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Do we? Purists will claim that because I can't run xcode on an iphone, it doesn't count as a "real computer", and that's true, to some degree. the thing is, people who aren't programmers these days also use computers, and don't use them to compile binaries. Would we call a laptop that never has a compiler installed a "vending machine for the hacks of others"? (I'm not sure what that even means.) Would a chromebook be such a machine, up until a compiler is installed? Given that people run businesses off ipads; send/recieving emails, writing docs and spreadsheets, why do we draw the line for everybody at can-compile-on-machine? If a web developer using web vscode/ssh can do remote development on an ipad, why, again, is can-compile-on-mahine our important metric? It seems like an unnecessary purity test that doesn't stack up to the modern era of the Internet.

If I write simple programs on a iPhone using Shortcuts, does it become a general purpose computer? It's programming, just with a UI and its own graphical language. How complex a program do you have to be able to "compile" in order for it to count as writing a program on device? Because there are tons of little programs being written using Shortcuts, (and also Pythonista), so you'll have to be more specific.




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