Aug 27: Rails 101: Persistence Night

Posted by Gray Herter Fri, 21 Aug 2009 16:09:00 GMT

Title: Rails 101: Persistence Night

When: Aug 27, 6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Register: Click here to register.

Abstract: We have had several requests for some beginner topics lately, so I figured it was time for another Newbie event. This time we will concentrate on Rails persistence. We have three talks arranged. Additional short Rails persistence-related topics are welcomed if you want to propose one. It doesn't have to be strictly about the ActiveRecord.

First, Gray Herter will demonstrate creating a small, but complete and (relatively) realistic database-backed domain model using ActiveRecord.

Second, for an intermediate topic, Arild Shirazi will present an ActiveRecord replacement framework he recently created to wrap a legacy Java-based persistence component. It includes most of the expected ActiveRecord methods providing saves, finds, and validations.

And third, David Keener will present "Rails Tips and Best Practices," a compendium of Rails beginner tips, covering some query optimizations, some migration tactics, a few typical gotchas to watch out for, etc.

Any short topic that you think might pique the interest of someone curious about Rails persistence is fair game.

And don't forget to bring your Rails Newbie friends.

Bios: Gray Herter is a Project Manager leading a JRuby on Rails project for the US State Dept supporting international export control. Gray has worked with Rails since 2007, and also produces the RubyNation conference. Arild Shirazi is a software engineer at CodeSherpas with a background in Java EE and Rails, and former protein biochemist. David Keener speaks frequently at the NovaRUG. He is currently working on a Rails project for the US State Dept supporting video-based contests.

Where:

FGM, Inc
12021 Sunset Hills Rd, Suite 400
Reston, VA 20175

Call 703 727-1307 to get in (the outside door is locked after 6 PM).

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July 15: Search using Sphinx and Thinking Sphinx, lessons learned by Christophe Lucas

Posted by Gray Herter Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:37:00 GMT

Title: Search using Sphinx and Thinking Sphinx, Lessons Learned

Register: Click me to register!

Food: Pizza and sodas will be provided.

Time: Weds July 15, 6:30 PM - 9 PM.

Note: Prior to the main talk, Charles Calvert will give a brief overview of the Independent Computer Consultants Association and its usefulness as a resource for both consultants and those hiring consultants.

Description: We all experienced how easy it is to get started with Sphinx and Thinking Sphinx but it becomes complex very quickly with sophisticated data models. We will talk about the folowing topics:

  • Indexing through has_many relationships using multi-value attributes and the limitations of that solution.
  • Search filters
  • Geolocation search
  • Cross index search
  • Cross model search

The goal of this presentation and discussion is to give and illustrate simple code solutions to solve common search problems using Sphinx and Thinking Sphinx.

Speaker: Christophe Lucas is currently the lead software engineer at VisualCV, Inc. Prior to VisualCV, he worked at Revolution Health Group, LLC, designing and developing web applications using the Ruby on Rails framework. He also developed desktop applications using Java at the National Institute of Standards and Technology as a guest researcher and at Meta Integration Technology. He is a firm believer in the Manifesto for Agile Software Development and eXtreme Programming best practices.

Location:

FGM HQ,
12021 Sunset Hills Rd, Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190
Call 703 727-1307 (Gray) to get in.

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May 14: Modeling Workflow in Ruby on Rails by David Bock

Posted by Gray Herter Tue, 12 May 2009 00:08:00 GMT

Title: Modeling Workflow in Ruby on Rails

Register: http://novarugworkflow.eventbrite.com/

Food: Pizza and sodas will be provided.

Time: 6:30 PM - 9 PM.

Description: "Workflow" is a generic concept that can mean different things to different people – a book author is going to think of workflow a lot differently than a photographer processing images. Whether you are implementing a simple shopping cart or building a complex system to track the review of legal documents, there are abstract concepts of states, transitions, actions, actors, assignments, tasking, concurrency, sequences, and dependencies we can use.

Come learn about tools and techniques for implementing workflow concepts in Ruby and Rails. From user stories with `shoulda', through state machines, to complete workflow engines like OpenWFEru, this is a rich space with a lot to learn.

Speaker: David Bock is a founder and principal at CodeSherpas, a software engineering consultancy in the Northern Virginia area. Prior to falling in love with Ruby, Mr. Bock spent many years writing custom workflow solutions in Java for the U.S. State Department. His work in this space protects the borders of many countries from hazardous imports and exports, and was instrumental in Poland meeting some reporting obligations for entry into NATO.

Sponsor:

Location:

FGM HQ,
12021 Sunset Hills Rd, Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190
Call 703 727-1307 (Gray) to get in.

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Apr 15: Dave Thomas and Chad Fowler show some code

Posted by Gray Herter Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:09:00 GMT

The next meeting of the NovaRUG will be held Wednesday, Apr 15th at the FGM headquarters from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. The presentation will start at 7 PM.

