Disclaimer: I'm the creator of http://cocoacontrols.com, which is a competitor to iosframeworks.com.
* Provide direct links to the source code where possible
* License info is extremely useful; I'd hate to find something perfect for my app only to discover that it uses an incompatible license.
* Provide ratings support.
* What's a framework in this case? iOS doesn't support third-party frameworks, just static libs and loose bundles of code.
* What differentiated value does this provide vs. my site or http://cocoaobjects.com/? I'm not trying to be snarky or cut this down; I think there's a lot of room to differentiate and provide value in this space, it just needs to be articulated clearly.
As a developer of iOS frameworks and libraries, I will vouch for cocoacontrols as a solid site. It's easy to add a new entry and search for existing controls by license.
+1 on cocoacontrols! I did not yet contribute but the content provided is great.
I recommend it to many other iOS dev looking to get things done without re-inventing the wheel.
Frameworks, on the site at least, means any pile of code that can be used on iOS. It's definitely a misnomer, but it fits well enough with what people search for. I'm sure you had the same issue when deciding on a name for cocoacontrols.com.
It's hard to say what differentiates the sites. They definitely serve the same niche.
I'm sure you had the same issue when deciding on a name for cocoacontrols.com.
Actually, I only publish UI-centric projects (hence 'controls'). It's a forcing function for me to scope what content gets published. I've actually had to reject quite a bit of cool stuff as a result.
edit: also, I intended to say 'here are a couple pieces of feedback for you' in my original post. Re-reading it just now, I realize that it comes across as a bit rude. Not my intention at all. My bad :)
It would be great if the licensing details were included. One of the most time consuming things is looking into a particular framework only to find the license is incompatible with what you're writing.
Of a framework? As in API? I am not sure if I understand, how would one make a screenshot of ROR? or Django? or jQuery?
Unless you mean top application using a given framework, but then, it is not indicative of the framework, but the amount of time one spent on graphics on top of the framework.
I'd say "screenshot." I've always like jQuery's demos, such a thing could be done for the frameworks to provide a quick insight into how they're implemented.
I'm missing here sort options, by most popular, best rated, etc. Also the details for the framework are very short, a really small explanation, and somethimes nothing but the link to their web page.
Maybe adding screenshots and opinions would increase usefulness.
Interactivity (most popular, etc) is definitely on my TODO list for the site. I'll probably end up requiring login with OpenID for commenting and rating.
I agree that the details are pretty slim on frameworks. As part of the interactivity feature, I plan to add a form for suggesting changes.
"Tapku Library is an open source iOS framework built for iPhone & iPad. The framework include..."
That tells me nothing about Tapku other than it's an open source framework for iOS, and I don't really need the iOS part because I'm aware I'm on a site for iOS frameworks.
- Search needs to search tags and substrings (e.g., searching for "ASI" or "http" does not find "ASIHTTPRequest", even though both are substrings of the library name, and the library is tagged with "http").
- The search results page needs to include more information. That first line just isn't enough, especially when the whole summary is just a few words more (e.g., clicking on "Bullet" adds "and rigid body dynamics.") The search results should probably include the library tags, and maybe the full first paragraph.
- Pages for individual frameworks should probably include links to comparable frameworks (see osalt.com, for example)
Could you make the listview 2x the size? Really, 5 items per page is not helping anyone. Especially when you get to frameworks starting with C, I, HTTP[], etc.
The fact that this site lists oolong engine* makes me suspect that it's not at all a carefully selected lists of framework.
(oolong is basically a poorly put together collection of sample code with an 'engine' label slapped on it. For example the engine doesn't actually have any concept of 'lights', instead the 'lighting sample' is a rip-off of an Apple sample with all light properties hard-coded calls to OpenGL).
This is an interesting addition, but I have to agree with the other repliers that: a sorting mechanicsm is desperately needed and more information about each framework would be nice. (screenshot, etc) Other than that, this is a great way to stay on top of these frameworks. I'm sure you thought of this, but gitHub has a few lists that do this as well that you might want to take a look at.
It'd be nice if there was some way to compare frameworks that have similar features. For instance, I'd like to compare physics engine frameworks, either based on their listed features, or if there was some way for users who have tried multiple ones to leave comments comparing them.
What would a non-curated catalog look like? One generated automatically via a Google search? Aren't you just saying that a person took the time to go through and make the catalog?
* Provide direct links to the source code where possible
* License info is extremely useful; I'd hate to find something perfect for my app only to discover that it uses an incompatible license.
* Provide ratings support.
* What's a framework in this case? iOS doesn't support third-party frameworks, just static libs and loose bundles of code.
* What differentiated value does this provide vs. my site or http://cocoaobjects.com/? I'm not trying to be snarky or cut this down; I think there's a lot of room to differentiate and provide value in this space, it just needs to be articulated clearly.