# Request: online program to view algs (alg.garron.us but better)



## qqwref (Feb 26, 2014)

Yes, yes, I know alg.garron.us exists. But it has always been iffy at best and after trying to get a reconstruction I pasted off facebook to work today I have had enough. The cubing community NEEDS a better alternative to this old, buggy, black-box website - something where we can quickly paste in a reconstruction or alg and see its effect. And I don't have time to do this myself.

Here are the things which I think a new version needs:
- To not be written in Java. Java has gotten increasingly unusable over the last months/years. There's something wrong with the certificate, which means Java completely prevented me from using the site unless I went into their special "Java Control Panel" hidden on my computer and set lower security settings. And even then, I have to click through a dialog box whenever I open the page. For a web app this is honestly ludicrous. Just don't use Java.
- Scramble and reconstruction in the same textbox. Maybe having separate textboxes should be an available option, but for me, the only effect of having them separate is to make things take longer.
- Better alg parsing. Something like R’ (I think this is U+2019) or Ri should not crash the program. In fact, it should ignore things it doesn't understand, like uncommented words. Error messages should make sense to a cuber, not a programmer.
- A cube layout that makes it easier to see what's going on without necessarily having to rotate it - maybe something like hi-games, with very spaced-out stickers over an invisible cube.
- Better, more intuitive control over the cube and alg. No more "reload"/"view" difference, or buttons that load a completely applet. Use universal symbols for media control, when it makes sense. We should be able to jump forward and backward one move with one click, as well as skip to any point in the alg. (Also, as an idea, newlines should be converted into "breakpoints" we can easily skip to.) We should be able to rotate in all axes but have some indication of where U/F are, or at least a way to reset the view.

Here are some things it does NOT need:
- PNG generation.
- Hiding parts of the cube.
- Ability to actually do moves on the cube manually.
- AlgTyper.
- Scramble button.


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## Stefan (Feb 26, 2014)

Looks like you don't know alg.cubing.net yet (also see [thread=46468]its thread[/thread]). Already has much of what you're asking.


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## Lucas Garron (Feb 27, 2014)

Indeed, just about everything you list is either already on alg.cubing.net or has an issue filed for it.

Have you also ever tried the twisty.js beta viewer at alg.garron.us?


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## qqwref (Feb 27, 2014)

I tried the twisty.js beta viewer before writing this, and I just looked at alg.cubing.net but it doesn't fix many of my concerns. I think the layout of both is too cumbersome - I just want something where I can paste (or type) moves in and see what it does and how it works. I could go over which individual things bother me in both in detail but I really don't feel like spending an hour on it. Some bullet points though: twisty.js still has an extremely unintuitive way of moving around algs; twisty.js doesn't resize properly; ACN needs to stop updating every time you type a character; ACN has rendering issues; ACN should animate when going back a move; neither lets you rotate or view all stickers easily enough; too many options (that most people won't change) are visible; I don't like two slightly different boxes for moves. And probably more stuff.

And no thanks about the issues, I don't care to look through github for development details. As I said, I don't have time to work on the details of your complex piece of software. I just want a simple alg viewer that is easily accessible and isn't confusing or constraining.


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## masterofthebass (Feb 27, 2014)

Go ahead and write it yourself? You've written plenty of pieces of software because you wanted a specific functionality that other tools didn't adhere to. Not sure why this is any different.


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## Lucas Garron (Feb 27, 2014)

Well, it's a side project still in beta, so there will be rough edges and inconveniences.
I can't please everyone with the same design, but I've given these things a lot of thought.

Anyhow, overhauling animation and rendering are my two biggest things left to fix.
Assuming the animation issues will be fixed, how much does this direct link to playback view count as "a simple alg viewer that is easily accessible and isn't confusing or constraining"?

You're welcome to give constructive feedback if you'd like me to change something. You don't have to look through the issues, but at least I can back up my assertion that I intend to fix some of the things.
(Or if you insist on having something else, you or anyone can take any part of the code and get a head-start on writing a different interface. It's explicitly MIT licensed.)


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## Tim Major (Feb 27, 2014)

wtf?

I can distinctly remember you getting annoyed when I asked for a qqtimer update (and I was asking for one specific addition, politely)

Then you seem to demand someone to make something for you, even though there is alg.cubing.net, which you then attacked as being overly complex?

Two things I can't understand, your hatred of github which is an amazing site, and you demanding software to fit a SPECIFIC niche that you yourself care about. Why not just make it yourself?


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## bcube (Nov 24, 2022)

I´m sure @qqwref is not waiting 8 years for a solution. So administrators, feel free to delete this post if you find it inappropriate.

