Run & Share Snippets With Glot.io

By Jake Rocheleau. in Toolkit. Updated on June 19, 2017.

There are dozens of browser-based IDEs but most of them focus on frontend languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Glot.io is a new contender, focusing on dozens of programming languages that usually require runtime software. These languages go far beyond the web, including C#, Java, Swift, Haskell and a whole lot more.

Glot is a coder’s web-based paradise and it works like an open-source playground with executable code. Granted, there are some limitations on what you can run, especially with GUI programs and 3^rd party libraries. But, you can save pretty much anything in this site and share it with the whole world. For free!

If you’re looking for sample snippets you can browse the Glot snippets page with whatever language you prefer. For instance, if you’re building an iOS app you can search snippets by Swift code to see what’s out there.

Most snippets are pretty old and they’re all very simple. However, Glot isn’t just a free code library. You can also use it to test new ideas by writing code and testing it on the fly without a compiler. No other web app offers this kind of functionality with so many languages for free.

So, who would get the most value from using Glot?

Newer coders might find some gems in the snippet archives but, truthfully, there aren’t many archives to sift through. I think Glot is most useful to practicing coders who want an online environment for testing their ideas.

It can be tough when you’re starting to learn Python or C# or any detailed programming language. These online code environments let you practice from any computer with Internet access, no software required.

The site’s code and many tools are also freely available on GitHub. You can find them all listed in this index repo linking to all the Glot.io open-source projects.

Glot.io is a really cool web app and quite valuable to newer developers. If you’re looking for a cheap way to hone your programming skills Glot offers everything you need to get started.