Hacker News: lukehaas

New comment by lukehaas in "Music Theory for Programmers"

lukehaas — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:20:39 +0000

I can't play an instrument, even after multiple attempts. The main problem for me was understanding the theory. When you start learning, you're expected to accept a lot of things at face value with very little explanation for why things in music are the way they are.

This article documents my own journey into understanding music through writing code and taking a first-principles approach. This enabled me to understand things like why there are 12 notes and why notes in the same key sound good. Hopefully, if you are in a similar position to me, this will give you a foundational understanding of music that you can reason about instead of memorising.

Disclosure: I built RunJS, and this is on its blog. It gets a mention in the last paragraph and nowhere else.

Music Theory for Programmers

lukehaas — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:20:39 +0000

Article URL: https://runjs.app/blog/music-theory-for-programmers

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49346025

Points: 3

# Comments: 2

Show HN: RunPy – simple desktop app for tinkering with Python

lukehaas — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 16:06:21 +0000

RunPy is a playground app that gives you a quick and easy way to run Python code. There's no need to create files or run anything in the terminal; you don't even need Python set up on your machine.

It's handy for learning, teaching or doing quick experiments. Available for mac, windows and linux. Please give it a try, and I'd be really keen to hear any thoughts, feedback or ideas for improvements. Thanks!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44522540

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by lukehaas in "Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2024 – Show and tell"

lukehaas — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 13:14:28 +0000

I built https://runjs.app because I wanted an easy way to run JavaScript and test out ideas. It turned out that a lot of other people wanted the same thing.

The first version was free and very basic. After getting a lot of suggestions and feedback from the people using it, I added more features and introduced a freemium pricing model.

Show HN: A JavaScript playground that shows the result of each expression

lukehaas — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 14:23:10 +0000

Article URL: https://runjs.app/play

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39828207

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

Equations that changed the world – rewritten in JavaScript

lukehaas — Tue, 20 Feb 2024 14:17:06 +0000

Article URL: https://runjs.app/blog/equations-that-changed-the-world-rewritten-in-javascript

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39441582

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Mathematical Notation for JavaScript Developers Explained

lukehaas — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 14:25:25 +0000

Article URL: https://runjs.app/blog/mathematical-notation-for-javascript-developers-explained

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31654813

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by lukehaas in "Show HN: ePaper.js – Easily create an ePaper display using JavaScript and HTML"

lukehaas — Sat, 22 Aug 2020 10:42:23 +0000

I built something that's similar to what you're describing, here's an article about it: https://www.hackster.io/lukehaas/e-ink-display-for-daily-new...

It combines a Pi Zero with a 2000mAh lipo, updates every 6 hours and lasts for around 90 days per charge.

Alexa Powered Rotary Phone

lukehaas — Tue, 21 Jul 2020 10:20:42 +0000

Article URL: https://www.hackster.io/lukehaas/alexa-powered-rotary-phone-d58644

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23905725

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Show HN: RunJS – a JavaScript scratchpad that auto-evaluates as you type

lukehaas — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 15:00:43 +0000

Article URL: https://projects.lukehaas.me/runjs/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18672719

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

New comment by lukehaas in "Ask HN: What's a good static site generator to use for a blog in 2018?"

lukehaas — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 11:21:35 +0000

Gatsby is worth taking a look at.

New comment by lukehaas in "Ask HN: How can I get better at bash?"

lukehaas — Mon, 26 Jun 2017 13:16:08 +0000

Just googled ABSG and all I got was 'Adult Bible Study Guide'

New comment by lukehaas in "Show HN: Generate Lorem Ipsum text from your terminal"

lukehaas — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 13:50:33 +0000

No new features planned at the moment but I'd be open to suggestions or pull requests.

Show HN: Generate Lorem Ipsum text from your terminal

lukehaas — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 13:02:23 +0000

Article URL: https://github.com/lukehaas/getlorem

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13417067

Points: 4

# Comments: 2

New comment by lukehaas in "Show HN: CSS Pokemon – created with clip-path and CSS variables"

lukehaas — Wed, 14 Dec 2016 09:46:23 +0000

It's important for web developers to experiment with new browser features. Browser vendors encourage this as it can help them with crushing bugs early and refining their specs.