Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Blockly VS Hacker's Keyboard

Compare Blockly VS Hacker's Keyboard and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Blockly logo Blockly

Blockly is a library for building visual programming editors.

Hacker's Keyboard logo Hacker's Keyboard

Are you missing the key layout you're used to from your computer when using an Android device?
  • Blockly Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-18
  • Hacker's Keyboard Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-03

Blockly features and specs

  • User-Friendly
    Blockly offers a highly intuitive and visual interface. Users, especially beginners and non-programmers, can easily drag and drop blocks to create programs without needing to write code manually.
  • Educational Value
    Blockly is excellent for educational purposes. It simplifies the learning curve for programming by abstracting the complexities of syntax, allowing learners to focus on understanding logic and computational thinking.
  • Cross-Language Support
    Blockly can generate code for multiple programming languages (JavaScript, Python, PHP, Lua, Dart). This makes it versatile and useful for teaching and transitioning to various languages.
  • Customizability
    Blockly is highly customizable. Developers can create custom blocks and define their own rules, making it adaptable to various projects and domain-specific needs.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Blockly provides the flexibility to modify and extend the toolkit to fit specific requirements. This open nature encourages community contributions and improvements.

Possible disadvantages of Blockly

  • Limited Complexity
    Blockly is designed for simplicity and may not handle very complex programming tasks efficiently. Advanced users might find it insufficient for sophisticated or large-scale projects.
  • Performance Overhead
    The visual programming model can introduce performance overhead. Converting blocks to executable code and running it can be less efficient compared to hand-written code, especially for performance-critical applications.
  • Learning Transition
    While Blockly is great for beginners, transitioning from block-based programming to traditional text-based coding can be challenging. Users may need additional guidance to adapt to the intricacies of syntax and coding best practices.
  • Limited Debugging Tools
    Blockly does not offer advanced debugging tools. Debugging issues can be more challenging compared to traditional IDEs that provide sophisticated debugging capabilities.
  • Scalability Issues
    For large projects, the block-based approach can become unwieldy and harder to manage compared to traditional text-based code which can be more neatly structured and maintained.

Hacker's Keyboard features and specs

  • Full Keyboard Layout
    Hacker's Keyboard offers a full 5-row layout, including arrow keys, numbers, and punctuation, which is beneficial for users requiring more than the standard mobile keyboard functionality.
  • Customizable Key Settings
    The keyboard is highly customizable, allowing users to tweak key sizes, colors, and functions to suit their specific needs and preferences.
  • Multiple Language Support
    It supports a wide range of languages and layouts, making it a versatile choice for users around the world who need to type in different languages.
  • ASCII Control Characters
    The keyboard allows easy access to ASCII control characters, which is particularly useful for developers and tech enthusiasts.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, it allows users to inspect the code, contribute to development, and ensure no unwanted data collection or malware is present.

Possible disadvantages of Hacker's Keyboard

  • Complexity
    The extensive options and settings may be overwhelming for some users who prefer a simpler keyboard with fewer features.
  • Interface Design
    The default design and layout might not be as polished or aesthetically pleasing compared to other modern keyboards, potentially impacting user experience.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might need some time to get used to the full 5-row layout and extensive functionality, especially if they are accustomed to simpler keyboards.
  • Performance
    On some devices, the keyboard might not be as responsive or fast compared to other lightweight keyboard alternatives, possibly lagging during intensive typing sessions.
  • Battery Usage
    Due to its extensive features and customization options, the Hacker's Keyboard might consume more battery than simpler, less feature-rich keyboard apps.

Blockly videos

Blockly: Using Block Based Coding in your App

More videos:

  • Review - Fable Blockly Review
  • Review - Trying Out Blockly, Google's New Programming Language [DiceTV]

Hacker's Keyboard videos

No Hacker's Keyboard videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Blockly and Hacker's Keyboard)
Web Frameworks
100 100%
0% 0
iPhone
0 0%
100% 100
Game Development
100 100%
0% 0
iOS Tools
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Blockly and Hacker's Keyboard. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Blockly and Hacker's Keyboard

Blockly Reviews

Top 20 Javascript Libraries
Blockly, a creation of Google, is a web-based visual programming editor. When added to the code, the library adds an editor to the app that represents code snippets like loops, expressions, variables, and more as blocks. The best part is that you can create custom code, and the output is syntactically correct in your choice of the programming language. Blockly has no...
Source: hackr.io

