new article

[pat eyler]

Sorry for posting about my own article, but I'm interested in feedback,=20
recommendations for future topics, etc. IBM has just published an
article I wrote about doing test first development with Ruby:

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-os-ruby1-i.html

(sorry, you need to sign in (free account) to read it).


I've got an opportunity to do some more writing for them (how much
more depends on how well received/popular the articles are), and I'd
love to get some feedback from the community about what kinds of
Ruby things I should be sending their way.

--=20
thanks,
-pate

 

[ES]

Sorry for posting about my own article, but I'm interested in feedback,=20
recommendations for future topics, etc. IBM has just published an
article I wrote about doing test first development with Ruby:

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-os-ruby1-i.html

(sorry, you need to sign in (free account) to read it).

I generally am opposed to registering for free content (paid stuff
is obviously different). One may visit http://www.bugmenot.com to
bypass registration.

Good article.

I've got an opportunity to do some more writing for them (how much
more depends on how well received/popular the articles are), and I'd
love to get some feedback from the community about what kinds of
Ruby things I should be sending their way.

--=20
thanks,
-pate

E

 

[Gavri Fernandez]

I generally am opposed to registering for free content (paid stuff
is obviously different).

IBM probably wouldn't mind if you pay them for reading this article.

--=20
Gavri
http://livejournal.com/users/ga_woo

 

[gabriele renzi]

pat eyler ha scritto:

Sorry for posting about my own article, but I'm interested in feedback,
recommendations for future topics, etc. IBM has just published an
article I wrote about doing test first development with Ruby:

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-os-ruby1-i.html

(sorry, you need to sign in (free account) to read it).


I've got an opportunity to do some more writing for them (how much
more depends on how well received/popular the articles are), and I'd
love to get some feedback from the community about what kinds of
Ruby things I should be sending their way.

I think it is a nice article.
OTOH I'd have loved to see some information on how to test this for
network problems, since a friend of mine just had this kind of problems:
how to be sure that my code won't bomb down if the dns goes mad or the
network interface breaks or whatever? But probably this is out of the
scope of the article.

Also, why are you putting the mock data in the DATA pseudofile instead
of a real external file ?

 

[Ara.T.Howard]

--8323328-1433360132-1116959907=:23496
Content-Type: MULTIPART/MIXED; BOUNDARY="8323328-1433360132-1116959907=:23496"

This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text,
while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools.

--8323328-1433360132-1116959907=:23496
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=X-UNKNOWN; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: QUOTED-PRINTABLE

I generally am opposed to registering for free content (paid stuff
is obviously different). One may visit http://www.bugmenot.com to
bypass registration.

bless you.

-a
--=20
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D
| email :: ara [dot] t [dot] howard [at] noaa [dot] gov
| phone :: 303.497.6469
| My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
| --Tenzin Gyatso
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D

--8323328-1433360132-1116959907=:23496--
--8323328-1433360132-1116959907=:23496--

 

[pat eyler]

I generally am opposed to registering for free content (paid stuff
is obviously different). One may visit http://www.bugmenot.com to
bypass registration.

=20
bless you.
seconded.

=20
-a

=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
| email :: ara [dot] t [dot] howard [at] noaa [dot] gov
| phone :: 303.497.6469
| My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
| --Tenzin Gyatso
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D= =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=20
=20
=20

--=20
thanks,
-pate

 

[pat eyler]

I think it is a nice article.
OTOH I'd have loved to see some information on how to test this for
network problems, since a friend of mine just had this kind of problems:
how to be sure that my code won't bomb down if the dns goes mad or the
network interface breaks or whatever? But probably this is out of the
scope of the article.

Yeah, out of scope for this one, but it sounds like an interesting problem=
=20
to write about. I think mock objects are the right answer.

=20
Also, why are you putting the mock data in the DATA pseudofile instead
of a real external file ?

For a small amount of data, using the DATA pseudofile was easier=20
(keeping everything together), but as r43 has grown, I'm getting ready to=
=20
split it out into a separate file.

