Google App Engine Experiments

07. January 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Me, Programming, Ruby, Web/Tech, Weblogs

It seems to be the done thing these days to learn how to use Google App Engine (and thus Python) within a couple of hours and then hack out a simple web application to prove how easy it is.

So with the missus out of town tonight, I'm staying out of trouble by doing just that. I've run through the getting started tutorial, which is a delight I have to say, especially because it's so darned simple to get going on Mac OS X. Python is already installed and there's a neat app to download from Google which installs the app engine SDK bits and puts a nice GUI front end on it for you to fire up the local test environment and various other handy things, as well as installing the command line tools if you prefer them. Start up TextMate or any other editor of your choice and you're away!

You'll have to take my word for it though, because I'm tired and won't get onto writing my own app tonight.

Footnote: Python seems OK, but so far I prefer Ruby, though they seem to share a lot in common.

Installing Ruby 1.9 on Mac OS X

15. September 2008 · 3 comments · Categories: Mac, Programming, Ruby, Web/Tech

I’ve been happily beavering away with the stock install of 1.8.6 on Mac OS X 10.5, but it seemed like everyone was moving on to Ruby 1.9 so I thought I’d make the leap. Was it a good idea? More on that later, but first here’s how I successfully installed it on my MacBook, based on instructions from http://hivelogic.com/articles/2007/02/ruby-rails-mongrel-mysql-osx. That page has a good detailed commentary of what’s going on, but didn’t actually work correctly for me, perhaps because of recent changes to the code in question. My version is short and sweet too, for those that either don’t care for the whys and wherefores, or find the command lines self-documenting enough.

Ruby 1.9 Install Instructions

Note: following these instructions will install new ruby and irb binaries in /usr/local/bin. The old system versions will still exist in /usr/bin/, but the new ones will take precedence by virtue of the PATH setup noted below.

  1. Ensure the following is at end of your ~/.bash_login:
    export PATH=”/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/mysql/bin:$PATH”

  2. Reload that modified file so your environment picks it up (or just open a new terminal):
    > source ~/.bash_login

  3. Download and install libreadline.dylib as follows:
    > curl -O ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/readline/readline-5.1.tar.gz
    > tar xzvf readline-5.1.tar.gz
    > cd readline-5.1
    > ./configure –prefix=/usr/local
    > make CPPFLAGS=-DNEED_EXTERN_PC SHOBJ_LDFLAGS=-dynamiclib
    > sudo make install

  4. Download and install latest Ruby 1.9 (or instead of living on the bleeding edge, download a tar of a stable source tree from http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/downloads/ in place of the first step below):
    > svn co http://svn.ruby-lang.org/repos/ruby/trunk ruby_trunk
    > cd ruby_trunk
    > autoconf
    > ./configure –prefix=/usr/local –enable-pthread –with-readline-dir=/usr/local –enable-shared
    > make
    > sudo make install

That’s it! Now assuming your PATH is setup as above, ruby –version should report 1.9. If not, check that ‘which ruby’ reports /usr/local/bin/ruby.

So What Next?

What next indeed! I thought I’d try and run a simple ruby app of mine to see if it worked. It didn’t, but that’s because the new ruby install keeps its gems in a different location and its cupboard was bare. I set out to reinstall the gems I needed, but I ran into some problems. Some gems just won’t install, because they have C extensions that are incompatible with Ruby 1.9 so they fail to compile during gem install. Others installed fine but then failed at runtime due to Ruby compatibility issues. There’s a great page with the major porting tips at http://boga.wordpress.com/2008/04/15/ruby-19-porting-notes/ which helped me fix most of the Ruby issues. Here’s a breakdown of my struggles:

  • Ramaze worked great as it’s been 1.9 compatible for ages.
  • The mysql gem only installed successfully by downloading the 2.8pre4 code from http://tmtm.org/downloads/mysql/ruby/ and following the install instructions.
  • The tens of gems that constitute DataMapper (my current ORM of choice) struggled. I was able to make simple Ruby changes to fix many bits, but I ran into real issues getting the database adapter gems do_mysql and do_sqlite3 to install as their C extensions are incompatible.
  • I don’t think my own code ever really got to run, so I have no idea if it’s good or not. I suspect it’s fine or requires minimal Ruby mods.

So I ran out of time and gave up as I’ve never gotten into the C extension side of things before and didn’t fancy starting. Perhaps I’d be able to sort it out if I put the time and effort in.