Hacker's Keyboard Reviews

We have no reviews of Hacker's Keyboard yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Blockly should be more popular than Hacker's Keyboard. It has been mentiond 31 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Blockly mentions (31)

  • Ask HN: Platform for 11 year old to create video games?
    Scratch is fantastic. There are also a number of similar (block-based) tools that let you create your own custom blocks and see the code behind them - e.g. Blockly (https://developers.google.com/blockly). - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Ask HN: Modern Day Equivalent to HyperCard?
    If your kid is already doing Scratch, Blockly is a really easy next step. https://developers.google.com/blockly Critically, Blockly can emit JavaScript and Python, plus it supports plugins for extended functionality. So the kid can stay inside the blockly universe for as long as they like, but easily peer under the hood and get into Python or JavaScript as soon as they like. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • A shortage of teachers for computer science classes in California
    The issue with Alice is that graphical, block based coding is not at all an ergonomic way to code. Sure, C++ probably isn't the best for an intro CS courses, either, but even just Python with some wrappers over SDL to draw sprites is not only a better teaching tool it's also forms a more useful springboard to build other projects. Graphical, block based coding seems to be a common attempt to make coding more... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • ⚧︎ Super Smash Siblings Trans
    Unless it would contradict canon, every stage is very bright, highly interactive, full of pre-placed items, and so huge that you can usually run from your NPC opponents and enjoy exploring the stage in peace while they catch up to you. All buildings have Linux computers with actual internet access that allow you to program and print out your own projectiles/books/flags/UNO reverse cards/shinigami eyes/soupcans/cis... Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Scratch is the world’s largest coding community for children
    If your kids tinker with Scratch, try out TurboWarp[1], a Scratch mod that compiles projects to JavaScript. Other alternatives to tinker with are Blocky[2] and Snap[3]. 1. https://turbowarp.org 2. https://developers.google.com/blockly/ 3. https://snap.berkeley.edu. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
View more

Hacker's Keyboard mentions (6)

  • No Alternative of Google keyboard in Dictionary, word prediction and Autocorrect
    I use 3 different keyboards 1. For the daily stuff Android Keyboard (AOSP) 2. For when I need Ctrl-C, maths symbols and operators when SSHing into my RPI's Unexpected keyboard https://github.com/Julow/Unexpected-Keyboard. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • iPhone physical keyboard from ex-Crackberry guy
    I've tried all kinds of portable physical keyboards but for programming on android you can't beat Hackers Keyboard https://github.com/klausw/hackerskeyboard I've got a fork working with Android 14. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Does any one know where I can download a mobile Na'vi keyboard
    I forked the Hacker's Keyboard app on GitHub tweaked it, and compiled it. (using Android Studio). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • A pocket sized open-source AR device for the imaginative hacker
    Does not work with Hacker's Keyboard (https://github.com/klausw/hackerskeyboard). It closes itself after a few deciseconds, whereas usually the permanent notification feature can be tapped to open and use a keyboard anywhere. Or maybe I haven't tried using it on the new Android 11 yet and yet another of my favorite hacks broke.... Now that I try it elsewhere,... - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
  • Using your phone as a software development platform
    I used to code NodeJS services on my phone quite a lot when I was commuting to an office. I used Termux - https://termux.dev/en/. It was brilliant, and worked far better than you'd think it would. The main problem was the keyboard because the stock Android one doesn't support a lot of symbols. I solved that with https://github.com/klausw/hackerskeyboard. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Blockly and Hacker's Keyboard, you can also consider the following products

Scratch - Scratch is the programming language & online community where young people create stories, games, & animations.

AnySoftKeyboard - Android (f/w 1.5+) on-screen keyboard for multiple languages.

Spring Framework - The Spring Framework provides a comprehensive programming and configuration model for modern Java-based enterprise applications - on any kind of deployment platform.

Gboard - Google-powered keyboard with search, GIFs, emojis and more!

Grails - An Open Source, full stack, web application framework for the JVM

Fleksy - Fleksy is the #1 private, white-label virtual keyboard SDK, enabling companies to create unimaginable products.