RubyRef: Ruby docs on your iPhone
December 21st, 2008
We’ve been very busy here at Vestal the past few months. Today, we’re starting to see the fruits of our efforts with our first iPhone app: RubyRef!
RubyRef allows Ruby developers access to Ruby’s documentation on their iPhone, no internet connection needed. We’ve also included a few other features we’ve always wanted for code docs- an easy way to favorite the docs you look at the most, and a most-recently viewed pane.
If you’re interested in RubyRef our page for more details, or get the app from the iPhone store for just 99¢
Popularity: 7% [?]
December 24th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
In short, with excellent online/downloadable doc, I probably won’t go for a paid app – especially when I am always on a computer while I code Ruby.
In detail in my blog – http://arnab-deka-ramblings.blogspot.com/2008/12/on-rubyref-ruby-doc-on-iphone.html
December 26th, 2008 at 5:23 am
hi, any plans for rails version?
December 30th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
Hi Arnab-
Thanks for your feedback. RubyRef came about because we found we were annoyed by having to take up valuable screen real-estate with that online documentation when all we wanted to do was answer a simple question!
I like to think of RubyRef as a pocket dictionary to Ruby- it’s a quick and simple fix with those dog-eared pages you’re always looking at. When you’re coding, the last thing you want to do is waste time scrolling through a web page searching for a class or method you just looked up yesterday!
February 11th, 2009 at 4:12 am
Problems encountered with RubyRef:
1. Search function doesn’t appear to display results for Module methods properly.
Example:
Say you wanted to look up the ‘Enumerable#inject’ method:
– Tap on search toolbar icon – Type ‘inject’ then hit Search button – Tap on ‘Methods’ segment button
Displays 3 entries:
inject -> REXML::Elements
inject -> WSDL::Par…intError
inject -> WSDL::Par…intError
The first two entries are blank.
Despite the wrong location shown, tapping on the last entry does indeed bring up the documentation for Enumerable#inject.
[Manually looking up Enumerable#inject via Browse does bring up the proper info, but why even have a Search function if you already know where to find things?]
2. No way to exit from a search if the field is empty.
Example:
– Tap on search icon – Type something in search field (or skip if there’s already a previous search entry) – Tap (X) on right of search field to clear the entry – (Now try to cancel/dismiss the search function)
There is no way to dismiss the search view (without entering
a dummy search value) and the toolbar is obscured by the keyboard. On most other apps w/ a search feature, there is a Done button in the navigation bar for this purpose.
3. Launch time is a bit slow. I know this is a minor gripe, but I think it’s a notable one, particularly for an app that is probably meant to be used while a coding. (Example: In multiple tests, RubyRef took an avg of 7s to launch. An ebook app I currently use to look up Ruby docs launches in about 3s)
4. The landscape issue.
Notes/Comments:
– Rebooting the iPhone and clearing RubyRef prefs (via Settings) made no difference w/results.
– I rarely like to complain about things publicly, which is why I’m posting this here rather than on the AppStore reviews. (I couldn’t find a vestaldesign.com support address and the getsatisfaction signup policy was annoying) I thought Rubyref would be a nice tool for the very reason stated on your site: A handy reference while coding. However, I think having a broken/inconsistent tool (particularly during a coding session) is more frustrating than it’s worth. I’ve deleted the app and will probably just stick to online docs, ri or an ebook reference. I know the app was only $0.99, so I’m just considering it a donation to Vestal and Apple and moving on.
– Anyhow, thanks for the effort. I probably won’t be looking at the app again, but I think the intended idea was a good one.
iPhone 2G / 8Gb 2.2 (5G77)