JSApp allows you to write Node.js code in a browser, run it, and also share it with others
One of the things that makes front-end development so much fun is that you can easily create and share code. With tools such as JSFiddle, you can create an example web page and then send that JSFiddle URL to someone. Or you can even send someone the URL of a JavaScript file that you created so that they can just run $.getScript(yourJavaScriptURL) to inject your code in their page. And there are plenty of other clever ways to share / demo front-end code without a lot of fuss.
But what about Node?
Well, it’s not always so easy with Node, right? It’s server-side code, so you can’t just send someone a URL of your Node.js file to inject in their page. Github really saves the day in this case; you can create a public repo, and then send someone the Github repo URL. But that still requires the recipient to have at least git installed on their computer. And as we all know, once something takes more than 2 clicks, you start to lose your audience. That said, anyone with a reasonable attention span and a genuine interest in your code will follow the few clicks needed to clone your repo and run your code, but for quick little snippets, it sill feels like overkill sometimes.
For example, I like to write blog posts here about Node. In some cases, it does make sense to create a Github repo, especially if you have to leverage package.json, and the app requires file access, etc. But what about little examples? Just 10-20 lines of code to demonstrate a concept? Or even a simple working example?
Enter JS App!
When you navigate to jsapp.us, you immediately see some sample Node.js code. You can delete it and write your own. Then, you simply click “test” in the sidebar (or CTRL + b), and a new browser window opens with your Node.js code running!
If you create a profile (free), you can save your code and share it with others. This is one of the most clever things I’ve seen in a long time. You can also go back and edit your files, re-name them, delete them. Really fun stuff.
If you need to create a quickie Node.js app and a Github repo would be overkill, JSApp might be just the tool you need. It’s been a while since I was this impressed but something I stumbled upon.
Bravo!
