Javier Julio

Using a Laptop Script to Install (and Document) Development Tools

2012-02-07

Not to long ago I read Thoughbot's excellent Ruby guide to Mac OSX development that lists all the development tools they install on their laptops. The big takeaway for me was the last step their laptop script which is just a bash script that runs various install commands for Ruby Gems and other tools. While it may seem so simple I couldn't believe I didn't think about this before. What a useful tool. This inspired me to create my own laptop script.

You might ask "why bother?" as I wouldn't be going through laptops that often to have a need for this and you'd be right. The real motivator has always been documentation. Recently, I learned the hard way that the most important part isn't so much knowing what tools I have installed but how I installed them. Big difference.

This past summer I had installed Node.js when it was on version 0.4.x but didn't do much with it until this past December when Node was updated to version 0.6.7. I wanted to update but for the life of me I couldn't remember how I installed Node. Did I install using Homebrew? From source? From one of the downloadable installers? Honestly, I couldn't remember. Coming across Thoughtbot's post, I realized this wouldn't be an issue if I had with a simple shell script that would double as documentation.

I'd like to expand the script to account for tools that have been installed so as to not reinstall them or better yet to perform updates. For now though I'm pleased with it serving mainly as documentation.

Git tagging a forked Ruby gem project for Bundler

2011-12-06

If you ever have to customize or patch a Ruby gem and you are using Bundler, its a good idea when forking that project to create a branch and then tag new releases.

I found this out recently as I used and patched two Ruby gems, databasedotcom and salesforce_bulk, to sync data to Salesforce for reporting. I ran into showstoppers with both but luckily they are hosted on GitHub so I was able to fork them and make the necessary changes to resolve the issues I encountered while being able to contribute those changes back.

The project Gemfile was updated with my two forked git branches and then I ran bundle install. While Bundler does support specifying a git branch I found that as I made further code updates and would run bundle install again, Bundler wouldn't download those changes. I figured out that I should be tagging releases of that branch instead as that would require the Gemfile to be updated with a new tag name. After that running bundle install would download the latest changes I made.

Avoiding sudo when installing command line tools from source

2011-11-29

Recently, I came across an excellent and detailed Node.js installation post that caught my attention since it focused on how to avoid using sudo. The "Long Version" part proved most helped as it goes into detail on the what and why of every action you perform. A great read if command line isn't your strongest area.

I realized a lot of what was discussed I had done earlier for installing the excellent rbenv tool so I deviated a little from the instructions by installing Node.js into a hidden folder in my home directory (e.g. ~/.node) and then updating my path in my ~/.bash_profile file. That last step I had to change to the following:

$ echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.node/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile

I've grown used to installing from source lately where in the past I wouldn't have but with enough of the projects I'm interested being hosted on GitHub (which I love) the workflow I know well and remains consistent so it makes sense. Its worth the effort rather than installing from a third party like Homebrew where it might not have the latest version (which I encountered when attempting to install Node.js).

For some of you this might seem trivial but a lot of this I didn't take the time to understand. Now though I know the difference that by installing into my home directory I can avoid using sudo and take control of the tools I depend on.

A Leap of Faith for my iPhone

2011-11-06

With the outpouring over Steve Jobs recent passing I've read some touching and moving stories. While I don't have any Steve run-ins or early Apple experiences to share I did have an incident with my iPhone a few years ago that reminded me of how much I love using that device and how important it is to me.

Whenever I'm on the subway platform waiting I pull out my phone and start reading articles I have saved with Instapaper. One day I was rather careless and the phone slipped out of my hands. It fell on the edge of the platform and then on the tracks below.

For that second my heart sank but I knew better since I was near the end of the platform where their is a small gate into the tunnel. I figured from there I could walk on to the tracks, pick up my phone and come back the same way. One problem. The train was arriving in less than 2 minutes. I wouldn't make it back in time.

While that thought came to mind, two men just a few feet away had a better idea. They told me to jump. I didn't have much time. Did you honestly think I was going to leave my phone there? No way! So I jumped down onto the subway tracks, picked up my phone and the two men lifted me back up on the platform. Two complete strangers were kind enough to help without asking. I was very grateful.

What I left out though is that was an iPhone 3G. I have an iPhone 4 now. I dread finding out what crazy thing I'll do next if something happens to it. I love the iPhone. Thanks Steve.

On Learning Ruby

2011-10-07

Having written so much code in AS3 I wanted to learn a similar language but that was simpler. Lighter. I had my own ideas of what I'd like in a language and I've found that Ruby has several of them. A simple example that stood out for me was defining a constant. In AS3 this requires a lot of typing that I felt could be implied.

public static const FIRST_NAME:String = "Javier"

In Ruby it's no different than declaring a variable but you type the name in all caps.

