Just get a cheap desktop and keyboard on Craigslist. I've found ones for as little as 20USD. Or you might be able to use a Raspberry Pi, if you're into that.
Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
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Re: Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
#12If you hooked up a keyboard, used emacs or vim as an editor, you would likely be able to program enough to pass a intro to programming course (with significantly more difficulty than anyone on a computer). In theory you could do a fair bit of development work on your phone, but in practice it would be far too much friction to develop any real (i.e. more complex than intro to programming assignments) software.
Re: Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
#13I programmed on a TI-89 calculator, so it's possible. But not for passing classes.
Re: Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
#14Probably, yes; the first programmers did not even have keyboards or screens, but rather swapped out the relays manually and checked their voltmeters. But what is the point? You will not be able to complete the exercises as quickly and it will be a pain to download and configure all the software. You can get a cheap Chromebook for $200, stick Ubuntu on it ( https://www.lifewire.com/install-linux-on-chromebook-4125253…
Re: Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
#15Re: Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
#16For full-blown development, it's not really suitable. Your phone is best used for reading technical material and watching video content.
Even if you can program on mobile, it's going to be painful. Perhaps less so with an external keyboard and SSH into a cheapo VPS instance, but you're still going to take a substantial productivity hit.
May I ask why you're going this route?
Re: Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
#17One thing to note probably is, he started very young. And in young ages people can learn very easily. I don't think I can learn programming in a smartphone in my current age. But for kids, whole different game.
Re: Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
#18Probably, yes; the first programmers did not even have keyboards or screens, but rather swapped out the relays manually and checked their voltmeters. But what is the point? You will not be able to complete the exercises as quickly and it will be a pain to download and configure all the software. You can get a cheap Chromebook for $200, stick Ubuntu on it ( https://www.lifewire.com/install-linux-on-chromebook-4125253…
Umm...$200 is a lot of money in many parts of the world. You never know who you might be responding to.
Re: Ask HN: Can programming be learnt completely on smartphone?
#19Seeing that you have access to the internet I would second @rl3's suggestion about trying a (free or cheap) VPS service and SSHing to the machine, especially for snapshots, networking and better performance.