Resources
Our Resources section is here to provide developers with the tools they need to do their job better. In this section you'll find various articles and guides for various topics.
Presentations
Creating and Deploying Static Sites with Hugo
Most web sites don’t have data that changes, so why power them with a database and take the performance hit? In this talk we’ll explore static site generation using Hugo, an open-source static site generator. You’ll learn how to make a master layout for all pages, and how to use Markdown to create your content pages quickly. Then we’ll explore how to deploy the site we made to production. We’ll automate the entire process. When you’re done, you’ll be able to build and deploy static web sites quickly with minimal tooling.
Realtime Web Apps with Elixir and Phoenix
Elixir and Phoenix are a winning combination when it comes to creating realtime web applications.
Getting Started Contributing To Open Source
Learn to contribute to open source projects, or start your own!
Rethink Frontend Development With Elm
Come explore Elm, a functional programming language for making web things. Elm aims to solve some of the same problems that Ember, React, and Angular 2 solve, but in a radically different way. Strong and static typing ensures that data you pass around in your apps really is what you think it is. A simple and tried-and-true architecture makes it easy to understand, and great tooling makes it fun to use.
Grunt From The Ground Up
Modern web development requires managing CSS, JavaScript, HTML, and other assets, and things can get out of hand quickly. Grunt has become the standard for managing all of the tasks related to modern development, from concatenating files to minifying files for production. Unfortunately, most documentation on the Web focuses on how to cut and paste configuration files together. That’s not very helpful. In this talk you'll learn how to use Grunt for a variety of purposes as we explore how it all works. We’ll cover how to develop Grunt tasks, how to work with files, how Multitasks work, and how to use Grunt and its plugin system to manage the development of a single page app that uses CoffeeScript, Sass, and Angular. When we’re done you’ll know exactly how Grunt works so you can use it on your own projects right away.
Testing Client-side Code with Jasmine and CoffeeScript
My Twin Cities Code Camp talk covers how to develop client-side code test-first with Jasmine and CoffeeScript.
FUD-Free Accessibility for Web Developers - Also, Cake.
Responsive Web Design
Web Development with CoffeeScript and Sass
Twin Cities Code Camp 11 talk.
Building A Gem From Scratch
If you've ever looked into how to create Gems, you've probably seen a bunch of ways to do that. Project generators like Hoe, Jeweler, and the like offer some nice ways to get started, but they may often be overkill for many projects. If you're just starting out, why not learn to do it from scratch? In this talk, we'll create our own gem from scratch, using only things that are provided by Ruby, its standard library, and RubyGems to craft a simple gem. You'll learn how to set up a project, how to write and run tests, how to use Rake to quickly build the gem, and even how to create a gem that installs an executable command-line program.
Intro To Advanced Ruby
Intro talks never let you learn about the things that make a language truly cool. In this talk we'll discover how advanced features of Ruby help us write cleaner more modular code.
Turning Passion Into Words
HTML5 and CSS3 Today
See where HTML5 and CSS3 are today and how you can use them in your projects.
Web Development With Ruby - From Simple To Complex
Beyond the massive hype of Ruby on Rails, there's an amazing world of frameworks, DSLs, and libraries that make the Ruby language a compelling choice when working on the web. In this talk, you'll get a chance to see how to use Ruby to quickly build a static web site, create complex stylesheets with ease, build a simple web service, crete a simple Websocket server, and test your existing applications. Finally, you'll see a few of the ways Rails really can make developing complex applications easier, from advanced database querying to rendering views in multiple formats.
Stop Reinventing The Wheel - The Ruby Standard Library
My talk from Ruby Hoedown MMX. We talked about the Ruby standard library and how sometimes we reinvent things when we have perfectly good tools waiting for us to use them.
Testing Your Sites In English with Cucumber
Chippewa Valley Code Camp slides on my Cucumber talk
Intro to Ruby
Chippew Valley Code Camp 2009 talk. Very similar to the slides from Twin Cities Code Camp 7.
