Which software/hardware you use to take notes while studying programming concepts?

Question

Whenever studying a new topic in programming and going through lectures I always maintain handwritten notes. That's the only way for me to remember the concepts since I go through a lot of stuff and keep forgetting old stuff. My well-indexed, compressed, handwritten notes also help me to revise old stuff in just seconds.

But, recently I am facing a big problem, my notebooks are growing in number and I can't take them everywhere so planning to go digital for creating notes.

Software/app requirements
- It should be open source or not too pricey.
- It must have pen support coz I want handwritten notes ( I connect better with handwritten notes because of the freedom to scribble and add emphasis on topics).
- I don't want to use MS onenote.

Also what's the best Hardware for writing handwritten notes ?
Example: IPad, MS Surface or something cheaper.

Since there's not much discussion on this topic here at SL so creating this thread.
Please share your experience or tag someone who can suggest a solution.

Answer 1

Hardware suggestion :-
Have you tried remarkable ? It is nice and should get the job done in relatively cheaper price (compared to ipad or ms surface )

Answer 2

I personally use good old paper and pen.

take pictures of the notes and save it on cloud storage(as pdf) to make them accessable anywhere at the time of revision.

I have also used MS one note which I find kind of gimmicky than usefull, but I only used that to organise my notes ( pics of notes written on paper ) according to my need or to highlight / edit stuff later down the line ( at the time or revision )

But I hardly use it now as it was a lot of pain to manage notes at two places ( cloud and one note ) and resorted to using the cloud notes only.

Answer 3

‎ɐısıօլɐ I tested Notion app.

It doesn't meet my note-taking requirements. I felt it's like a high level note taking tool something like a todo list. Google keep would be better alternative than notion for light note taking which I already use.

What I am interested in is detailed handwritten note like we did in schools. Usually I watch lectures/videos in 1.5x or 2.0x speed and i also keep my dedicated notebook on that topic ready. Whenever something interesting comes up I pause the video and take notes regarding that topic.
So this switching between watching videos and note taking should be as natural as possible like I do currently with my physical notebooks.

Moreover for online learners today the biggest headache is notifications, ads or other distractions like playing games.
Just a minor doubt and instead of figuring it out I end up watching weird video or playing games 😅. So considering this a dedicated device like Remarkable is an awesome alternative.

Answer 4

Sonic ,
Regarding your question, "Shouldn't this be in your personal feed?"

I had the same doubt initially but considering the facts that
- there is no such other discussion thread in Q&A
- there are valuable software/hardware suggestions here that can help many.
- we are diving deep into pros and cons of products so people might be interested to subscribe to this thread.
- this discussion is related to learning process.

So because of these I decided to go with a Q&A thread rather than a personal feed. I understand that there's too much personal requirements here but that's by design to keep the discussion concentrated on handwritten notes and to provide the context for the problem I am facing.

I agree, it's an opportunity for Google.

Answer 5

Thanks for responding Ezra Bridger 2207 🙂

This article talks about apps and those apps recommend IPad with IPencil. I ll have to try the IPads and IPencil in store then.
Personally I dislike the fact that Apple tries to bind its users to Apple ecosystem add to that their cost therefore I move away from Apple products. But if Ipad + IPencil becomes a strong combo then I ll have no choice.

Ali Abdaal is one guy I follow on YouTube who takes a lot of notes being a medical student and prefers Ipad as well with Evernote app.
https://youtu.be/waR3xBDHMqw

Answer 6

Arsenic
Regarding Rocketbook:

Nice concept 👌, but it's essentially like a whiteboard where you write stuff take a picture erase the whiteboard and write again.

Although the picture taking and archiving gets automatically simplified using qr code and icon but still the writing and erasing feels unnatural.

When we write a lot of pages then this taking your phone to scan it ll become a big distraction I may end up checking notifications or something after every page.

