Jan 19, 2020Bits, Bytes, and Byte Slices in GoIf you come from a background other than Computer Science and learned programming through a higher level language such as Ruby (like I did), you may have never really “needed” to be concerned about what bytes, bits, and binary are. …Go6 min read
Jan 30, 2018Singleton Methods in RubyAnytime a developer says “Maybe this situation is a good use case for a singleton,” you’ll hear either shrieks or cheers depending on the past experience of the people in the room. “Singleton” can be a trigger word because if the “singleton” design pattern is implemented incorrectly or used in…Ruby4 min read
Nov 9, 2017Utilizing Ruby Keyword ArgumentsThe Ruby language is known for it’s flexibility. There aren’t many things that Ruby won’t let you do, whether that’s the ability to pass any data structure to any method or the ability to meta-program pretty much everything. If used unwisely, this flexibility can cause headaches for developers. For example…Ruby5 min read
Dec 16, 2015How to make sending and creating emails suck less with Ruby on RailsAnd hopefully make you feel like you aren’t coding in the 90's — About 2 months ago I graduated from Flatiron School (woohoo!) and started working as a Web Developer at Excella Consulting (double woohoo!) and more specifically on the myUSCIS project. Recently, I picked up the task of styling the email that we send out to users when they receive a message…Email6 min read
Oct 15, 2015Setting Up and Using RSpec in a Ruby ApplicationI graduate Flatiron in 2 days (holy crap) and it’s been a life changing experience. I’ve learned so much about programming in such a short amount of time. We’ve covered a ton of stuff at Flatiron, but one area that I want to gain more experience in is testing applications. …Ruby6 min read
Oct 1, 2015Understanding &: in RubyLately, I’ve been messing around with different coding challenges on Codewars. One of the most enjoyable things for me to do is to look at other people solutions for the problems after I solve them. Some of them are ridiculously clever and are interesting to dissect to see exactly how…Ruby1 min read
Sep 17, 2015Using .animate() in jQueryI’m currently in week 8 at Flatiron School and it’s been amazing so far. I’ve fallen in love with Ruby and I appreciate how developer friendly it is. Last week we started to learn Javascript. Before I came to Flatiron, I had messed around with some Javascript so this has…Java Script3 min read
Sep 2, 2015Making Ajax Requests with Ruby on RailsUsing Javascript in Rails — When “normal” non-programming people think of Ajax, they probably think of Ajax Cleaner. However, in programming Ajax (“Asynchronous Javascript and XML”) is a Javascript technique used to make requests without the browser having to do a full reload. You can do a lot of cool things with Javascript and it…Web Development4 min read
Aug 20, 2015Bridging the Gap Between Designers and ProgrammersThe first time I noticed a “divide” in thinking between designers and programmers was at my old job as a print (mostly) graphic designer. A designer there knew that I was learning to code and asked to see something that I had written because they were thinking about learning themselves…Graphic Design6 min read
Aug 6, 2015Ruby Error Messages a.k.a Sloth Fratellia Ruby programmer’s best friend — Alright, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t exactly remember everything that happened in the movie The Goonies and if you stop reading right here I’m incredibly sorry. One thing I do remember is there was a guy who looked nightmarishly scary and horrifying but ended up being…Programming3 min read
