Lovable is a new tool built with Flutter that simplifies mobile app user onboarding and feature adoption. It allows developers to easily create interactive guides, tutorials, and walkthroughs within their apps without coding. These in-app experiences are customizable and designed to improve user engagement and retention by highlighting key features and driving specific actions, ultimately making the app more "lovable" for users.
Calcverse is a collection of simple, focused online calculators built by a solo developer as a counterpoint to the current hype around AI agents. The creator emphasizes the value of small, well-executed tools that solve specific problems efficiently. The calculators currently offered on the site cover areas like loan comparisons, unit conversions, and investment calculations, with more planned for the future. The project embraces a minimalist design and aims to provide a practical alternative to overly complex software.
HN users generally praised the calculator's clean UI/UX and appreciated the developer's focus on a simple, well-executed project rather than chasing the AI hype. Several commenters suggested potential improvements or expansions, including adding more unit conversions, financial calculators, and even integrating with existing tools like Excel or Google Sheets. Some pointed out the existing prevalence of specialized online calculators, questioning the project's long-term viability. Others expressed interest in the technical implementation details, particularly the use of Qwik and Partytown. A few jokingly questioned the project's description as "just" calculators, recognizing the complexity and value in building a robust and user-friendly calculation tool.
The post "“A calculator app? Anyone could make that”" explores the deceptive simplicity of seemingly trivial programming tasks like creating a calculator app. While basic arithmetic functionality might appear easy to implement, the author reveals the hidden complexities that arise when considering robust features like operator precedence, handling edge cases (e.g., division by zero, very large numbers), and ensuring correct rounding. Building a truly reliable and user-friendly calculator involves significantly more nuance than initially meets the eye, requiring careful planning and thorough testing to address a wide range of potential inputs and scenarios. The post highlights the importance of respecting the effort involved in even seemingly simple software development projects.
Hacker News users generally agreed that building a seemingly simple calculator app is surprisingly complex, especially when considering edge cases, performance, and a polished user experience. Several commenters highlighted the challenges of handling floating-point precision, localization, and accessibility. Some pointed out the need to consider the target platform and its specific UI/UX conventions. One compelling comment chain discussed the different approaches to parsing and evaluating expressions, with some advocating for recursive descent parsing and others suggesting using a stack-based approach or leveraging existing libraries. The difficulty in making the app truly "great" (performant, accessible, feature-rich, etc.) was a recurring theme, emphasizing that even simple projects can have hidden depths.
Zeminary Arrays offers an experimental web app providing infinitely expanding horizontal and vertical arrays of text editors. Each editor can be used for coding, writing, or note-taking, and supports Markdown rendering. Users can create new arrays, add or delete individual editors within them, and navigate the grid seamlessly. The application aims to provide a flexible and expansive workspace for managing various text-based tasks concurrently.
HN users generally praised the clean UI and unique approach of the infinite horizontal array of text editors. Several commenters questioned the practical use cases, wondering what problems it solves beyond novelty. Some suggested potential applications like managing code snippets, comparing different versions of text, or outlining long documents. A few users experienced minor glitches, like unexpected behavior with the backspace key. There was also discussion about the technical implementation, particularly regarding memory management with large arrays and the potential benefits of using a different data structure. One commenter appreciated the editor's mobile-friendliness. Overall, the reception was positive, with curiosity about its potential applications driving the conversation.
SRCL (Sacred React Components Library) is an open-source React component library designed to create web applications with a terminal-like aesthetic. It provides pre-built components like command prompts, code editors, and file explorers, allowing developers to easily integrate a retro terminal look and feel into their projects. SRCL aims to simplify the process of building terminal-inspired interfaces while offering customization options for colors, fonts, and interactive elements.
HN users generally expressed interest in SRCL, praising its unique aesthetic and potential usefulness for specific applications like monitoring dashboards or CLI visualization tools. Some questioned its broader appeal and practicality for complex web apps, citing potential accessibility issues and limitations in interactivity compared to standard UI elements. Several commenters discussed the technical implementation, suggesting improvements like using a virtual DOM for performance and offering alternative rendering approaches. Others drew comparisons to existing projects like Blessed and React Ink, highlighting SRCL's web-focused approach as a differentiating factor. A few users also expressed concerns about the long-term viability of such a niche project.
Summary of Comments ( 12 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43342101
Hacker News users discussed the cross-platform framework Flutter and its suitability for mobile app development. Some praised Flutter's performance and developer experience, while others expressed concerns about its long-term viability, particularly regarding Apple's potential restrictions on third-party frameworks. Several commenters questioned the "lovability" claim, focusing on aspects like jank and the developer experience around animations. The closed-source nature of the presented tool, Lovable, also drew criticism, with users preferring open-source alternatives or questioning the need for such a tool. Some discussion revolved around Flutter's suitability for specific use-cases like games and the challenges of managing complex state in Flutter apps.
The Hacker News post "Show HN: We built Lovable for Mobile Apps (uses Flutter)" at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43342101 generated a moderate number of comments, mostly focusing on the technical implementation and market positioning of the presented product, Lovable.
Several commenters questioned the choice of Flutter, expressing concerns about performance, especially regarding animations and complex UI elements. One commenter specifically mentioned their experience with Flutter's animation jank and questioned whether it was the right tool for a product focused on creating delightful user experiences. Another user echoed this sentiment, highlighting the challenges of achieving smooth animations and transitions in Flutter compared to native solutions.
The discussion also touched upon the existing landscape of mobile app development tools. Some users compared Lovable to other no-code/low-code platforms and questioned its differentiation. One commenter pointed out the prevalence of similar tools and wondered what unique value Lovable brings to the table. Another commenter drew parallels with existing web-based animation tools like Lottie, inquiring about Lovable's advantages over these established solutions.
A few commenters expressed interest in the technical details of Lovable's implementation, particularly its integration with Flutter. They inquired about the specific libraries and approaches used to bridge the gap between the design tool and the Flutter framework. One user specifically asked about the handling of complex animations and transitions within the Flutter environment.
The creator of Lovable actively engaged with the comments, addressing the concerns and questions raised by the community. They provided clarifications on the technical choices, emphasizing their focus on performance optimization and the use of specific Flutter libraries to mitigate potential issues. They also elaborated on Lovable's target audience and its intended use cases, positioning it as a tool for designers and developers to collaborate more effectively on creating engaging mobile app experiences.
While there wasn't a single overwhelmingly compelling comment, the collective discussion provided valuable feedback and insights into the perceived strengths and weaknesses of Lovable within the context of the mobile app development landscape. The concerns regarding Flutter's performance and Lovable's differentiation from existing tools were recurring themes, suggesting areas for potential improvement and further clarification.