Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#1

Post by zds » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 1:18 AM UTC

Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online
labs.codecademy.com

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#2

Post by justinmares » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 1:32 AM UTC

This is really cool. Can't wait for the Python lessons to come out!

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#3

Post by mrleinad » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 1:40 AM UTC

Really cool, although the line "You're running Ruby version 1.8.7" right after it was deprecated in the latest rails beta is a bit of a downer.. but still really cool!

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#4

Post by mesher » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 2:00 AM UTC

It's definitely a neat idea, but as a Python and JavaScript coder, I don't know how much I would actually use it.

For Python, my code tends to rely heavily on modules that aren't found in the Python standard library, which is limited when you're using a REPL that only has vanilla Python.

For JavaScript, code that I show tends to be more oriented to DOM manipulation rather than the console, so maybe that could be something that could be implemented?

That said, this is probably best for teaching novice programmers, which seems to be the goal anyway with Codecademy. :)

Keep up the great work, I really find what you guys are doing to be a huge contribution to education.

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#5

Post by jimminy » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 2:00 AM UTC

It would be nice if you had a link to sign in on the page. You have 3 links to register on the page, but not one to sign in if you already have an account.

Edit: Apparently, it's not actually connected to Codecademy that way, as far as I can see. Why not?

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#6

Post by zds » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 2:04 AM UTC

jimminy wrote: post #5

It would be nice if you had a link to sign in on the page. You have 3 links to register on the page, but not one to sign in if you already have an account. Edit: Apparently, it's not actually connected to Codecademy that way, as far as I can see. Why not?

Thanks - we're working on integrating everything a bit more tightly!

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#7

Post by zds » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 2:05 AM UTC

mesher wrote: post #4

It's definitely a neat idea, but as a Python and JavaScript coder, I don't know how much I would actually use it. For Python, my code tends to rely heavily on modules that aren't found in the Python standard library, which is limited when you're using a REPL that only has vanilla Python. For JavaScript, code that I show tends to be more oriented to DOM manipulation rather than the console, so maybe that could be some…

Thanks for the feedback! It's for newbie programmers for now, but check back soon for some more updates ;)

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#8

Post by amasad » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 2:13 AM UTC

mrleinad wrote: post #3

Really cool, although the line "You're running Ruby version 1.8.7" right after it was deprecated in the latest rails beta is a bit of a downer.. but still really cool!

Its all running in your browser. So we actually compile the interpreters to JS using emscripten. We're working on ruby 1.9.3 and Python 3. And will hopefully be out soon.

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#9

Post by jrubinovitz » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 2:21 AM UTC

I like this a lot. I would love to be able to code in the same online terminal with someone (I'm teaching someone Python right now and she's overseas), but I know collaborative editing is a whole different beast. I may even shoot it over to some professors in case they want to use it. It's better than taking a few minutes to boot up IDLE and can get people coding on the first day without having to teach them about the terminal first.

Re: Show HN: Codecademy Labs, the easiest way to write, run, and share code online

#10

Post by zds » Fri, Dec 23, 2011, 2:22 AM UTC

jrubinovitz wrote: post #9

I like this a lot. I would love to be able to code in the same online terminal with someone (I'm teaching someone Python right now and she's overseas), but I know collaborative editing is a whole different beast. I may even shoot it over to some professors in case they want to use it. It's better than taking a few minutes to boot up IDLE and can get people coding on the first day without having to teach them about th…

Glad to hear it. The one thing you can do with your friend overseas is share sessions (check out the share button in the upper right hand corner). Let us know if you have any other suggestions!