FIRST_NAME = "Javier"

Short and sweet. In another example I was impressed in how expressive Ruby can be. I had been figuring out the different ways I could repeat a string when I noticed in the documentation that operators were implemented as methods. Why can't I just multiply the string by the number of times I want to repeat it? For example:

"Ruby! " * 5

And that worked as expected! Simple things like this have made learning Ruby a joy.

Although I've written small scripts and re-written my site to learn Ruby I wanted something else that was structured. I had discovered two invaluable resources: Ruby Koans and Learning Ruby The Hard Way. While I'm half way through Learning Ruby The Hard Way I haven't enjoyed it as much as completing the Ruby Koans. The koans are a collection of units tests where you fill in the blanks or write scripts against pre-written unit tests. I don't remember ever learning a new language so much as I did by completing those koans. If you have any experience programming it is a great way to pick up Ruby fast.

If you have any resources you'd like to share I'd love to hear from you.

Recovering Deleted Files From SVN

2011-09-18

Recently, I had accidentally deleted a project file from SVN that was still required. Searching on how to recover it I came across different methods (mainly using svn copy) but an example using svn merge is what worked for me. All you need is the revision number that deleted the file(s) that you want back.

The following is the command format you'll want to use:

$ svn merge -r [rev]:[rev-1] [file-path-or-current-dir]

As an example, lets say I wanted to retrieve a post I had deleted for my site and the revision number that deleted the file was 50. That would look something like this:

$ cd Projects/website/posts/
$ svn merge -r 50:49 .

If you made other changes that were part of that revision they will be retrieved but are not committed so you can modify them as you like. In my case I had deleted 2 other files so I just re-deleted them, kept the one I needed and committed my changes. The revision history for the file you retain is preserved.

Overcoming Fear When Presenting

2011-08-09

Brett Kelly on his fear when presenting:

My brain moves faster than my lips and I very often turn into a yammering idiot when I get halfway through saying something before realizing that it's either unclear or inaccurate and I start quickly qualifying or rewording what I haven't even finished saying yet and it turns into a big ball of suck.

This a tough habit to break. I've learned that it's essential to practice early and often to pinpoint these areas quickly so you don't repeat it. The following are my suggestions that have helped me in avoiding this and in becoming a better presenter.

Brainstorming

Take notes on the sections and points you'll be covering. These are just notes so you don't want to draft out what you'll be saying out loud. That's just a waste of time. Keep these concise. You'll be changing it as you go.

Practice Makes Perfect

No magic here. You need to practice. Once you have a good draft of notes (whether its written down or simple slides with your bullet points) take it with you, bring your laptop and lock yourself in a room. If you have access to a projector, use it. From here start practicing by speaking out loud as if you were giving the presentation in front of a real audience. This will help you find major problem areas now rather than later.

Timing Is Everything

If you find yourself covering a section for about 15 minutes and you have another 4 or 5 more to go and only 50 minutes total that's a good sign that you need to streamline your content. Review your notes and make sure you cover only what is necessary.

The Babbling On Dilemma

Sometimes the issue isn't your notes but that you're talking about a point for to long which has a high chance of not making any sense to you or the audience. Our minds tend to wander much faster than we can speak so its easy to get caught up in this but don't get distraught. It happens to everyone.

It's a hard habit to break so remember when these moments happen, stop, beat yourself up (just a little) and start over. With enough repetition you'll memorize those areas to know to stop speaking. Which now leads me to another excellent tip...

Take A Break!

When moving from point to point don't be afraid to stop and catch your breath. The audience won't find it awkward and in fact they'll appreciate it. It gives them the opportunity to absorb what they've just learned and allows you to gather your thoughts before moving on to the next section.

How I Started My Career With ColdFusion

2011-08-01

I discovered web development in my junior year of high school in a class that taught HTML, Photoshop, FileMaker and a few other areas I don't remember. I took what I learned and applied it by making several sites at geocites.com (remember them?!) that I worked on a regular basis. I fell in love with how easy it was to make a website. I had no interest in pursuing anything else.

In Fall 2001 I started at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland for an associate degree in Web Programming. I learned everything from HTML and CSS, to full classes on JavaScript, C++, Java, Unix, you name it but what really mattered was what happened a few years later.

The end of 2003 didn't fare well for me. That Fall semester I had a rough time and a class or two I did poorly in. At the time I was working at Gamestop as Assistant Manager. It was difficult attending school and working retail both full time and as much as I loved each I had to focus on school so I quit my job the first week of January. My father was really upset and rightfully so since I was supporting my mother and sister. My parents are divorced. It was a rough moment but I knew it had to be done.

I had scheduled a required class called CA278 Web Database Applications for the Spring 2004 semester (I still remember the class code after all these years). I didn't know what I was getting into or what was coming. That class taught me a language called ColdFusion. I took to it instantly. Finally, an easy to understand programming language for someone starting off since it was tag based. You couldn't stop me. I loved it.