=20
=20

--=20
thanks,
-pate

 

[James Britt]

Sorry for posting about my own article, but I'm interested in feedback,
recommendations for future topics, etc. IBM has just published an
article I wrote about doing test first development with Ruby:

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-os-ruby1-i.html

(sorry, you need to sign in (free account) to read it).


I've got an opportunity to do some more writing for them (how much
more depends on how well received/popular the articles are), and I'd
love to get some feedback from the community about what kinds of
Ruby things I should be sending their way.

I just started going through the article, but (as is my inclination) I
took a peek at the Resources page, and I'm curious why ruby-doc.org
wasn't listed.

Thanks,

James Britt

--

http://www.ruby-doc.org - The Ruby Documentation Site
http://www.rubyxml.com - News, Articles, and Listings for Ruby & XML
http://www.rubystuff.com - The Ruby Store for Ruby Stuff
http://www.jamesbritt.com - Playing with Better Toys

 

[pat eyler]

=20
I just started going through the article, but (as is my inclination) I
took a peek at the Resources page, and I'm curious why ruby-doc.org
wasn't listed.

Braino on my part. I think that I make less use of ruby-doc.org=20
than I should. I'll try to change my personal usage habit, and will
make sure it shows up in future articles.

=20
Thanks,
=20
James Britt
=20
--
=20
http://www.ruby-doc.org - The Ruby Documentation Site
http://www.rubyxml.com - News, Articles, and Listings for Ruby & XML
http://www.rubystuff.com - The Ruby Store for Ruby Stuff
http://www.jamesbritt.com - Playing with Better Toys
=20
=20

--=20
thanks,
-pate

 

[gabriele renzi]

pat eyler ha scritto:

Yeah, out of scope for this one, but it sounds like an interesting problem
to write about. I think mock objects are the right answer.

I'm waiting for it

For a small amount of data, using the DATA pseudofile was easier
(keeping everything together), but as r43 has grown, I'm getting ready to
split it out into a separate file.

I see, thanks for the answer

 

[Brian Schröder]

Sorry for posting about my own article, but I'm interested in feedback,
recommendations for future topics, etc. IBM has just published an
article I wrote about doing test first development with Ruby:
=20
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-os-ruby1-i.html
=20
(sorry, you need to sign in (free account) to read it).
=20
I've got an opportunity to do some more writing for them (how much
more depends on how well received/popular the articles are), and I'd
love to get some feedback from the community about what kinds of
Ruby things I should be sending their way.
=20
--
thanks,
-pate
-------------------------
We are often unable to tell people what they need to know, because
they want to know something else, and would therefore only
misunderstand what we said
- the Raven (George MacDonald, Lilith)
=20
=20

Just started with your article, and I wonder why you build a
constructor that tests for object classes, why not simply call .to_s
on the argument?

class T
attr_reader :key

def initialize(key)
@key =3D key.to_s
end
en

[T.new(1).key, T.new("1").key, T.new([1]).key] =3D> ["1", "1", "1"]

best regards,

Brian

--=20
http://ruby.brian-schroeder.de/

Stringed instrument chords: http://chordlist.brian-schroeder.de/

 

[pat eyler]

Just started with your article, and I wonder why you build a
constructor that tests for object classes, why not simply call .to_s
on the argument?

I wrote it that way to create some (artificial, but easy to see)=20
boundary conditions for the article, this test doesn't actually=20
show up in the released versions of r43. It would have been
better to be able to verify the format of the id strings, but I
wasn't able to find that kind of information about them.

