No Stupid Questions

Sure it's possible. It's also possible to cut an acre of grassland with scissors. Both are terrible ideas.

The main limitation is your input device, attach a keyboard and a monitor and you should be able to program on anything

Possible, yes. Pleasant, no.

I don't like editing a spreadsheet on my phone, or typing much at all. If I had a blackberry, they would be different.

I've done it before. Would I do it again given other options? Probably not, but it is doable

Brother, I used to write code on a TI-83+ calculator.

It can be done.

Most android keyboards have all the special keys you need, they're just 2-3 clicks away instead of 1. Something like Unexpected Keyboard might be more convenient. But the small screen is a bigger problem than the keyboard. Of course it can be done, it's just a miserable experience.

I've been coding on my Android for 6 years now. At first it was with a native java editor for my programming 1 homework but then I discovered proot-distro for termux that allows you to run Linux distros as containers on Android.

I have debian 13 on my Android and use scrcpy to screen cast a secondary screen on desktop mode. It can be a bit slow sometimes but for java, JavaScript and python it's been alright. I know proot-distro can have issues with compiled languages like c and c++ but I haven't used those there since the semester we used cpp it was for SIMD and arm doesn't have the avx instructions.

There's a guy on GitHub called droidmaster that has the scripts to setup proot

print ("Hello World")

It's like drawing with sticks and bat dung

Possible, yes. But an awful experience if you don't have a physical keyboard, even one of those cheap bluetooth ones. It's barely bearable if you have one, since the screen is still too small.

On Android, I can vouch for Acode and Xed-Editor, both available on F-droid, as code editors to help you program. Not ideal, but if you have no other option than using your phone to program, they're good choices.

I've written some scripts on my phone with a software keyboard. Some CSS tweaking as well. I wouldn't want to do anything complex, though.

There are keyboards which provide more keys and layouts which can help (but take up more screen space).

Hackers keyboard was great, the replacement appears to be unexpected keyboard.

https://f-droid.org/packages/juloo.keyboard2

Remember a keyboard can steal all your info like passwords and usernames - make sure you trust it!

Or a flip keyboard like this is cool too.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266795334818

What language do you use as gitlab and GitHub both have browser based editors these days.

Absolutely. I use termux + a project called Andronix to install full Debian. After that you're off to the races. Install NVM, node, git, whatever. I use screen for tabbed terminals. I use one tab to run my node server and another to edit with vim.

Keyboards: as mentioned, Hacker keyboard, Unexpected keyboard, or Codeboard. Or you can attach a Bluetooth keyboard.

Everything just works. If you know vim and have patience, it's a lot of fun.

Yes, and lots of people in lower income countries do so using a Bluetooth keyboard.

You can, but small upgrades go a long way. Upgrade path I'd go for is keyboard -> mouse -> monitor -> used pc/laptop.

Honestly though, if you're going to spend some money on it buying a used bargain bin laptop and installing Linux on it will be nice. Plenty of used laptops in $100-200 range are good enough.

Termux can do a LOT, even with Android's heavy sandboxing. I've used anWriter before, to make websites and serverside JavaScript apps, and also just as a text editor.
I do also know there are ways to host VS Codium via a Linux VM in Termux and other ways to make the experience less awful.
A physical keyboard and mouse hooked up via USB OTG is also recommended.

On a Linux phone that's fast enough, it's a great experience. On any other sort of phone, not so much.

I've always wondered for compiled languages, but I'd imagine you'd need some sort of Linux compatibility.

It might be easier if you get more limited/creative, off the top of my head I suspect using something like TIC-80 might be viable. Doesn't quite interest me and I don't even have wired keyboard capability (not just keys, I don't think I could do much of anything at any appreciable speed/reliability on a virtual keyboard).

Maybe with DroidVim for Android or with KDevelop on a Linux phone, yeah.

Apps exist, often with keyboard augmentation, but I don’t see it being useful for much more than touchups.

Well, you can plug in a keyboard and use termux. I doubt it would be fun though.

Yes, but I've only done it for learning purposes. I wouldn't recommend it for any other reason.

Possible? Yes. But if you don't have a keyboard, it's a huge pain to type code. And, depending what you're building, it might be hard or impossible to treat your code locally.

I often find myself issuing a quick fix or something by pulling out my phone, opening Termux, remoting into a server with SSH, and editing a text file with something like Nano. That is, for all intents and purposes, coding. And it works well enough for that. I am generally familiar with the project via my time with it on desktop, so I know what small change I need to make and can do so quickly with just about any text editor. And even if I want to create an entire small script from scratch via my phone, I generally have the whole process mapped out in my head and just need to use the phone to type it out.

But anything that requires a lot of typing or screen space is generally better to do on desktop. Even though something could technically be achieved on a 6" screen using an onscreen keyboard, many things are simply more streamlined and effortless using multiple windows and a physical keyboard.

yes