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Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

codehike.org

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Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#11

Post by nmstoker »

cercatrova wrote: post #10

Quite impressive, I didn't get it at first because I thought it was just MDX. Then I saw that there were changes in the video such as "```js focus=2,4[9:30],6", ans I saw that the code in the video was highlighted differently, then I understood the product. It's a way to annotate code more deeply than just with MDX. You need to make that much more explicit IMO, it needs to be quite clear when people read the site. I…

Agree completely.

I could eventually figure out what it was doing but the speed of the videos flipping between examples looks like it was set by people who already knew what the message was, rather than for people who don't know it (yet)

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#12

Post by keyle »

pomber wrote: post #2

Hi! I'm looking for feedback and ideas before making this production-ready. You can see an early ancestor of this project on this post https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21536789 from two years ago (which had great feedback!). If you want to try it, beware that current docs are minimal. If you have questions or feedback GitHub Discussions is the best place to post them. Thanks!

I think it's a fantastic idea. Like a few posted, get to the point with the marketing. It's only later that I understood what it does.

I'd take one of the more advanced gif, that showed highlights, code coming in, file changing, and I'd make that prominent at the top of the page, next to the tagline or marketing spiel.

Remember the What is it, Why do I need it (and is it for me), as people come in and have no idea what it is!

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#13

Post by cercatrova »

nmstoker wrote: post #11
cercatrova wrote: post #10

Quite impressive, I didn't get it at first because I thought it was just MDX. Then I saw that there were changes in the video such as "```js focus=2,4[9:30],6", ans I saw that the code in the video was highlighted differently, then I understood the product. It's a way to annotate code more deeply than just with MDX. You need to make that much more explicit IMO, it needs to be quite clear when people read the site. I…

Agree completely. I could eventually figure out what it was doing but the speed of the videos flipping between examples looks like it was set by people who already knew what the message was, rather than for people who don't know it (yet)

Indeed, and that's always the issue with product creators writing their own marketing pages eh? They don't know how to dissociate themselves from the product and to look at it in terms of a normal person with no connection to or knowledge of the product.

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#14

Post by vivganes »

As a daily user of Markdown, I was never aware of MDX. Your post helped me understand what it is :)

I also like your idea of monetizing by "minimum" sponsors. How do you deal with people not wanting to sponsor because they don't want a monthly commitment but are willing to spend a fixed one-time sponsorship?

Also, what tooling do you use to take care of the sponsorships?

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#15

Post by Noumenon72 »

nmstoker wrote: post #11
cercatrova wrote: post #10

Quite impressive, I didn't get it at first because I thought it was just MDX. Then I saw that there were changes in the video such as "```js focus=2,4[9:30],6", ans I saw that the code in the video was highlighted differently, then I understood the product. It's a way to annotate code more deeply than just with MDX. You need to make that much more explicit IMO, it needs to be quite clear when people read the site. I…

Agree completely. I could eventually figure out what it was doing but the speed of the videos flipping between examples looks like it was set by people who already knew what the message was, rather than for people who don't know it (yet)

Thirded. I came away from this thinking, "Oh, this is a way to make those little code blocks with colored text on black background."

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#16

Post by deecewan »

cdrini wrote: post #3

The marketing on the homepage needs an overhaul. Took me a really long time to understand the product! The automatic code changing at the top was super confusing. Clicking on the demos didn't work. A lot of the demos had locks on them (???), which is weird -- the demos help me understand the product, why would they be locked? More confusing, a lot of the locked demos had been unlocked by sponsors, so clicking on them…

> Everyone can see all the demos, but only sponsors can see the code for demos marked with . Locked demos are unlocked for everyone after being sponsored by five sponsors.

i think the demos are visible to everyone, but the _source_ is only viewable by sponsors.

that said, still seems weird to lock away code that could make people use your product.

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#17

Post by aarondf »

I created a syntax highlighting API earlier this year with some of the same features: https://torchlight.dev.

I've got a handful of paying users and a few hundred free. I'm happy to see syntax highlighting being pushed forward!

I'll definitely be following along, it's beautiful stuff.

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#18

Post by aarondf »

cercatrova wrote: post #10

Quite impressive, I didn't get it at first because I thought it was just MDX. Then I saw that there were changes in the video such as "```js focus=2,4[9:30],6", ans I saw that the code in the video was highlighted differently, then I understood the product. It's a way to annotate code more deeply than just with MDX. You need to make that much more explicit IMO, it needs to be quite clear when people read the site. I…

I'd be curious your take on https://torchlight.dev. I went more long form.

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#19

Post by philipswood »

pomber wrote: post #2

Hi! I'm looking for feedback and ideas before making this production-ready. You can see an early ancestor of this project on this post https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21536789 from two years ago (which had great feedback!). If you want to try it, beware that current docs are minimal. If you have questions or feedback GitHub Discussions is the best place to post them. Thanks!

The product looks interesting, I'm bookmarking the site to go checkout on desktop.

On mobile (Chrome on Android) the site is super confusing and has a "hotel California"-vibe: "you can enter but never leave". Pressing the back button multiple times didn't work - I had to close the site.

Re: Show HN: Code Hike – More than syntax highlighting

#20

Post by bhauer »

aarondf wrote: post #18
cercatrova wrote: post #10

Quite impressive, I didn't get it at first because I thought it was just MDX. Then I saw that there were changes in the video such as "```js focus=2,4[9:30],6", ans I saw that the code in the video was highlighted differently, then I understood the product. It's a way to annotate code more deeply than just with MDX. You need to make that much more explicit IMO, it needs to be quite clear when people read the site. I…

I'd be curious your take on https://torchlight.dev . I went more long form.

I'm not the same person, but for whatever it's worth, I found it easier to understand Torchlight from your landing page. It has less emphasis on social validation and more on specifically what the software does, which speaks more loudly to me as a reader. Also, just using scrolling to allow the reader to digest the core features rather than a too-fast animation loop helps tremendously for digesting something new.

I also appreciate that you didn't throw around many unfamiliar technologies, with an assumption that all readers will be as looped into the same technology ecosystem. "Blade templates" is unfamiliar to me, but I can see from the code at the right, you're just illustrating another source file format that doesn't highlight well with traditional highlighters; it's not important for me to know what Blade is.

About the only section I'd say could use some work is the installation section, where a bunch of PHP ecosystem tech is mentioned, all of which is foreign to me. Maybe a, "Not a PHP developer? Here's a quick walk-through of what you need to know..." (linking to another page.)

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