Register: Register Here to RSVP. Please make sure to register since this should generate a lot of interest. I will make sure the HVAC is left on this year!

Topic: We don't know, but with Chad Fowler and Dave Thomas presenting it will be worth your while to attend. I heard that they plan to examine some code in detail.

Speakers: Dave Thomas and Chad Fowler, the famous authors of the Pickaxe Ruby book that we all have on our desk. They are also teaching an upcoming Rails class in Reston, April 15-17.

Sponsors: Food and drink will be provided starting at 6:30, pizza courtesy of CodeSherpas.

Sodas (and the room) from FGM, as usual.

Cookies and brownies from RubyNation (hey, we don't have to buy pizza this time!).

Jetbrains: We will also give out a Jetbrains license, good for ReSharper Personal License, dotTrace Personal License, IntelliJ IDEA Personal License, TeamCity Build Agent (their Continuous Integration and Build Server), or RubyMine (new Ruby IDE).

Location:
FGM, Inc.
12021 Sunset Hills Road
Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190

Ph.: Call 703.727.1307 (Gray) and someone will let you in to the building.

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Mar 31: Acceptance Testing Toolbox by Bryan Liles

Posted by Gray Herter Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:04:00 GMT

The next meeting of the NovaRUG will be held Tuesday, Mar 31st at the FGM headquarters from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided starting at 6:30. The presentation will start at 7 PM.

Register Here (just take the poll so we know how much pizza to buy):

Topic: Bryan will review his toolbox for acceptance testing Ruby web applications. This presentation will be a demonstration of how to get the most out of your acceptance tests. Bryan will talk about Cucumber, Webrat, Webrat with Cucumber, Integrity, his environment and then share a list of other resources.

We have some T-shirts to give out (Radrails/RubyNation), and some Radrails books, too.

Speaker: "Only write code to make your tests pass." A simple statement for many, but a way of life for Bryan Liles. Writing tests and blogging, speaking, and demonstrating everything associated is a passion that Bryan expends way too much time evangelizing. Bryan started his professional life as a Unix admin and has slowly realized that writing code was his passion, so now he spends all his time hacking on the latest and greatest technologies.

Location:
FGM, Inc.
12021 Sunset Hills Road
Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190

Ph.: Call 703.727.1307 (Gray) and someone will let you in to the building.

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Feb 18: Learning jQuery UI by Richard D. Worth

Posted by Gray Herter Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:54:00 GMT

Please register:Register for Learning jQuery (this event is cross listed with the NovaJUG because jQuery applies to both groups. And both have had there most recent meetings cancelled. Plus jQuery UI is really cool and everyone needs to hear about it!).

Built on top of jQuery, jQuery UI is a complete set of behaviors and components for building Rich Internet Applications. Drag-and-drop, resizing, sorting, selecting, dialogs, sliders, tabs, trees, grids, toolbars, menus, etc. Each component adheres to a consistent standard across API, design, behavior and theming, minimizing surprise and making learning all of them as easy as learning one. jQuery UI has full cross-browser support, is designed for easy customizing and extensibility, and is fully themable with a widget-ready CSS Framework.

Richard D. Worth is one of the lead developers of jQuery UI, a component framework built on top of jQuery, designed to make Rich Internet Applications as refreshingly simple as jQuery has made Ajax. Richard works at Fulcrum IT on Web services contracts, primarily for the government, and blogs at rdworth.org.

When: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 06:30 PM - 9:00 PM

Where:
FGM, Inc.
12021 Sunset Hills Road
Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190
Directions here

Ph.: 703.727.1307 and I (Gray) will let you in.

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CANCELED: Jan 28th: TATFT (Test All The Time) by Bryan Liles

Posted by Gray Herter Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:39:00 GMT

CANCELLED: The weather report for tomorrow isn't good, so we will try this one again later.

The next meeting of the NovaRUG will be held Wednesday, Jan 28th at the FGM headquarters from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided starting at 6:30. The presentation will start at 7 PM. WARNING: There might be the occasional use of the F word in this presentation (considering that is what the F in TATFT represents). So please bring your sense of humor and leave the kids at home.

Register Here (just take the poll so we know how much pizza to buy):

Topic:You've heard it a million times, "TATFT". So, how do you go from being someone who wants to test, to someone who actually tests all the time? Do you need a spiritual guide who can show you the intricacies of testing, and how it can make your code better? If so, you need "TATFT, the laymen's guide to getting it right the first time."

We have some T-shirts to give out (Radrails/RubyNation), and some Radrails books, too.

