Preview of Codea Community - cloud based backup and code sharing

Code Sharing
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We (Briarfox, toffer and myself) are excited to announce that we are close to releasing a new web based service called Codea Community (CC) for backup and code sharing in Codea.

Backup

It will allow you to back up projects directly to an internet server, and restore selected versions of that project. You will also be able to share backups with selected people, or the whole world.

Community code sharing

Codea needs a way for users to share projects and code. It did have this, but Apple forced its removal.

CC will allow you to upload any project (in full, or a single tab) to its internet database, marked public (for sharing) or private. All users will need to register, so that CC can verify the owners of private projects.

You can then browse (or search by keyword) and download public code, and we are considering features found in other crowd sourced arrangements, such as lists of “Newest uploads”, “Most popular”, etc.

Preview

CC will add a parameter button to any project that includes it, so you can call CC from there.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/49stgx4usays30c/Photo%2029-08-13%202%2017%2021%20PM.jpg

Pressing the button shows you a list of all your backed up versions
https://www.dropbox.com/s/t9xzmhcsoqpg9b5/Photo%2029-08-13%202%2017%2053%20PM.jpg

The icons next to each backup allow you to download, share, run or delete it.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1vdca053yzckqwr/Photo%2029-08-13%202%2018%2013%20PM.jpg

Selecting a version brings up a code listing (split into tabs!)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s2g8un90uynwree/Photo%2029-08-13%202%2018%2030%20PM.jpg

It can run a selected project, without disturbing the project you currently have loaded. This will be useful when you are browsing other people’s code, because it lets you preview what the code does.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ugt200hn19ky351/Photo%2029-08-13%202%2018%2047%20PM.jpg

How it works

You download the CC project, and run it, to share and download code. The in app web browser provides all of the user interface, to avoid conflicting with normal drawing.

To back up a project, you add it as a dependency, put the version number in your code, and tell CC you want it backed up. It will then be backed up automatically every time you change the version number and run your project.

Current status

CC is still under development, but we have solved most of the technical problems, and we hope to produce a stable and fully functional first version in the next couple of weeks.

Toffer is handling the server (PHP and MySQL), Briarfox the Codea code, and ignatz is looking at content. If you are particularly interested in any of these areas, or if you have suggestions for features, just let us know.

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Wow! This looks fantastic, I’m excited to see the final version! It’s a much needed feature, and you guys are bringing it back in a way that is better than the original, IMO. =D>

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Great! This is much better than pastebin and much simpler than gist. What do you mean by “add it as dependency”? Can you add diff viewer to it?

Please release it! So we can help you test the thing. Count me in! :slight_smile:

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Oh, can we access it independently? I mean use it directly from a web browser? So, I don’t need to be on Codea if I just want to know what is going on the CC.

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Does it also support resource backup? Such as sprite/image, music/sound, data, shader, etc. I think this is important as asset manager is coming in the next version of Codea.

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Thanks for your support. At the moment, it is a Codea project that needs to be made a dependency before another project can use it, but it is possible that it could be built right into Codea. We are discussing options with TLL.

It is certainly feasible to provide a separate web interface, but you’ll appreciate that we want to take one step at a time. It’s taken a lot of work so far, and we want to get the core services up and running, before we look at all the additional options. Resource backup is also an option, yes.

We will certainly want testers, as soon as we have a stable build, and we welcome your comments and suggestions, because this is for everyone, and we want it to be as useful as possible to everyone in our great community.

If you want to help right now, while we are waiting for the first test release, you can do so by finding useful code that we can upload to get CC off to a good start. If you find some, either keep it safe until we’re ready, or PM me with a link.

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@Ignatz, by “useful code”, do you mean utilities, or can it be cool little programs that people have uploaded?

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Anything people like us might find useful! Utilities, functions, whole projects, tutorials, whatever. You will be able to upload whatever you want, but I just want to put some stuff there at the beginning so the shelves aren’t bare!

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Feel free to take any of my code.

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… :open_mouth: jaw drop :-j @-)
Wow. This is crazy. Anyways, can’t wait to use it.
Thanks!

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Edit: PM’d you to avoid cluttering this thread

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Sounds like an amazing resource - thank you for all your hard work!

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@ruilov’s pacman and @mark’s cider7 should be there. Of course, with their permissions.

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Credit to Briarfox and toffer, they’ve done a great job

Thanks for the code suggestions, I’m making a list…

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Sounds like this could be the next big hit, I hope a lot of people use it so we can build up a database of resources in the public for new comers. I’m getting tired of zipping my documents folder and putting it on Dropbox!

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@Liatee - yep, that’s the idea!

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@bee currently you can add CC as a dependency and it will add the Community button to the project. This allows you to backup and/or use all of CC. You can also run CC by itself and use it as the code browser. We wanted full access to CC from any project with very little code client side. @Ignatz came up with the idea to have “One button to rule them all!” and it works well :slight_smile:

Glad you guys are liking it! Can’t wait to let everyone try it out!

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Lol ! I have made the same thing but in a another way. In first, i have made a codea app and not a web app, and in second, i have not use my personal server but github api for all versioning and sharing system. (With this system, that’s already compatible with AutoGist)
The look of my app is different, it was inspired by Zoyt Codea mockup :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wqsywlxsayak0n3/IMG_0587.PNG
https://www.dropbox.com/s/km5d4890sum6wti/IMG_0589.PNG
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rkk8hxqo3xf5gqy/IMG_0590.PNG
https://www.dropbox.com/s/p19ed34l9p3fbmf/IMG_0591.PNG

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Now I dont know which one I want! That looks amazing aswell Hyro, I like how you adapted Zoyts codea look aswell, well done

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This sounds fantastic!

My question: will this be an open-source solution, so people can host this on their personal servers? I have installed a MAMP stack on my Mac specifically so I could do something like this, but I held off because a little bird suggested I wait a few days.

I absolutely love the idea of community code sharing (I’ll be open-sourcing Tanks! when it’s done), but anyone doing commercial or corporate coding needs a way to host privately. I could probably help with some sort of private cloud deployment tool, if you’re interested.

I do web software development all day, albeit on ASP/MSSQL, and we have a pretty solid system in place for code maintenance and supporting private customer upgrades. I’d be happy to share some of my experience in the matter, along with helping build a way for people to host their own personal CC instance.