Simon B. StøvringJan 28, 2023
Me porting Runestone from UIKit to AppKit.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 28, 2023

Yay! Runestone now works with... *Checks notes*... UIKit?? 🤨

In order to prepare for AppKit support, I had to rip the internals of Runestone apart and put it together again. For the first time in 36 hours, Runestone now works with UIKit again.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 29, 2023

So I now have an NSWindow with an NSView that receives keystrokes. That's like step 0 in building a text editor, right?

There's such a long way to go still before Runestone is rewritten in AppKit. I hope I'll eventually turn a corner where all my work from UIKit can be reused and I ✨magically✨ have an AppKit implementation.

Show threadSimon B. Støvring
Runestone just rendered its first text using AppKit. Baby steps, y'all.
Jan 29, 2023 at 4:07pmWeb
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023

The AppKit version of Runestone now supports scrolling the content.

This involves a bit more than just wrapping everything in an NSScrollView because Runestone only renders the lines within the viewport.

Baby steps, y'all.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
Time to add a caret that shows where characters will be inserted. I'm a little bummed that I have to implement this myself. We get that for free in UIKit.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
Runestone for AppKit now has a caret. Baby steps, y'all.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023

I need to implement all moving within lines myself 😑

In the screenshot I'm logging the selectors that I don't handle but that AppKit expects me to handle. This is something we get (almost) for free in UIKit. Honestly, I really don't want to write this logic.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023

Got navigation with the arrow keys working in Runestone for AppKit.

I figured out how to reuse some of the code from the UIKit implementation so this turned out to be much easier than anticipated.

Next up is adding support for jumping between words with Option+Left/Right arrow keys.

Baby steps, y'all.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023
In order to move from word to word, UIKit relies on an implementation of UITextInputStringTokenizer. I managed to replicate UIKit's calls to my string tokenizer and reuse a lot of logic for moving between words. Baby steps, y'all.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023

While working on moving between words in Runestone for AppKit I found that the UIKit version had an incorrect behavior when moving between words followed by an emoji. The caret would always jump all the way to the end of the document which isn't correct, obviously. Fortunately, that was easy to fix and the fix works in both UIKit and AppKit.

And yes, it is supposed to jump all the way from the word "emoji" to the word "cool". That's how TextEdit does it too. Baby steps, y'all.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023

And now Runestone for AppKit supports moving to the line and document boundaries as well as clicking with the mouse to move to the closest location.

Maybe the next step is to support text selection. Or something more fun like line numbers.

Baby steps, y'all.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023
Fortunately, invisible characters, line height, kerning and theming works with no changes needed 😃
Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 1, 2023

Line numbers and highlighting the selected line now works in Runestone for AppKit.

This one was a bit tricky because the view hierarchy is different between AppKit and UIKit and there's some important layering going on here to make it look the way I want it to.

On the other hand, disabling line wrapping worked without any changes 😃

Baby steps, y'all.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 1, 2023
I quite like this look where the title bar is big and transparent ✨
Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 2, 2023

Taking a break from this thread tonight*. I did a few minor things that aren’t worth showing off but I’ll prioritize playing with the Quest 2 and watching Slow Horses for the rest of the evening. I need a short break 🤗

* Since I’m posting this I guess I’m not really taking a break.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 3, 2023

As I'm working more and more on Runestone for AppKit, the codebase feels increasingly off-putting. It's growing large and complex and some duplicated code between UIKit and AppKit seems inevitable. If I am to continue working on this (and I hope I am!) I need three things:

1. Find peace in the codebase becoming a bit more complex.
2. Figure out which parts I can clean up.
3. Set time aside to add more unit tests.

Show threadPasi SaleniusFeb 3, 2023
@simonbs Maybe the more you work on it, the more commonalities appear between the two, and it can be extracted to some utility code which is shared between them.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 3, 2023
@pasi That's what I'm hoping too 😊
Show threadJaanus KaseFeb 4, 2023

@simonbs are there pieces you can break apart into their own packages? Smaller isolated things are more fun to work on.

And yes. Tests. Can’t recommend them enough. Tests and watching the coverage in Xcode gives such zen and peace of mind.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 3, 2023

Just tested syntax highlighting in Runestone for AppKit for the first time. Was happy to discover that it just works 😃

Baby steps, y'all.

Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 5, 2023

Mostly got text selection, copy, paste, and cut working in Runestone for AppKit today 😃

There are still a couple of bugs in the text selection that needs to be fixed but it's getting there.

Baby steps, y'all.

Show threadPasi SaleniusFeb 3, 2023

@simonbs Aaamaaazing! 🤩 This is just the best thread

(I was wondering what would happen with the syntax highlighting thing)

Show threadDavid SenateFeb 3, 2023
@simonbs and it’s pretty fluid
Show threadBestMacFlyFeb 3, 2023
@simonbs seems to be more than a baby step if it just works :-)
Show threadcamsoft2000Feb 3, 2023
@simonbs excellent news, desperate to use this on the Mac. Great work. Will it work with SwiftUI on the Mac also?
Show threadcamsoft2000Feb 3, 2023
@simonbs by the way the Runestone documentation is wild. Really impressive.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 3, 2023
@camsoft2000 Thank you for the kind words! 🙏
Show threadRhys MorganFeb 3, 2023
@simonbs it’s so awesome watching this evolve in real time!
Show threadAm I BlueFeb 2, 2023
@simonbs
Slow Horses is totally worth taking the break for... :)
Show threadSergey PershenkovFeb 2, 2023
@simonbs But it's hard to separate the content from the chrome.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringFeb 2, 2023
@okla I agree. I guess that's what I like about it 😄
Show threadSergey PershenkovFeb 2, 2023
@simonbs It looks nice until the scrolling starts, then the text becomes clipped by an invisible border which is kinda ugly)
Show threadMatthias HühneFeb 2, 2023
@simonbs Awesome progress. I’m looking forward to use it.
Show threadJonathan Jan 31, 2023
@simonbs 🎉
Show threadJD BarteeJan 31, 2023

@simonbs this is really exciting to watch.

