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Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

monodraw.helftone.com

61–70 of 109 posts

Re: Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

#62

ASCIIFlow is a less full featured web app with similar functionality to Monodraw, for all the windows/linux/chromebook users wishing for an electron version https://asciiflow.com

I was looking to see if this had been mentioned yet. As a Monodraw owner who recently has been forced to only use a Windows laptop for work I was pleasantly surprised a couple months ago by another article on hacker news that referenced this great web app. Just so happened in the comments here I also learned about Moebius which I also want to try out.

Re: Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

#63
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would not be possible to do this in electron. To have the same great native feeling UI you’d need to use AppKit - not HTML. Don’t get me started at the usual shortcuts and general platform behavior most electron apps get wrong.

The insistance on native feeling UI and shortcuts is something I only see from Mac users. I think the app would work perfectly well in Electron but would just attract the usual complaints from Mac users.

Because some of us are shut down with responses of "be happy you got this app at all" (Linux users) or somehow get ignored when we speak up (Windows users - though I guess Windows hw often having more cpu power and memory leads to less complaints?)

Re: Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

#64
If you're interested in this, I'd encourage you to look at MarkDeep (https://casual-effects.com/markdeep/).

This allows you to write Markdown-style documents, including ASCII-art diagrams, but which render beautifully in any browser with JavaScript. Using Monodraw or ASCIIFlow as the front-end editor, you can drop most results in a Markdeep document. Bonus: good inline math typesetting plus loads of other awesome document features.

Re: Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

#65
post #9

This looks really cool. Well done! And no electron. Will definitely try it out

I get the hate that Electron gets for it's weight and overhead, but this is a perfect example of why Electron has value. This app has no dependency on native OS for anything beyond writing data. It doesn't need to compile heavy code bases, it doesn't need fast GPU or other access. It could have very well been an electron app, and it would have the benefit of being widely available on many platforms. I'd love to be ab…

Get a Mac :) I would have not bought this app if it was not native. I love using it because the look and feel. I value this kind of beauty, call me a weirdo…

Re: Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

#66
I've always liked ascii flow https://asciiflow.com

But actually more often I've needed things like https://github.com/weidagang/text-diagram as it is much easier to maintain

But I actually need more types of diagrams, so slowly, as one of many little side projects, I've been building a little library for all kinds of ascii diagram generation

Re: Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

#67
post #65
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get the hate that Electron gets for it's weight and overhead, but this is a perfect example of why Electron has value. This app has no dependency on native OS for anything beyond writing data. It doesn't need to compile heavy code bases, it doesn't need fast GPU or other access. It could have very well been an electron app, and it would have the benefit of being widely available on many platforms. I'd love to be ab…

Get a Mac :) I would have not bought this app if it was not native. I love using it because the look and feel. I value this kind of beauty, call me a weirdo…

Lol. Had one for almost 3 years. Not interested in going back. I personally prefer my Linux laptop and home lab, with my Windows desktop for all things gaming and 3d CAD related.

I appreciate the vertical integration Apple has in all its products, but after feeling like I was fighting the system for almost 3 years, I was happy to no longer have to use it for my work machine.

To each there own though! I'm glad you enjoy it, and I'm glad to see Monodraw get the attention it deserves (it's genuinely a very cool app).

Re: Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

#68
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would not be possible to do this in electron. To have the same great native feeling UI you’d need to use AppKit - not HTML. Don’t get me started at the usual shortcuts and general platform behavior most electron apps get wrong.

The insistance on native feeling UI and shortcuts is something I only see from Mac users. I think the app would work perfectly well in Electron but would just attract the usual complaints from Mac users.

An Electron app always requires extra muscle memory. Every Electron app is different from the other, they all miss the UI consistency that makes the Mac so productive to use.

Re: Monodraw: ASCII art editor for the Mac

#69

This is why I love the Mac. Even obscure apps have a beautiful interface and easy to use web site. I know this is incendiary, but I must say it: on Windows, this app's site would have seven giant, fake download buttons, the actual download would play an ad, and the app would look like something from a fever dream.

No osx apps don't look good, they just look uniform and cookie cutter. Walled gardens aren't great
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