Speaker: "Only write code to make your tests pass." A simple statement for many, but a way of life for Bryan Liles. Writing tests and blogging, speaking, and demonstrating everything associated is a passion that Bryan expends way too much time evangelizing. Bryan started his professional life as a Unix admin and has slowly realized that writing code was his passion, so now he spends all his time hacking on the latest and greatest technologies.

Location:
FGM, Inc.
12021 Sunset Hills Road
Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190

Ph.: Call 703.727.1307 (Gray) and someone will let you in to the building.

2 comments

Dec 17: Peepcode's Git screencast moderated by Keith Bennett

Posted by Gray Herter Thu, 11 Dec 2008 23:05:00 GMT

The meeting will be held Wednesday, Dec 17th at the FGM headquarters (directions) from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided starting at 6:30. The presentation will start at 7 PM.

With the kind permission of Geoffrey Grosenbach, founder of Peepcode, Keith Bennett will be showing Peepcode's Git screencast. Here's some information from Wikipedia's article about Git:

Git is a free distributed revision control, or software source code management project with an emphasis on being fast. Git was initially created by Linus Torvalds for Linux kernel development.

Every Git working directory is a full-fledged repository with complete history and full revision tracking capabilities, not dependent on network access or a central server.

Several high-profile software projects now use Git for revision control[4], most notably the Linux kernel, Samba, X.org Server, Qt (toolkit), One Laptop per Child (OLPC) core development[5], Ruby on Rails web framework [6], VLC, Merb, Wine, SWI Prolog, DragonFly BSD and the Android mobile platform.

The screencast itself is an hour long, and we may interrupt it from time to time for questions, clarifications, etc.

Location:
FGM, Inc.
12021 Sunset Hills Road
Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190

Ph.: Call 703-728-5012 (Xandy) or 703-727-1307 (Gray) and someone will let you in to the building

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Nov 19: Ramaze: The Underrated Web Application Framework by Luc Castera

Posted by Gray Herter Fri, 14 Nov 2008 16:07:00 GMT

The meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov 19th at the FGM headquarters from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided starting at 6:30. The presentation will start at 7 PM.

Topic: Ramaze (http://ramaze.net) is a simple, light and modular open-source web application framework written in Ruby. Even though Ramaze hasn't been in the spotlight as much as Merb and Sinatra, it has a lot to offer:

  • Like Merb, it lets you select from a variety of ORMs and templating engines
  • Ramaze is developed in a BDD fashion with specs written in Bacon.
  • The documentation and examples from the site are very good and the code is easy to dig into.
  • The community is very friendly and helpful

This talk is an introduction to Ramaze and show why you should consider it for your next project.

We have some T-shirts to give out (Ramaze and Radrails), and some Radrails books, too.

Speaker: Luc Castera is a curious software engineer, always trying to learn new technologies and improve his skills. He is currently the lead-developer behind ShareMeme.com and has held positions at Verizon, GE, and Delphi Electronics. He has used many different languages and platforms such as Java, Tcl/Tk, C, Ruby, and C#/.NET throughout his career. He discovered Ruby two years ago and has been a big fan ever since.

Luc received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering at the University of Virginia before attending Georgia Tech to obtain his Masters degree in the same field. Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, he now lives in the DC Metropolitan area.

Location:
FGM, Inc.
12021 Sunset Hills Road
Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190

Ph.: Call 703.728.5012 (Xandy) or 703.727.1307 (Gray) and someone will let you in to the building

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Oct 16: Rush! and Cucumber!

Posted by Gray Herter Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:32:00 GMT

No, it is not a night of progressive Canadian rock music! It's two great ruby talks, one on the rush shell by Nicholas Schlueter and another on cucumber, a BDD framework, by Chris Flipse.

RSVP with the pizza poll (whether you want pizza or not), so we know how much to get and how many are coming.

rush (http://rush.heroku.com/) as defined by the website is a replacement for the unix shell (bash, zsh, etc) which uses pure Ruby syntax. Grep through files, find and kill processes, copy files - everything you do in the shell, now in Ruby.

In this talk you will learn 2 things.

First we will go over some rush basics. Like globbing, search and replace, naming files, and processes.

Second we will add rush to common tools, such as, Rake, Sake, Textmate, Capistrano, and Thor.

The Cucumber talk will be: "a bit of a talk about Cucumber, which will be the replacement for the story framework in rspec." by Chris Flipse. Stay tuned for more details as they arrive, or just show up and be surprised.

The meeting will be held Thursday, Oct 16th at the FGM headquarters from 6:30 PM to 9 PM. Pizza and soft drinks will be provided starting at 6:30. The presentations will start at 7 PM.

Here is the address:
FGM, Inc.
12021 Sunset Hills Road
Suite 400
Reston, VA 20190

Ph.: Call 703.728.5012 (Xandy) or 703.727.1307 (Gray) and someone will let you in to the building

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