to submit your app to Apple’s App Store. The only downside is that Swift Playgrounds is available for iPad only and not the iPhone.
2. Koder Code Editor
Koder is a fully-baked development environment built specifically for iOS and iPadOS with support for over 80 programming languages, syntax highlighting, and auto-complete, making this app incredibly powerful. If we dare to say it, Koder seems like a bulletproof option, at least while we wait for Xcode and other desktop-level code editors to arrive on iPhone and iPad.
Among other features, Koder supports both local and remote connections. In that sense, the app works with Dropbox, (S)FTP, and WebDAV. You can easily upload and download between local and remote connections. And when it comes to local file access, you can access your files via any Web browser. Lastly, Koder comes with desktop-grade distraction-free editing.
3. Textastic Code Editor 9
In many ways, Textastic is similar to Koder. However, considering that developers can be quite opinionated about their favorite software, we felt obliged to include both Koder and Textastic in this article. Textastic is available on iOS and iPadOS, supports over 80 languages, and is even compatible with TextMate and Sublime Text 3 syntax definitions and themes.
When it comes to other features, Textastic is known for its speed. It’s built upon native iOS and iPadOS APIs, such as Core Text, allowing you to perform complex operations easily. The app offers a whole slate of options for importing your files and exporting them, supports external keyboards, and comes with cursor navigation for easy text selection. It’s easy to see why this is one of the best coding apps for iPhone and iPad.
4. Pythonista 3
For the Python coders out there, Pythonista 3 is a complete Python editor for coding on your iPad or iPhone. While Python developers would be familiar with the standard libraries provided, Pythonista’s benefits include the ability to interact with native iOS features like location data, contacts, reminders, photos, and more.
You can expect desktop-level features when coding with Pythonista 3. That includes syntax highlighting and code completion, as well as an outline view and support for multiple tabs. Another great feature is a powerful interactive prompt, letting you try snippets of code in an instant or perform ad-hoc calculations. And finally, we’ll also mention that Pythonista supports color themes, a custom keyboard, and comes with a snippet system to speed up your coding.
5. Buffer Code Editor
Like the other coding apps for iOS we have mentioned, Buffer Editor provides a native and purposely-built development environment. We’re sure that pretty much all your needs as a developer will be met by this app. That starts with Buffer’s highly customizable interface, letting you switch between a bunch of themes easily. On top of that, the app is highly optimized for iPhones and iPads, supporting various multitasking operations.
You’ll also be happy to hear that Buffer supports connections to GitHub, BitBucket, Dropbox, Google Drive, SFTP, and even SSH servers. And when it comes to Buffer’s code editor, it has syntax highlighting and code auto-complete for dozens of languages. You can also preview your code using Safari as well as any file type natively supported by iOS and iPadOS.
Wrapping Up
Now that we’ve shown you the best coding apps for iOS and iPadOS, we also recommend our selection of coding games to help you build your programming chops. And finally, you may also want to check out how to create Alexa skills – even without using code.
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