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Comment by bradknowles | Hacker News Reader

The JSON formatter/validator alone would make this worth the money to me. A YAML formatter/validator could also be very useful. But they do have to be rock-solid and able to handle large inputs (think gigabyte scale files), otherwise they’re just toys like all the other local apps I’ve found in this space.

The other features are not currently as useful, but I’m happy to support them as well.

I hate to say it, but doing this on the App Store with IAP to cover the upgrade from the demo version to the full version would be a viable way to distribute your app and handle the back-end payments.

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Interesting! Could you share more on why would you use this app for large JSON/YAML files but not other specific tools like jq/yq?

I'm interesting to know because I built this app with the thought that it would eliminate the time you paste the strings to online websites (to validate/format/convert it), and usually people don't paste gigabyte strings file... So maybe this is something from your workflow that I don't know?

Thanks!

Sometimes I use jq, if it’s a simple enough operation, like I just want to pretty-print the JSON structure. But jq is obtuse and arcane, and if I want to do anything more than just “ | jq -S .” then it is of no use to me. In particular, it is of no use to validate a multi-gigabyte JSON structure that has an error in it ... somewhere.

So, alternative JSON parsing/validation programs are most welcome.

Not OP in question. I threw a 20k student campus of json class registration data ... Hundreds of Megs at CyberChef to pretty print and it choked.

I sometimes use jq/ya ... The sqlite json extension (written in C) .... It's great when "input size" never matters in ones' tools and the tools can run in any environment (sqlite is Everywhere)...

Thanks for sharing, I'll look into this. It seems like a good thing to add given that the users are developers.

They don't need to handle big inputs gracefully. Most people have small inputs. Serving 99% of use cases well is not a "toy".

I've written a small toolbox of "sysadmin stuff", for myself, which I find very useful.

It includes a subcommand for YAML, JSON, and XML validation:

https://github.com/skx/sysbox

I've not considered a pretty-printer, but it isn't a bad idea to add such a thing.

I use json.pizza [1] on the web but have not hit it at scale. Likely it would choke. Still a great little tool.

[1] https://json.pizza/

Something about your comment struck me as slightly unusual — and then I realized, I have literally never encountered a JSON or YAML formatter/validator tool that can handle even a single gigabyte of JSON or YAML in any kind of performant manner.

Moreover — and this may just be me living out here in the boondocks with my chickens and my cows — I have literally never encountered a JSON or YAML file that was 1GB or larger.

Would you happen to have an example or a link to either one of these things?

Quick example of very large json files: a database dump (in JSON format), eg from a mongodb, django dumpdata, etc.

I agree with the App Store statement. If this was on the App Store, I would pay and try it out. Instead I downloaded the source code and building myself right now.

I'm glad you liked the app! Can you share more on why you would only pay via App Store? If it's on App Store and also open-source, would you still buy it?

This is my first time selling apps, a lot of things I still need to learn.

I would definitely buy it if it was on the App Store.

Much less hassle to buy and keep updated than to have to track the github repo and build my own CI/CD workflow around whenever you decide to release a new version, etc....

And also less hassle than just downloading whatever your latest binary is, if you’ve compiled it for me. Thanks to the way notarization works now, that’s a pain that I am happy to outsource to someone else for a reasonable fee.

Hi Brad,

Sorry for digging this up. Just in case you are still following this thread, I just want to let you know that the app is now available on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1533756032

(this doesn't mean I'm asking your to buy, just FYI, cheers!)

I see. DevUtils does come with an incremental auto-update mechanism, but I can see that App Store's auto update is probably better in this case. Thanks for sharing!

A Mac Store release would also be helpful when (re)installing a Mac or moving to a new mac.I had to go through the process recently and `brew` or App Store apps were a breeze to reinstall but manually installed ones have to be noted down somewhere then manually reinstalled.

Oh I see, this makes sense! Thanks for sharing!

I'm not the original commenter but I'll provide my few cents.

Especially with Apple's eco-system. Most potential buyers would have an Apple account with valid payment. Reducing filling credit card.

The other benefits on both ends is app updates and the ability to have the app accessible for you even if the app website drops or anything.

Having said that, that's one opinion and I'm pretty sure that other people would be happy from your current workflow that cuts less on your revenue.

> If it's on App Store and also open-source, would you still buy it?

There are plenty of such apps. The first one comes into my head is Cyberduck. https://cyberduck.io/ (Though they seemed to reduce the number of mentions about it being open sourced)

One wonder though, Since your app is very scoped. It can easily be universal and benefit from the entire apple eco system.

Thanks for the insights!

I didn't know it's possible to sell the app from App Store and directly from website at the same time. I always thought Apple wouldn't approve that, but as shown here Cyberduck is doing it.

I may also do it in the future too.

DaisyDisk is another example. They even blur the line by having the standalone app detect if you purchased via the App Store and will issue you a serial number if requested: "DaisyDisk has detected and applied your Mac App Store purchase receipt."

Not GP, but no, I don't use the App Store at all, I'd `brew cask install` it and probably be blissfully unaware that you were trying to sell it too.

But then I suppose I'm not your target user anyway, since I don't want a GUI for this.

Why not just use VSCode for formatting JSON/XML/etc?

https://twitter.com/Rapchik/status/1310843502578880513

I'd also prefer to get this from the App Store.

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