I remember going through similar concepts and milestones when I was playing with a toy editor I was writing in python.

Show threadPasi SaleniusJan 31, 2023
@simonbs I’m pretty sure this will end up being a much more polished editor than Apple’s NSTextView, with your track record
Show threadduclearcJan 31, 2023
@simonbs watching you build this is so cool! Thanks for sharing the baby steps! It’s really inspiring.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023
@duclearc 🫶
Show threadMichael CritzJan 31, 2023
@simonbs Have you looked into @krzyzanowskim ‘s https://github.com/krzyzanowskim/STTextView ?
GitHub - krzyzanowskim/STTextView: Performant and reusable text view component (TextKit 2), with line numbers and more. UITextView / NSTextView replacement.

Performant and reusable text view component (TextKit 2), with line numbers and more. UITextView / NSTextView replacement. - krzyzanowskim/STTextView

GitHub
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023
@pixelscience @krzyzanowskim Yes but mine needs to work with UIKit too.
Show threadPeter Gammelgaard PoulsenJan 31, 2023
@simonbs looks like that baby is taking some big steps… 👏
Show threadDan BetcherJan 31, 2023
@simonbs for the record, I’ve been really enjoying watching these little baby steps coming together piece by piece. Appreciate you!
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023
@danbetcher Thanks! Glad to hear you enjoy it.
Show threadjimmyhartingtonJan 31, 2023
@simonbs not being a coder but I thought you got these text navigation shortcuts “for free” from the frameworks from Apple?
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 31, 2023
@jimmyhartington Depends how low-level you get.
Show threadSteve ShepardJan 30, 2023
@simonbs NSTextView handles these, of course. Are you writing a a replacement NSView, or using Catalyst and finding that UITextInteraction in Catalyst doesn't handle them correctly?
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@steveshepard I’m subclassing NSView and conforming to NSTextInputClient. I’m essentially trying to do what I’ve done with UIView and UITextInput but in AppKit.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@steveshepard I’m curious to know which approach you’re taking with Storting. Is it AppKit or Catalyst?
Show threadSteve ShepardJan 30, 2023
@simonbs On macOS, Storyist uses NSTextView. Writing a replacement for that is a lot of work. Unfortunately, NSTextInputClient only gets you a small subset of what UITextInput get you on iOS and there isn't a UITextInteraction equivalent.
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@steveshepard Yeah, it seems to be a lot of work. But you are also using Core Text on iOS, right? Can you reuse that with an NSTextView?
Show threadSteve ShepardJan 30, 2023
@simonbs Yes, CoreText on iOS, implemented in the days before TextKit came to the platform. I don't currently use CoreText on macOS because NSTextView is pretty complete (and extensible).
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@steveshepard Hmmm… I fear I’ll end up with vastly different implementations if I go that route. Maybe I made a mistake to go with Core Text over TextKit when I started the project. TextKit just had some performance issues that I couldn’t live it 😕
Show threadSteve ShepardJan 30, 2023
@simonbs Yes, they'll be quite different. I think @krzyzanowskim has an NSTextView replacement, so if you're going to invest the effort, that might be a place to start.
Show threadBrokenFlowsJan 30, 2023
@simonbs Baby steps, y’all. — an AppKit series by Simon B. Støvring
Show threadMiguel de Icaza ᯅ🍉Jan 30, 2023
@simonbs sublime!
Show threadYaroslavJan 30, 2023
@Migueldeicaza @simonbs 🤣
Show threadPasi SaleniusJan 30, 2023
@simonbs now do option for different carets
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@pasi I've considered this a lot and may do it eventually. Probably won't do it on iOS though.
Show threadSiddhantJan 30, 2023
@simonbs It’s incredible to me that you’re building an editor literally “from scratch”. Very cool!
Show threadrauliJan 29, 2023
@simonbs cannot wait for it. Scriptable for Mac could take some Runestone love. I'm still clad it works without it too.
Show threadTobias Due MunkJan 29, 2023
@simonbs just realized that I can use this for Dias if/when I get development on Dias.app started again. Awesome work!!
Show threadJasper VinkenvleugelJan 30, 2023
@simonbs looking really good! Is your plan to also release the Runestone-app on macOS, or will you just be supporting AppKit for the framework? I'd love to have the former, macOS is really missing a good non-IDE text editor!
Show threadSimon B. StøvringJan 30, 2023
@jvnknvlgl My current plan is to have the framework support AppKit. I don't have any concrete plans to bring Runestone to the Mac. I have, however, toyed with the idea of using the Runestone framework for something else on the Mac.