I am replying to this thread because:

an alternative solution has not been provided so far
a user cuberswoop liked qqwref´s post this year, so maybe there is still a demand in 2022
Let me start by saying there are a couple of possible alternatives, some of them are listed here (however, that list has not been updated, so you might need to do a further research). I am not perfectly familiar with any of the linked tools (including alg.cubing.net, twisty.js or currently newest cubing.js/twizzle.net), except for AnimCubeJS, so allow me to check your original requests for that specific simulator.



qqwref said:


> To not be written in Java.


 JavaScript is the standard in 2022.



qqwref said:


> Scramble and reconstruction in the same textbox. Maybe having separate textboxes should be an available option, but for me, the only effect of having them separate is to make things take longer.


 Here (click on the Help button to see instructions).



qqwref said:


> Better alg parsing. Something like R’ (I think this is U+2019) or Ri should not crash the program. In fact, it should ignore things it doesn't understand, like uncommented words.


 Unknown parameter names and parameter values are being ignored.



qqwref said:


> A cube layout that makes it easier to see what's going on without necessarily having to rotate it - maybe something like hi-games, with very spaced-out stickers over an invisible cube.


 See an example of very spaced-out stickers (white stickers being outlined so they are still visible on white background).



qqwref said:


> Better, more intuitive control over the cube and alg.


I am not sure exactly what do you mean by that, but if it is the possibility to rotate the layer/cube freely for example, then 



qqwref said:


> Use universal symbols for media control, when it makes sense.


 Universal button symbols are displayed in the button bar and at the top-right position when displaying more cases in 1 simulator.



qqwref said:


> We should be able to jump forward and backward one move with one click






qqwref said:


> as well as skip to any point in the alg.


 You can´t skip to any specific point in case of a very long algorithm due to the limitation with the width of the progress bar (in theory, however, you can skip to any specific point in the alg if the width of the progress bar is sufficiently long).



qqwref said:


> Also, as an idea, newlines should be converted into "breakpoints" we can easily skip to.


 AnimCubeJS doesn´t work with the concept of newlines and breakpoints.



qqwref said:


> We should be able to rotate in all axes but have some indication of where U/F are, or at least a way to reset the view.


Cube rotations are covered above, indication of where U/F are is not supported (is it really needed?), a way to reset the view is supported.



qqwref said:


> Here are some things it does NOT need:
> - PNG generation.  AnimCubeJS doesn´t support that.
> - Hiding parts of the cube.  AnimCubeJS doesn´t support that.
> - Ability to actually do moves on the cube manually.  Not sure what do you mean by that. If Bluetooth cube connection, then AnimCubeJS doesn´t support that. Otherwise there is the edit parameter.
> ...



Also, some serious unpleasant difficulties have been reported for alg.cubing.net or twizzle.net in the past (I am not saying they were all Lucas´ fault). To name a few, click here, here and here. Personally, I don´t see them happening with AnimCubeJS.


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## abunickabhi (Nov 24, 2022)

cubedb.com made by Gil exists as well, and it is good for reconstructions.


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## Thom S. (Nov 24, 2022)

Out of twizzle, cubedb and alg.cubing, the three used today, alg.cubing.net it the only one working at my device and I'm happy it's still the norm.


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## Lucas Garron (Nov 24, 2022)

Thom S. said:


> Out of twizzle, cubedb and alg.cubing, the three used today, alg.cubing.net it the only one working at my device and I'm happy it's still the norm.


Hmm curious to know, what's Twizzle having trouble with that alg.cubing.net isn't?


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## Thom S. (Nov 25, 2022)

Lucas Garron said:


> Hmm curious to know, what's Twizzle having trouble with that alg.cubing.net isn't?


Probably the fact that my device is 7 years old. Which is also why I never made an effort to send a Bug Report since that would only lead to programming headaches and bloated code.


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## bcube (Nov 26, 2022)

Performance/speed test for loading the same algorithm: Twizzle | AnimCubeJS



qqwref said:


> I just want a simple alg viewer that is easily accessible and isn't confusing or constraining.



AnimCubeJS consists of only 1 JS file per cube size, without being dependant on any other libraries or packages. You can easily access it in both local as well as internet locations, and it is easily extensible for a coder like you by modifying the source code to meet all your needs.



abunickabhi said:


> cubedb.com made by Gil exists as well, and it is good for reconstructions.



You probably meant cubedb.net.


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## bcube (Dec 10, 2022)

User experience test with the same device and browser (this might be an indicator of how the simulator will be displayed on your current device in the future):

alg.cubing.net


Twizzle


AnimCubeJS


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