3 languages

I need to clarify my interests. I keep getting calls from recruiters who want to hire me to do Perl or database management. So, I am trying out an experiment in self-analysis by describing my enthusiasms as they relate to specific programming languages. I am currently interested in the web software applications of Ruby, JavaScript, […]

Mustache support for Rails 3: generator

At RailsConf, Jeremy McAnally noted that no one had built a new-style Rails generator for the mustache template system. So I’m giving it a try. You can see my progress so far on github. I’ve forked the rails3-generator project started by José Valim and carried on by several contributors, and I’ve added just a little […]

On Ruby monkeypatching and Clojure’s protocols

I read an interesting article by Dave Fayram (kirindave) contrasting monkeypatching in Ruby with protocol extension in Clojure. The article compares two of my favorite languages, but I think it was unfortunate to present monkeypatching as the main way to “associate behavior and data in a flexible way.” In fact, Ruby has a number of […]

Lazy Enumerators in Ruby

I gave a talk on Ruby’s Enumerators at the DC Ruby Users Group in August. I’ve posted my slides from the presentation, if you’re interested.  Basically, I discovered that enumerators make lazy evaluation easy to implement in Ruby, and applying lazy techniques with enumerators may yield more efficient and elegant code.

A Ruby on Rails mystery, and the price of magic

I count myself lucky that I can earn a living programming with Ruby and in particular with the Ruby on Rails framework. But every tool, even the best, has a few surprises up its sleeve. Sometimes you get hung up on something quirky, but more often you’re having a problem with a feature—something that’s there […]

Some gems from RubyNation 2009

Nothing close to a complete review of all the quality talks I heard at RubyNation, the following is just a summary of cool things I learned about while attending. For other resources, and some of my own snarky comments, take a look at the Twitter Channel for the event: #rubynation TupleSpaces and Rinda Luc Castera […]