Actually testing it the way I did was a bit of a stretch. In the case=20
of the test key '1234' you could have a Numeric, but the real keys=20
all seem to be alphanumeric. It's certainly possible to create an
Array that would be stringified into a valid key as well, e.g.
["1", "2", "3", "4"]. =20

=20
class T
attr_reader :key
=20
def initialize(key)
@key =3D key.to_s
end
en
=20
[T.new(1).key, T.new("1").key, T.new([1]).key] =3D> ["1", "1", "1"]
=20
best regards,
=20
Brian
=20
--
http://ruby.brian-schroeder.de/
=20
Stringed instrument chords: http://chordlist.brian-schroeder.de/
=20
=20

--=20
thanks,
-pate

 

[Brian Schröder]

Just started with your article, and I wonder why you build a
constructor that tests for object classes, why not simply call .to_s
on the argument?

=20
I wrote it that way to create some (artificial, but easy to see)
boundary conditions for the article, this test doesn't actually
show up in the released versions of r43. It would have been
better to be able to verify the format of the id strings, but I
wasn't able to find that kind of information about them.
=20
Actually testing it the way I did was a bit of a stretch. In the case
of the test key '1234' you could have a Numeric, but the real keys
all seem to be alphanumeric. It's certainly possible to create an
Array that would be stringified into a valid key as well, e.g.
["1", "2", "3", "4"].
=20

I understand your motivation, but I think it is showing something that
I would rate as ugly ruby code to the world. If you really want a
string, you could have used to_str.

Please don't feel offended. I'm not even maintaining a library and
have until now never managed to really develop something test first,
let alone write an article and get it published. I feel that ugly
maybe is a bit too strong a word, but I can't find anything more
subtle.

I think it is important to show good ruby style in articles, and
ducktyping is one part of good style.

best regards,

Brian Schr=F6der

--=20
http://ruby.brian-schroeder.de/

Stringed instrument chords: http://chordlist.brian-schroeder.de/

 

[James Britt]

I wrote it that way to create some (artificial, but easy to see)
boundary conditions for the article, this test doesn't actually
show up in the released versions of r43. It would have been
better to be able to verify the format of the id strings, but I
wasn't able to find that kind of information about them.

My own experience in writing abut Ruby, especially in the common case
where the audience is largely unfamiliar with Ruby, is that practices
and procedures tend to get a bit skewed for reason of discourse.

Code is often not as compact is a it might otherwise be because that
tends to require more background explanation. It's also hard to create
good demo cases, to find the balance between a compelling problem and a
7-page discussion limit.

Has anybody collected tips and guidelines for writing about Ruby? It
would be good to see more Ruby articles in high profile places (i.e.
sites outside the Ruby community circle, or in widely-circulated
magazines such as Linux Journal), but I wonder if people with good ideas
and useful knowledge hold off because they don't know where to start or
how to construct a well-organized, (reasonably) self-contained article.

James Britt

 

[pat eyler]

I understand your motivation, but I think it is showing something that
I would rate as ugly ruby code to the world. If you really want a
string, you could have used to_str.
=20
Please don't feel offended.=20

No worries. I have thick skin.

I'm not even maintaining a library and
have until now never managed to really develop something test first,
let alone write an article and get it published. I feel that ugly
maybe is a bit too strong a word, but I can't find anything more
subtle.

Inelegant? It's a valid point, but as James Britt points out in a
new (related) thread, it's an fine line between trying to make a=20
point and striving for elegant code. I'll tell you what, I'd be happy
to take on reviewers for upcoming articles. Contact me offline
if you have an interest in helping refine code or prose.

=20
I think it is important to show good ruby style in articles, and
ducktyping is one part of good style.
=20
best regards,
=20
Brian Schr=F6der
=20
--
http://ruby.brian-schroeder.de/
=20
Stringed instrument chords: http://chordlist.brian-schroeder.de/
=20
=20

--=20
thanks,
-pate

 

[pat eyler]

My own experience in writing abut Ruby, especially in the common case
where the audience is largely unfamiliar with Ruby, is that practices
and procedures tend to get a bit skewed for reason of discourse.
=20
Code is often not as compact is a it might otherwise be because that
tends to require more background explanation. It's also hard to create
good demo cases, to find the balance between a compelling problem and a
7-page discussion limit.
=20
Has anybody collected tips and guidelines for writing about Ruby? It
would be good to see more Ruby articles in high profile places (i.e.
sites outside the Ruby community circle, or in widely-circulated
magazines such as Linux Journal), but I wonder if people with good ideas
and useful knowledge hold off because they don't know where to start or
how to construct a well-organized, (reasonably) self-contained article.

