Ruby
There are little gems all around us that can hold glimmers of inspiration.
~ Richelle Mead
Back in the early 2000s (specifically in 2006) I just had come back from a multi-year gig in Lagos, Nigeria. I had been working on a large-ish codebase for a telecom provider, creating their entire Value Added Services offering services. This was done in the Java Programming Language.
I was settling into my old life (settling into Europe after a few years in Africa takes time) and decided to go to a local programming book store on a Saturday morning with a friend (at the time we had book stores where you could go and skim over books before buying them; in fact they still exist).
I came across a book called Programming in Ruby, from The Pragmatic Bookshelf. Curious as I was, I bought it and took it home with me. I devoured most of the book on that Saturday morning. How could a language be this expressive?
Next thing I did was rewrite the heart of the system I had built in my previous gig (the VAS server). It took me about half a day to have a not-so-badly-performing version of the application. And the best part of it, I was giggling with joy all the way.
Instant love!
Since that fun and energising day back in 2006 I’ve been using Ruby for many a project.
Recently I was pondering about the old Ruby user groups I used to enjoy while living in London. Are there any Ruby user groups here in Valencia (Spain)?
I found it, but it was completely innactive. Thankfully they still had a workig slack channel and to my surprise there was renewed energy amongst the rubyists of the group (thanks to the recent Ruby Europe initiative).
We talked, we schemed, we planned and we decided to bring it all back to live.
I rolled up my sleeves and re-designed the website to look… well, to look almost identical to the official Ruby website. And after some back and forth we are live!
Go check out the new and shiny Valencia.rb site, and if you are around town come and join us!
Now, this wouldn’t be a “Enrique” blog post if I hadn’t anything on offer… 😉
If you need a fresh set of eyes on your Ruby (or Ruby on Rails) codebase I’ll be happy to jump in and help you and your team tackle your most pressing challenges to be able to move with effortless grace again.
Book your free consultation today and let’s tackle your challenges head on !