Every programmer probably uses or has used Stack Overflow at some point. Stack Overflow changed the face of development forever. BigBig Bomb have really created something special with StackTrace. StackTrace is a stunning iPad app that lets you explore Stack Overflow’s wealth of knowledge.
This app has really raised the bar for all apps in terms of UI. Every subtle animation and transition is brilliant. When you first launch the app you are greeted with a view that gives you the option to add different languages as tags. Each tag/language has its own box with statistics and a separate colour scheme. Clicking on any one of them takes you to the actual question view. There is an abundance of purple in StackTrace as the main highlight colour. The final detail page for each question is where you will spend your time and they have made it simple and elegant. Comment bubbles expand when you click them and the overall feel of everything here is classy. My favourite part of this view is the fact that the actual code is syntax highlighted. Double tapping the code or an image here will reveal it fullscreen. Scrolling horizontally here is problematic when the code isn’t more than a few lines long. Scrolling cannot be done from the bottom of the full screen view as expected and needs to be done by actually swiping the few lines of code on the top of the screen. In this view you can also share the current page by copying the link or emailing it. Tapping the star on the top right let’s you favourite the current topic. There is also the most useful feature of the app, searching Stack Overflow that I discovered by accident because it was hidden. You can pull down any non detail view to reveal the search bar that let’s you search Stack Overflow and view the results by Newest, Votes or Active. I find it really surprising that this search bar isn’t always visible as it will no doubt be the most used feature of the app.
While the aesthetics of this app are spectacular, I had a few issues with the colour scheme. The home page has a different colour for each tag while the actual tag pages all have the same purple colour scheme. I would have liked the option to have unique colours for each tag throughout. Barring these minor complaints, StackTrace is an essential app for every programmer with an iPad and the UI makes you want to lick your iPad screen. This is probably one of the best looking iPad apps ever and it is retina iPad ready as well. I can’t imagine using Stack Overflow without this. It is available on the App Store for $4.99. Do yourself a favour and get this app.