Answer 7

Just FYI I researched writing tablets but they are not a good substitute for notebook and pen. They are only good for quick diagrams and annotations. Not suggested for handwriting.
https://link.medium.com/qkprGpzeSdb

Going digital for maintaining notes is a big decision for me. The convenience of physical paper and pen is irreplaceable but I ll keep looking for alternatives.

Answer 8

Arsenic Awesome, I loved remarkable ❤.
https://youtu.be/MIwc2iE8qpA

Pros
- dedicated device for writing notes so no notifications distraction.
- A4 size textured screen unlike glass screens in iPad were pen slides a lot.
- Super battery life for weeks.
- Closest handwriting experience among all alternatives .
- It ll also serve as a ebook reader and no need to buy separate Kindle readers if intereste.

It's awesome but there are few cons as well

- Slow typing response 21 ms compared to 9 ms in ipads and other screens. Hopefully this will get better in future iterations.
- The lag was clearly visible in review and shared by reviewer as well when doing non writing tasks.
- Biggest problem, they currently don't ship to India. 😒

I am definitely excited about it & ll wait for it to be available in india or try to get it shipped.
This right now seems like the best alternative for digital note-taking for me. Although still need to research how is the note sharing and syncing with other devices will be.

Answer 9

have you tried out "squid" it helped me a lot in making notes and I personally recommend it you should give it a try.

Answer 10

Try Nimbus Notes and Squid apps.
Store code snippets at GitHub gist.

Answer 11

BTW shouldn't this have been in your personal feed? In any case, it's a pity that Google does not have an alternative to good note taking apps with hand writing support.

Answer 12

Another hardware suggestion :

Morpheus have you checked rocketbook also ?

It might interest you if you want something that is as good as paper and also not very expensive ( plus available in india )

Although the idea is similar to writing notes and then clicking pic to upload it on cloud storage but it makes it much more convenient.

Here's the review link ( by none other than the man himself )
https://youtu.be/tTexU42KzsI

Answer 13

I personally use google keep to take my programming notes, ilove it cuz i can see it on all of my devices!

Answer 14

Screenshot 👀😐

Answer 15

Calviղ
Regarding Nimbus notes:
I really liked it. I think it has the best editing capabilities among all other apps and loved the screen shortcuts for quick access. If I was not using google keep from my short notes then Nimbus notes would be my best choice for short note taking. I have Uninstalled all other note apps that I tested but I think I ll keep Nimbus notes to give it a try.

Regarding Github Gists:
Yep, i already have a ton of public/private code snippets and scripts at Github Gist. It's awesome and very useful 👌but usage limited to code and scripts.

Krishna Gupta @calvin
Regarding Squid:
I tried squid, its good for taking handwritten notes very simple and handy. But I had to Uninstall it because I already have a similar app from Samsung called "Samsung Notes". Moreover squid free version has only pencil mode and not good for taking notes.
Thanks for the suggestion, I ll definately suggest it for non Samsung phones.

Answer 16

Coding Kitty[exams] if you look at competition here ( with MS surface + surface pen ) I don't think there is any reasonable difference in price of both.

And I don't think there is any other worthy competition of apple pencil + ipad in the market right now to make notes and/or drawing purposes.

Answer 17

Bhaiya Try this application maybe helpful for you! 😃

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.keep

Answer 18

I personally use google keep to take my programming notes, ilove it cuz i can see it on all of my devices!

Answer 19

Morpheus it being not available in india was only the road block which stoped me from buying it.

Hope rose again with the launch of remarkable 2 but again it didn't change anything and covid also made the things worse

Answer 20

Morpheus Sir, I recommend to use IPad.
Use software like WritePad for IPad, or MyScript Nebo. YOU have to actually Purchase them but they are not too Pricey.

If you want some Pricey Softwares use NotesPlus or Mazec.

I recommend MyScript Nebo and WritePad ONLY.
See this for more info👇🏻

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6065-best-note-taking-apps.html