Programing custom smartapps for the platform isn’t done on the mobile app. It’s done through the provided IDE, which is accessed via any browser, most frequently on a laptop.
Lots of developers in the community using it. The language is a Groovy variant (which runs on a Java machine).
If you’re saying the UI/UX for the current nonprogrammer sucks, then, sure. It does. No question. They need a rules engine and a scheduler and a good view into both, as many people have been saying for some time.
But when it comes to actual programming, the IDE isn’t horrible.
You can find custom apps written by community members in the following category:
As far as your other concerns, see the following topic. Many people have recently shared similar issues, some of which will definitely be solved with the upcoming release of the V2 hub (it’s in beta test now), some of which likely won’t. But a major one will be the shift to local processing.
And this, from last week, from the company’s CTO:
Seriously I feel your pain, as do most of us, I’m just confused about the idea of programming on a phone (most people who are developing smartapps aren’t). And if I’m reading it right, most of what you’ve mentioned is already being discussed at length in existing topics.
Just wondering if I’m missing something specific or new in what you’ve mentioned, or if you’re just venting an unfortunately all too common frustration right now.