Intro to Ruby - Twin Cities Code Camp 7
Slides from my "Introduction to Ruby" talk at Twin Cities Code Camp 7 on 10/24/2009
Make GUI Apps with Shoes
Presentation for the October 1 ECRuby Open House. A shorter version of the Twin Cities Code Camp IV slideshow with updated content.
The Why Of Ruby
Simple introduction to Ruby and what it can do for you, not just technically, but professionally. Promotional presentation for our user group.
Books
Exercises For Programmers
When you write software, you need to be at the top of your game. Great programmers practice to keep their skills sharp. Get sharp and stay sharp with more than fifty practice exercises rooted in real-world scenarios. If you’re a new programmer, these challenges will help you learn what you need to break into the field, and if you’re a seasoned pro, you can use these exercises to learn that hot new language for your next gig.
Web Development Recipe, Second Edition
Modern web development is so much more than just HTML and CSS with a little JavaScript mixed in. People want faster, more usable interfaces that work on multiple devices, and you need the latest tools and techniques to make that happen. This book gives you over 40 concise solutions to today’s web development problems, and introduces new solutions that will expand your skill set – proven, practical advice from authors who use these tools and techniques every day. In this completely updated edition, you’ll find innovative new techniques and workflows, as well as reworked solutions that take advantage of new developments.
Automate With Grunt
Grunt is everywhere. JavaScript projects from jQuery to Twitter Bootstrap use Grunt to convert code, run tests, and produce distributions for production. It’s a build tool in the spirit of Make and Rake, but written with modern apps in mind. This book gets you up to speed with Grunt using practical hands-on examples, so you can wrangle your projects with ease. You’ll learn how to create and maintain tasks and project builds, and automate your workflow with plugins and custom tasks.
HTML5 and CSS3: Second Edition
HTML5 and CSS3 are the future of web development, but you don’t have to wait to start using them. Even though the specification is still in development, many modern browsers and mobile devices already support HTML5 and CSS3. This book gets you up to speed on the new HTML5 elements and CSS3 features you can use right now, and backwards compatible solutions ensure that you don’t leave users of older browsers behind.
tmux - Productive Mouse Free Development
Your mouse is slowing you down. The time you spend context switching between your editor and your consoles eats away at your productivity. Take control of your environment with tmux, a terminal multiplexer that you can tailor to your workflow. Learn how to customize, script, and leverage tmux’s unique abilities and keep your fingers on your keyboard’s home row.
Web Development Recipes
Modern web development takes more than just HTML and CSS with a little JavaScript mixed in. Clients want more responsive sites with faster interfaces that work on multiple devices, and you need the latest tools and techniques to make that happen. This book gives you more than 40 concise, tried-and-true solutions to today’s web development problems, and introduces new workflows that will expand your skillset.
Web Design For Developers
Web Design for Developers will show you how to make your web-based application look professionally designed. We’ll help you learn how to pick the right colors and fonts, avoid costly interface and accessibility mistakes—your application will really come alive. We’ll also walk you through some common Photoshop and CSS techniques and work through a web site redesign, taking a new design from concept all the way to implementation.
Deploying Rails Applications
Until now, the information you needed to deploy a Ruby on Rails application in a production environment has been fragmented and contradictory. This book changes all of that by providing consistent, levelheaded advice you can trust. You’ll get the inside angle from those that have built, deployed, and maintained some of the largest Rails apps in production, anywhere.
Rails On Windows
It's no secret that the entire Ruby on Rails core team uses OS X as their preferred development environment. Because of this, it is very easy to find authoritative information on the web about using Rails on OS X. But the truth is that Windows developers using Rails probably outnumber those using other platforms. A Windows development environment can be just as productive as any other platform.
Articles
Cooking With Ruby On Rails
This fast-paced tutorial helps you get acquainted with the Ruby on Rails framework.