The Vim, the iPad and the Nomadic
That’s a quest for ubiquity ! As a developer, we have the ability to connect to servers, configure technical assets, assess them, monitor them and most of all handle all this remotely and at anytime of the day.
I believe that, for many, this is a blessing. With the cloud and VPS (Virtual Private Servers), it is possible to work almost from everywhere thanks to a simple Internet connection and … a browser. It works even without own laptop.
With the iPad Pro, it may be a big pleasure to work in a bar while sipping a tasteful drink or a coffee, without that backpack filled with cables and other accessories. Only an iPad !
How would it be possible to code on an iPad ?
A simple search will provide with a bunch of solutions and my favorite is gitpod.io. There are many IDE applications also. And their advantage is that it offers the same features than desktop versions. But, I’m regularly using Vim and actually I love it. No need for a mouse.
Actually, for me, it was more an evolution than a discovery. In fact, when I implement my VPS, after some upgrades, some applications went offline. And of course it required immediate correction. Even if I don’t have my laptop on me, it is an emergency. As I have my iPhone, I have installed Termius SSH application, and configured my host. It offers a free license with a little limitation: the SSH session has a 30 sec timeout if you switch from Termius to another application (to view a web page, for example). To handle an emergency, like restarting a service or even the server, it would be enough with no problem.
The same SSH application is also available for iPad. And it awesome with an external keyboard. It happens that the external keyboard has arrow keys and most of the regular keys like the Command, Control and Option keys.
And that’s how we come back to Vim ! If it is correctly configured for your desktop, it will appear the same on your iPad, with a little limitation: the free license doesn’t allow to install the good fonts for special characters.
How to overcome the timeout limitation of Termius ?
Generally, developers need to check the documentation of a new API or search for help on stackoverflow.com. This requires opening the browser and leave the Termius for some minutes. But, with the timeout limitation of Termius it is very hard to keep switching back and forth between the browser and the SSH session on Termius. Hopefully, the new iPadOs adds a new feature (Multitasking) that splits the screen and display two applications at the same time.
There are many other options of course, for the iPad. But, this is my favorite. I would be glad if you share your favorite configuration to use the iPad as a n occasional development tool. Feel free to post in the comments your opinion.