Webshell.io: the shell for scripting and combining APIs in Javascript

by mehdim • 14 years ago

88 33 14 years ago

Cool interface but I'm not sure what sort of value you're going for here.

Is it a set of APIs that make it easier to get stuff done in a repl? If so, it doesn't seem more useful than console so far (looking at the Google Maps and HTTP call examples). Or is it a lightweight IDE -- if so, would this be better done as a browser extension that could circumvent security restrictions? (and also operate on any document, including those served from localhost)

I really like it intuitively, but also, I don't get it.

mehdim11• 14 years ago

Our idea is to help web and mobile developers

- to sandbox API workflow (server-side APIs and/or client-side APIs) into the REPL interface "prototype"

- and then create a new API based on this API workflow(or "prototype")

- use this new API in production into their own application and share it with other developers

we want to bring fast API discovery and exploration, easy multiple API mashups or scripting, then new API creation for use in production. We make for them maintenance, and one-line-of-code authentication and some cool builtins.

This with server side APIs as Client side APIs, in the same shell interface, Javascript, Coffeescript, or even Typescript.

But is seems not obvious apparently... ;)

Can you share with us what and why you did'nt understand it when testing the tour?

PS: Everybody can also brings to Webshell API explorer its own API (you can read the doc on how to add your own API to be scripted and used by developers)

ax• 14 years ago

How do I use typescript? I seem to be getting syntax errors.

fox91• 14 years ago

Ok, but why should I use your service instead of writing JavaScript in Vim? Apart from the fact of seeing the output more or less on the fly the result is the same (but I'll never abandon my editor for that).

What do you mean by "to sandbox API workflow"?

Why should I get a script from your server in my production application instead of serving it myself? It's one dependency more.

The only real value i see is the fact of having a library that gives me some syntactic sugar to query third party apis (like twitter, foursquare, gmaps, ...) but for that I would need only a very little part of your service, and maybe I'd prefer an open source solution.

danek• 14 years ago

some feedback: The homepage is visually cluttered. it took me a while just to parse the page and figure out what I'm supposed to do. even now that I do know what the page is about, my eyes still don't know where to look.

"Currently, you are in a shell that allow you to program the web in Javascript, Coffeescript or Typescript!" is an unnecessary detail. Just say "javascript* repl" and "*also runs coffeescript & typescript" at the bottom of the page.

I don't think the byline is working. I do a lot of front end work and have used a lot of these apis. "the shell for combining web apis" isn't putting a clear image into my mind. I don't know what it means to "combine web apis", nor do I know why I'd need a shell for it. Something like "the easiest way to work with popular web APIs" might be better--even though it is less technically accurate, it has a few advantages.

   - it gives me a concrete idea that my mind can latch onto
   - it piques my curiosity. "oh neat. why is this the easiest way to do XYZ?"  
   - it gives me a framework from which I can evaluate the rest of the page.

mehdim11• 14 years ago

To put in a nutshell "the idea is more to be an IFTTT/Zapier for developers but without limited inputs and outputs by Graphical User Interface" ;)

username3• 14 years ago

type that for me faster!

mehdim11• 14 years ago

done. :)

hbbio• 14 years ago

Funny there is already a (less advanced) open source application that does this... with the same name :)

https://github.com/hbbio/webshell

Disclaimer: I'm the author of the open source webshell.

mehdim11• 14 years ago

Nice to meet you ;)

We would be glad to talk with you.

gawenr• 14 years ago

Ahah, let me make Siri in 10 hours.

gagege• 14 years ago

Typos, "program the web", I'm not sure what all this means.

edit: I think what we have here is a library that unifies a bunch of APIs, which is cool, and a programmable service which can run scripts for you. You offload API calls to to this service and then can call them from your app and get your customized data. That could be useful.

nmcfarl2• 14 years ago

This does seem to need more of a sell. Intuitively it feels cool - but then I’m not sure of what I’d use it for.

My first thought was that it’s the other half of the https://www.webscript.io/

mehdim11• 14 years ago

The idea is more to be an IFTTT/Zapier for developers but without limited inputs and outputs by Graphical User Interface.

With the expressiviy of an all language as Javascript and a console interface to explore API and check easilty data response, developers may not be limited when combining APIs and make exactly what they wanted to do.

But Webscript.io is nice too, some similarities but not the same usefulness, not the same paradigm and not the same language : Javascript ;)

nmcfarl2• 14 years ago

> The idea is more to be an IFTTT/Zapier for developers but without limited inputs and outputs by Graphical User Interface.

Is a great description - a very clear value statement there.

melkisch• 14 years ago

Great service guys! Good luck I think you are up on something big

songzme• 14 years ago

Hey I think it's a great idea. I'm a developer evangelist at TokBox and I love playing around with APIs so I think I'll be using this tool quite often. Personally, I think you can create alot more value by opening up a platform so that API companies can write their own interactions into WebShell. This way it's more scalable and we'll be able to do cool mashups with other APIs.

mehdim11• 14 years ago

Yes you're right, we are already working on this platform for easy API integration to Webshell. News about it soon.

But for the moment you can share with us your API by sharing a WADL of it and make a pull-request on our Github http://github.com/webshell

mburns• 14 years ago

It is blasphemous to capture Command+L in a webapp.

benaiah• 14 years ago

I want a self-hosted version. Badly.

Seriously, if you sold this as software that I could run anywhere, it would absolutely make my day. The libraries you guys have written are seriously impressive.

You could use this kind of technology for a more meaningful way to teach code - when you're done, you've written yourself a website.

Also, providing an external "API to rule them all" would be pretty cool, as well.

mehdim11• 14 years ago

We want to be an API of APIs, so we are an API for using and combining others ! api.webshell.io

In our doc , you can read how to already use it on webshell.io/docs/reference

  "In the programmable web where APIs lie,
  One shell to rule them all, one shell to find them,
  One shell to bring them all and in the cloud bind them"

;)

grungleshnorts• 14 years ago

You can probably build something similar with eBay's ql.io and jsbin.

rictic• 14 years ago

Nitpick: "example" is misspelled as "exemple" a bunch of places.

mehdim11• 14 years ago

Mistakes between french and english. We fix it.

pike• 14 years ago

This is quite cool to play with - nice work.

May I suggest you give the tutorials a solid proof read? There are quite a few typos in the first few pages.

"This APIs is really simple" "Webshell make it simpler."

Also, waaaay too many smiley faces.

BillSaysThis• 14 years ago

The prototyping shows an example with Twitter but the API Explorer doesn't have Twitter as an option, why not?

Also, with only eight services available having both Latest and Popular tabs in the API Explorer is probably premature. Until all the services need a second screen/page down just show Everything.

Use the hover event to show some sort of highlights box about the API, otherwise make the service icons smaller so more fit for page and at least use the Bootstrap tooltip component to show the service name.

Once you have more than that perhaps add tabs and show the four most recent additions as Latest as the second tab.

Once there are more than 30 or so Popular might be a useful third tab.

Price: What is this going to cost? Can't be free for all uses forever, even if that's true now so at least state that it's 'free while in beta' or similar. Most HNers will agree that a service that's useful is worth paying some amount for to ensure it stays around, after all.

Robustness: You aim to have developers build in a dependency on Webshell but have nothing posted about your infrastructure, uptime or security policies, not even links to privacy policy and terms of service pages.

Bottom line for me is that I think this is very interesting and potentially very useful but beyond using as a playground there's a lot of work yet to do before IMO there can be serious adoption.

vishaltelangre• 14 years ago

Looks promising. I am thinking to give this a try.

Webshell.io: the shell for scripting and combining APIs in Javascript

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