Overall it’s shown me that Ruby 1.9 is only worth the effort if all the gems you require are already compatible. I kind of already knew that before I embarked on this mission, but hoped that I’d be pleasantly surprised, or be able to do the porting myself with minimal effort. I was a bit disappointed to find things lagging behind as I assumed the Ruby community were eager technologists always at the forefront of each new thing! Maybe people are too busy coding solutions to their real world problems to bother with 1.9 until it’s declared official (late 2008 at last mention). I also get the impression they’ve become jaded with the extremely long gestation period for this release. Maybe I’ll try 1.8.7. One step at a time.

Programming languages: Ruby – why would I bother?

13. September 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Programming, Web/Tech

Because Ruby is capable, quick to write, quick to get running and a joy to use!

I’ve got a reasonably long and varied history of programming in many languages, and not just mainstream ones, but I’m mostly looking at Java and its ilk as my point of comparison here. So, here’s why Ruby is often a superior choice for me:

  • At least one .rb file and a Ruby interpreter is all you need. Edit code then run immediately. No compilation into class files then building into a jar/war/ear. But no biggie you say, my IDE hides all that building and I just edit then run with my Java code. Sure, but once your application gets big that build step is still a non-zero hit: for a big Java web app it might take a minute or more to build the eventual ear.

  • And then there’s the two minutes waiting for your Java web app to deploy as JBoss (or Java EE app server of your choice) grinds into action. Finally, three minutes after you edited the code you’re able to see the results in the browser! I use Ramaze for my Ruby web apps, which starts up in seconds, even for a big app. But more importantly, it reloads modified files at runtime so I don’t have to re-deploy to see the results of my actions. Zero wait between edit and test. The difference this makes when you’re hammering away at a problem is colossal.

  • Ruby is neat as a language, generally requiring less code to solve any given problem whilst still being readable. For a start, an endless procession of Java getters and setters can be replaced with attr_accessor :first_name, :last_name, :title. And that’s just one trivial example of Ruby goodness.

  • Ruby is a joy to use. This may be the single most important point here. If you’ve got to use it all day, you’ll be far more productive if you’re happy about it. When you lose track of time because you’re engrossed in what you’re doing, and making speedy progress too, you’re onto a winner.

Ruby’s not perfect (if you think you’ve found the perfect programming language I’ve got a bridge you might want to buy) but it’s a relatively young language and improving quickly right now. For me it’s way up there as the best available compromise for many types of projects. If nothing else, it’s been the single most interesting and enjoyable language to learn, having dealt with many others before. If you’re interested in learning Ruby, take a look at my review of The Ruby Programming Language – a very decent book to explain it all to you.

Book Review: The Ruby Programming Language

13. September 2008 · Write a comment · Categories: Books, Programming, Web/Tech

This definitive tome came out at just the right time for me, as I was looking to buy a Ruby reference, and this was bang up to date for 1.8.6 and 1.9 and co-written by Matz himself, along with David Flanagan. Yukihiro ‘Matz’ Matsumoto is the main man behind Ruby, so he ought to know what’s what.

I was initially surprised to find that the book didn’t conform to the ‘..in a Nutshell’ style of programming language reference book with which I’m most familiar. It doesn’t comprise endless chapters of API reference laid out in a stiffly templated fashion – it is much more prosaic, using the vast majority of its pages to explain Ruby’s syntax and workings in a narrative manner with lashings of ad hoc examples. On reflection this makes sense as Ruby is a multi-faceted beast with much intrigue lying in its extensive syntax and dynamic nature. Hence a lot of attention is paid to the manner in which it is loaded and interpreted at run time, a full understanding of which is vital to being a great Ruby programmer.

There are some chapters at the end which deal with some of the basic API stuff (String, Array, Hash etc.) but these take the form of commentary and neat examples to demonstrate each method available in a compact but complete manner.

Overall I found it to be well written and a joy to read. I didn’t skip the bits I thought I knew and came away much the wiser for it. I’ve pretty much read it cover to cover, as well as using it to look things up when I wasn’t sure – and I’d recommend anyone else do the same.

The only slight let-down is the much hyped chapter head drawings by why the lucky stiff, the unusually named Ruby guru, celebrity and wacky artist. I can’t help feel that they were included so as to be able to put his name on the cover. I also suspect that the publishers have let why down rather badly with their handling of his artwork – reproducing his pencil drawings extremely unsympathetically. If that’s all I can find to complain about though, it must be a pretty decent book, and it certainly is. Buy one today!

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