Diet Coda Review

Having spent the last few days using Diet Coda to code new web pages and edit existing files, I can confidently say that it's a great tool for budding web developers and professionals alike. That's not to say it's flawless, Panic has seemingly overlooked some pretty vital functions at times, but what is there does ensure that the app is a great replacement for those times when a desktop or laptop isn't readily accessible.

The main flaw to Diet Coda is immediately obvious. There's no support for offline editing. Instead, users need an online connection so as to connect to their website directly. This is quite restrictive and will be particularly annoying to those planning on using it while commuting regularly. There's also no PIN or password protection meaning users probably won't feel comfortable storying their site passwords with the app, instead preferring to enter it manually every time.

Annoying oversights aside and Diet Coda is a great app for coding. It offers an extremely elegant form of navigation with a breadcrumb trail of folders making it a matter of a single swipe to get back to the beginning of the folder structure. Everything from editing and deleting to copying html links or paths on the server is a tap away from being implemented. Even file permissions can be adjusted as simply.

When it comes to actually coding, extensive syntax highlighting with color coding and support for numerous file types such as HTML, CSS, PHP and Javascript should keep web developers happy. In each case, a context aware keyboard that adjusts to accomodate the relevant language makes coding very smooth to do. The use of Panic's Super Loupe cursor meaning that a finger hold magnifies the line of code, making it easier to navigate around means it's easy to edit specific sections of code.

Further functionality comes from a fully featured SSH client that integrates well with the rest of the app. Diet Coda can also be used as a form of previewing sites coded on Mac app Coda 2.

If it wasn't for the lack of password protection and offline editing, I'd have no question in my mind that Diet Coda is a 5 star app. As it stands, it's teetering on the brink of unbeatable meaning it's still a valuable tool for web developers. Providing they don't need to do anything away from an internet connection, that is.