Best part is within 4 months (read that again, 4 months people!) of taking the course I was hired as an intern at the World Resources Institute in April 2004. This was a breakthrough for me. With that job I was making more money an hour than I was in retail. My father was very proud. I was more relieved than anything. I had to pay the bills. The decision to focus on school and have that free time to learn the language really paid off.

From there ColdFusion took me to a few different jobs. In 2007 I moved to New York City to find better work. Since then I've left ColdFusion sadly but I continue to work with it on my spare time to see what's new. Its a great language with a great community behind it that I'm very proud to be a part of. I can't wait for its 10th release!

This post was inspired by Steve Bryant's suggestion to make August 1, 2011 the "How I Got Started In ColdFusion," day.

No Ubisoft, your DRM is not a success

2011-07-30

Luke Plunkett:

Yet by placing ridiculous restrictions on paying, loyal customers, Ubisoft surely dissuades people from buying its games. With piracy an issue that will never go away, isn't that what the company should be worried about?

Ubisoft has shown more concern for piracy than customer convenience. Forcing me to always be online to play a single player game does just one thing. It stops me from buying it.

Recently I passed on Splinter Cell: Conviction on Steam's Summer Sale. I played a trial on OnLive awhile back and loved it. Would have been great to play it on PC but of course my first thought when purchasing was to check if their was DRM that required I be online to play and it did. No thanks.

This is a bigger deal than you think. The internet isn't available everywhere and simply isn't reliable enough. Worse yet you become completely dependent on Ubisoft and their servers to play a title you legitimately bought. What if Ubisoft decides to shut down the servers for that game after a year or two? What if Ubisoft is no longer in business? You can no longer play that game.

While this does happen for some console games thats just for the multiplayer portion. In this case a PC game with Ubisoft DRM would stop you from even playing singleplayer!

In the end DRM only hurts the paying customer.

Thoughts on Halo: ODST and Halo: Reach

2011-07-25

This past weekend I finished playing Halo: ODST. I found it to be harder than expected but quickly learned that several fights (especially those as the rookie) are best avoided. I enjoyed the title a great deal but was hoping for more teamwork throughout and not just lone-wolf style gameplay. I'd love to play a Halo game more along the lines of say a Republic Commando where your squadmates are at your side the majority of the game.

From there I started Halo: Reach. Both games I played on Normal. The game starts off with some firefights that are pretty brutal and I had to repeat them many times over. You have to use cover a great deal and not be afraid to fallback. Worth noting that the enemies CONSTANTLY move around non-stop in comparison to ODST. Drove me insane at points as they can get good shots off but its a good challenge. The game isn't repetitive when it comes to environments. It has in earlier titles but not here. Bungie did an incredible in making this game feel epic.

The best part about these games, particularly Reach, is by far the aerial and space combat. The controls where spot on and never did I feel like I was struggling to take enemies down or having trouble to maneuver. I'd love to see more games around space and aerial combat just like this. Bungie really blew me away here. Expecting to see more of this in Halo 4.

Fixing Games for Windows login failed after changing Live login

2011-07-24

Since I bought an Xbox 360 recently I could finally change my Live ID to use a live.com account and get rid of my Hotmail one (I closed it out, good riddance). Anytime though I would start up a Steam game that had Games for Windows support such as Fallout 3 or Red Faction: Guerilla my login would fail despite entering it correctly. As expected it would work fine anywhere else such as on xbox.com and on my Xbox 360 so what gives?

Finally occurred to me to just delete my profile. In one of the games I mentioned earlier I just started it up and hit the HOME button to bring up the Games for Windows overlay and since you aren't logged in just hit cancel on the login form and you'll be presented with 3 options, the last being "Delete Profiles." From there you can delete your profile and log back in with the same account. No more login failed or login incorrect errors.

Your information and save games are kept intact so don't worry, they don't get deleted. I guess a profile is a local setting or storage on your PC for your account. Hope this helps someone.

Solution for PS3 data transfer utility not working or connecting

2011-07-11

This weekend I was setting up my new PS3 Slim and needed to transfer the data I have from my old 80GB PS3. I had run into some trouble where I set everything up and then had the source PS3 (the 80GB) transfer data to the new one and it would just sit there and eventually time out stating the system's aren't connected via ethernet cable when they were.

I followed the instruction manual but after researching online at least 2 key steps were missing from the directions. Make sure you disable the Internet Connection and Media Server Connection on both systems. Once I did this the data transfer worked.

On both systems do the following:

Select (Settings) > (Network Settings) > (Internet Connection) and then Disabled
Select (Settings) > (Network Settings) > (Media Server Connection) and then Disabled

When you attempt to transfer the data again it still took several minutes to connect (I'd say about 5-10 minutes) so be patient!