Thoughts on technologies, code, and how to improve
tech
During a recent project with BackboneJs and Rails, i noticed some very strange behavior. When my controller had an implicit render to Backbone's JSON requests, Rails was throwing an error. ActionView::MissingTemplate (Missing template users/index, base/index with {:locale=>[:en], :formats=>[:html], :variants=>[], :handlers=
tech
Transpiling. Taking code written in one language and translating it to another language of similar abstraction. Some of the most popular languages and libraries these days are transpiled. React, JSX, Scss are all common examples that have gained favor in the past few years. In perhaps the most remarkable example,
tips
This is the third and final piece on creating a notification queue in Rails. If you are just finding this post, i suggest starting with the first post on the database, as it is quite short. A recap In the previous two posts we have looked * the notification database table
tech
As the title suggests, this is the second post in a series on building a flexible notification queue in Rails. I'd suggest starting with the first post: on the database table (it's quite short). Our apps create notifications in many places. These notifications are usually tied
ruby on rails
Many apps live, or die, based on the success of their notifications. Because of this, many apps send notifications about as much as they can. This is not without code cost: notifications end up everywhere in our codebases. Since they are so important, and numerous, we would benefit from a
tips
HTTPS can be a bit daunting to people who have never set it up before. Luckily, systems like Nginx and Let's Encrypt have lowered the barrier to entry quite a bit. Here are all the steps you will need to set up an HTTPS connection to your Rails
tech
As engineers we tend to be bad at simplifying topics for lay folks. Yes, we've talked about this before. But when it comes to the data security conversation, i think we have hit a new low. I say this because of the disconnect between the tech sector and
tech
Rails has been very prominent in web development the last 5-7 years, and for good reason. It is relatively easy to learn and its abstractions make it easy to build features quickly. An unfortunate side effect of this has been that Rails developers have learned web development through Rails. This
tech
Cautious developers keep the software world turning. They are careful, detail-oriented and inject fewer bugs than the others. This post is not about them. This will be about the brave coders. They are the foolish risk takers. They can each point to a system they have managed to completely break
tech
Lookarounds, like regular expressions in general, are too often avoided. Why? We avoid them because we don't understand them. The time has come. The Lookarounds There are 4 types lookarounds. They are categorized in two ways: direction (ahead and behind) and positivity (positive and negative). Combined, there are
tech
Phantoms, ghouls, spectres; semi-transparent demons and star antagonists of your horror story du jour. So much of their frightfulness stems from their intangible nature. People see them and know they exist, but to put your finger on one seems all but impossible. Thus is the problem with phantom code. It
tech
The late George Carlin once joked about the foolishness of human ingenuity. He said that, in the past, humans built houses to shield themselves from the cold. A warm enclosure inside of the cold outdoors. But then our food was too warm, so we built a refrigerator. A cold enclosure