I'm also very interested in this, as (I think) are several other people. I=
=20
don't want to bore the rest of the list though. Would there be any interes=
t
starting a list for Ruby related 'riting where we could collect tips and=20
guidelines, pass along leads/prospects, etc.?

=20
James Britt
=20
=20

--=20
thanks,
-pate

 

[gabriele renzi]

pat eyler ha scritto:

I'm also very interested in this, as (I think) are several other people. I
don't want to bore the rest of the list though. Would there be any interest
starting a list for Ruby related 'riting where we could collect tips and
guidelines, pass along leads/prospects, etc.?

is'nt this the maybe this is something that should go into the "Why
Ruby" stuff[1]?

[1]http://rubyforge.org/projects/whyruby/

 

[James Britt]

I'm also very interested in this, as (I think) are several other people. I
don't want to bore the rest of the list though. Would there be any interest
starting a list for Ruby related 'riting where we could collect tips and
guidelines, pass along leads/prospects, etc.?

I've started a page on RubyGarden:

http://www.rubygarden.com/ruby?WritingAboutRuby



James
--

http://www.ruby-doc.org - The Ruby Documentation Site
http://www.rubyxml.com - News, Articles, and Listings for Ruby & XML
http://www.rubystuff.com - The Ruby Store for Ruby Stuff
http://www.jamesbritt.com - Playing with Better Toys

 

[Ghislain Mary]

Hi,

pat eyler a écrit :

Sorry for posting about my own article, but I'm interested in feedback,
recommendations for future topics, etc. IBM has just published an
article I wrote about doing test first development with Ruby:

http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/edu/os-dw-os-ruby1-i.html

(sorry, you need to sign in (free account) to read it).


I've got an opportunity to do some more writing for them (how much
more depends on how well received/popular the articles are), and I'd
love to get some feedback from the community about what kinds of
Ruby things I should be sending their way.

Sorry for the late reply but I didn't have the time to read this article
before today.

First, I'd like to say that I found this article very interesting and
well written (easily understable by a newbie I think).

But I have a question. The article is entitled 'Test-first programming
with Ruby' but when talking about ZenTest you tell that it "can also
work in reverse, loading a test suite and writing code stubs for every
test" which corresponds to what this is all about. However the examples
you are showing after that are examples to go from code to tests. Why
didn't you show how to go from tests to code using ZenTest?

Ghislain

 

[pat eyler]

Hi,
=20
Sorry for the late reply but I didn't have the time to read this article
before today.

No problems, feedback is always good.

=20
First, I'd like to say that I found this article very interesting and
well written (easily understable by a newbie I think).
=20

Good, that's my target.

But I have a question. The article is entitled 'Test-first programming
with Ruby' but when talking about ZenTest you tell that it "can also
work in reverse, loading a test suite and writing code stubs for every
test" which corresponds to what this is all about. However the examples
you are showing after that are examples to go from code to tests. Why
didn't you show how to go from tests to code using ZenTest?
=20

I did, perhaps it didn't show up very well:



Letting ZenTest write code stubs for you works the same way. If you=20
were to run the tool against your existing ts_r43.rb like=20
'ZenTest.rb ts_r43.rb', it would generate the output shown here:

1 class R43

2 def key
3 raise NotImplementedError, 'Need to write key'
4 end

5 def echo
6 raise NotImplementedError, 'Need to write echo'
7 end

8 end
=20
Since all that ZenTest is writing for you are code stubs (which look
a *lot* like test stubs) I probably need to be more explicit about what's
going on.=20

Ghislain
=20
=20

--=20
thanks,
-pate