Are FoldingText and TaskPaper written in Javascript?

1

I’ve heard Webkit mentioned in some posts. I’ve been planning a text editor and would be interested in using Javascript for the actual editor (possibly using React.js), within a Swift/Cocoa shell. I’ve looked into Electron, but even a simple application results in a 100mb .dmg. I’m curious to know if you’ve implemented Webkit to build your applications similarly to how I’ve described.

I realize this is not related to the use of your apps, but as a developer it would be incredibly helpful to have your input on this.

2

Both FoldingText and TaskPaper are written in a mix of JavaScript and native Cocoa api. FoldingText has much less native code then TaskPaper. The basic set ups are:

FoldingText - The core editor is written as a web app. The editor displays in a Webkit’s “WebView” DOM/HTML view. Native “Cocoa” code is mostly just used for loading/saving files.

TaskPaper - TaskPaper’s core model layer is written in JavaScript and run using the JavaScriptCore framework… but it does not use HTML/DOM for display… instead I use a native NSTextView to display and edit the JavaScript model.

The TaskPaper approach is quite a bit more complex, much more bridging back and forth between JavaScript and native Cocoa, but it has the benefit of presenting a fully native user experience.

3

Jesse,

I’ve been a follower of your work for many, many years.

Thank you — sincerely — thank you, for keeping the experience native. It makes night-and-day difference and matters to many of us “software auteurs”.