Ruby DCamp Day One

This is really a non-geo post, but I currently do a lot of geo-related programming in Ruby.

Ruby DCamp is the first unconference/barcamp I’ve attended where we actually camped. I’ve been to barcamps such as WhereCamp that had a history of camping, but happened to be unable to the year I attended. So far I think hosting the event in a part has been brilliant. There has been wireless access, but since it is provided by peoples’ broadband cards the request has been to be kind.

I think this has lead to people talking to each other even more than some other events I’ve attended. As a relatively new rubyist I’ve learned a ton of techniques to try and tools to checkout. One session was pair programming to practice writing tests. The application we started to write was Greed, a relatively simple dice game. I think after going through that process I now could sit down with no code written and begin by writing tests instead of hacking some code out and then attempting to write tests in order to test it. What was key for me was discussing things with someone and having them direct me in what tests we should write.

My favorite gem today was Jeweler, when I’ve written gems up to this point I’ve created the gemspec and the file structure myself. It never occurred to me to find a “rails like” tool to do that for me. Jeweler even integrates instantly with Github and can set-up your repository for you. We walked through the creation of a simple gem to learn the required commands. It all starts with “jeweler your_gem_name” and then your gem structure is created and you just fill in the details.

One thought I had today was I would love to see a WhereCamp out in a park someday. I know that in the past there has been camping on corporate headquarters, but there is something cool about the park vibe. Today I could imagine people mapping the various park trails for OSM for example. Someday I would like to have a WhereCamp in Prince William Park. There is nothing wrong with Bull Run Park, but Prince William has huge campgrounds with industrial kitchens and dining halls so it would allow for projectors and maybe ease in feeding a larger group.

So far this has been a great event and can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.