tdg5
Crafting Your First Pry Plugin
When I was first introduced to the pry gem and the alternative Ruby CLI / REPL experience it provides, I have to admit, I didn't get it. I didn't understand why pry was a better option than irb or more typically for me, rails console. Sure, Pry's built-in commands like...
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60 Bash-tastic Git Aliases
After spending the last 3.5 years using git for version control, I can't imagine going back to a life without it. I won't even start with the plethora of reasons why you should use a source control management (SCM) tool like git, but if you don't, suffice it to say...
Introducing the tco_method gem
Earlier this week I published a gem intended to help simplify the process of compiling Ruby code with tail call optimization enabled in MRI Ruby. The gem, tco_method, builds on my recent research into the internals of Ruby's implementation of tail call optimization and the ideas presented in Nithin Bekal's... -
Eager Boolean Operators: A Pattern to Continue Never Using
In relaying the story of eager Boolean operators, it is best to begin with their more ubiquitous siblings, short-circuiting logical Boolean operators. This is perhaps best achieved with an example: true || Seriously(this(is(valid(Ruby!)))) # => true false && 0/0 # => false In Ruby, and many other common programming languages,1...
On the Road From Ruby Journeyman to Ruby Master
Mind-blowingly awful are really the only words that come to mind to describe my first bunch of Ruby scripts.1 Sure, this is probably unfair and over-critical given that Ruby, algorithms, and the whole shebang were all new to me at the time, but damn. There are so many decisions I... -
Dependency and Load-Order Management Using the Module Factory Pattern
At last year's RubyConf in San Diego, Craig Buchek gave a presentation entitled Ruby Idioms You're Not Using Yet focusing on some of Ruby's under-utilized and emerging idioms. In this post we'll discuss one of those idioms, an idiom Craig appropriately calls Module Factory. In particular, we'll explore the using...
Tail Call Optimization in Ruby: Deep Dive
In my last post, I began an exploration of tail call optimization in Ruby with some background on tail call optimization and its little known existence and usage in Ruby. In this post, we'll continue that exploration at a much lower level, moving out of the Ruby layer and descending... -
Tail Call Optimization in Ruby: Background
Back in November, care of /r/ruby, I came across a blog post by Nithin Bekal, Tail Call Optimization in Ruby, demonstrating Ruby's built-in support for tail call optimization and I have to admit, my mind was a little blown. It's not that I have a specific need for tail call...
Tuning dd block size
Though I wouldn't call myself a dd expert, I have had my fair share of occasions to yield the might that is dd. From my first job after college using KNOPPIX and dd to rescue NFL game footage from dying HDDs on behalf of NFL video coordinators, to using dd...