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)

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!

In detail in my blog – http://arnab-deka-ramblings.blogspot.com/2008/12/on-rubyref-ruby-doc-on-iphone.html