Write Software, Well (Page 13)

Setting Up Development Environment for Rails

This is the second article in the series on building awesome web applications with Ruby on Rails. It shows how to set up a kick-ass development environment for building Rails apps.

5 min read

Define Custom Routes Using the Member and Collection Blocks in Rails

Let's say you want to add non-resourceful custom routes on your controller. Most often, you're better off by introducing a new resourceful controller. However, in those cases where you absolutely have to, you can define new routes using the member and collection blocks provided by the Rails router.

4 min read

How &:method Shortcut Works in Ruby

This post shows you how Ruby's `&:method` shortcut works behind the scenes. It's a clever trick that was added first in ActiveSupport and became an official feature in Ruby 1.8.7.

2 min read

Building Web Applications with Ruby on Rails

This is the first article in the series on building awesome web applications with Ruby on Rails. It explores why you should build for the web and use a web framework, especially Rails.

4 min read

Understanding Blocks and the Difference in Proc and Lambda

Update: I've since revised, polished and published a much more in-depth post on this topic, check it out here: Blocks, Procs, and Lambdas:

Ruby Gems 4 min read

Compare Strings Using Inquiry

Similar to the ArrayInquirer class, which tests if an array contains a value, the ActiveSupport::StringInquirer class provides a nice way to compare two strings.

1 min read

How to Compress a String in Ruby (and Rails)

You can compress large strings using the Zlib module provided by Ruby's standard library.

1 min read

Configure Classes Using the Configurable Concern in Rails

Sometimes, you need a config-like property on a class, such as a logger. Rails provides the Configurable concern that lets you accomplish this. It provides

2 min read

How to Access Variables Outside Scopes in Ruby

In C# and Java, variables from the outer scope are visible to the inner scope. In Ruby, scopes are sharply separated, and nested visibility is

1 min read

Ruby is a Meritocracy

I recently read Russ Olsen's book Design Patterns in Ruby. In it, the author makes a wonderful distinction between statically vs. dynamically typed languages, which is different from all other comparisons I've seen.

1 min read

How to Benchmark Rails Views

This post explores the Benchmarkable module provided by Active Support to measure the execution time for rendering Rails views.

1 min read

How to Benchmark Ruby Code

The Benchmark module in the Ruby standard library helps you measure and report the time used to execute your code. This post explores three useful

1 min read