Xiki: GUI and Text Interfaces are Converging

on YouTube ↗41m

" summary

A live demo shows Xiki as a tiny UI language that actually builds working interfaces from plain files: a shell command core plus a web server and editor plugins. Indented text becomes nested menus that two-space indents render as mobile/web/desktop/voice/CLI interfaces. Code blocks run inline (Ruby by default, JavaScript supported), shell commands control browsers, databases, Rails and Node, and CRUD edits save back to apps. The demos produce real menus, create records, run tests and restart servers—practical, not hypothetical.

AI-written summary · about

" chapters (28)

1. 0:00Start
2. 0:09creating user interfaces
3. 0:24creating a user interface
4. 5:37add dynamic behavior using an exclamation mark
5. 6:11open it in a normal web browser
6. 8:01drop a ziki plug-in into your web app
7. 13:10open up the url in the browser
8. 13:48the text editor plug-in
9. 15:02start with an initial record
10. 16:28change the background to black
11. 17:36run a shell command in a specific directory
12. 18:13narrow down to all the ruby files
13. 21:37. here is a code mirror prototype
14. 22:32make a txt file in a directory
15. 22:56run it in the web browser
16. 23:35type the name of your file
17. 25:35define menus inline
18. 26:11defining keyboard shortcuts
19. 26:40make a menu a certain way
20. 27:55using ziki as a web development tool
21. 29:07adding blank lines in certain places
22. 31:02create a record
23. 31:26embedding a controller and node
24. 33:03search for recent commands in a specific directory
25. 33:20run in all directories
26. 34:04make text files full of notes
27. 34:44add interactive memorizing two notes in your file
28. 39:27start engaging in these textual conversations with our users

" related talks

• 46mXiki: the Rubyfied Next-Generation ShellCraig Muth · RubyConf 2012
• 44mExploring and Building Cross-Platform TUIsAndrew Pla · PowerShell + DevOps Global Summit 2023
• 25mThe Terminal is the New Browser: Building Rich TUIs with TextualAndres Pineda · PyCon US 2026
• 20mKui – CLIs With a Graphical TwistNick Mitchell · Cloud Native DevX Day North America 2021
• 41mIt's Time for a Ruby EditorDaniel Lucraft · RubyConf 2010
• 15mBespoke: Interactively Synthesizing Custom GUIs from Command-Line Applications By DemonstrationPriyan Vaithilingam, Philip J. Guo · UIST 2019
• 25mCode is a User InterfaceJustin Falcone · React Rally 2019
• 31mLowering the Burden: a GUI App for EverythingErich Eickmeyer · Ubuntu Summit 2024