RevDev

Bootcamping in Boston - #LaunchAcademy Summer 2015

[launcherovaira]

Adding Capybara-Webkit

As I write this, I'm currently trying to figure out how to write tests for my Google Maps API feature. Currently, I use Capybara for my feature tests, but Capybara doesn't support JavaScript, and so I had to find a driver that would. I was debating between Selenium and Capybara-Webkit, but decided on the latter, as I read that it's supposed to run faster than Selenium.

I'm using OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

My Installation Instructions:

Step 1 - Install QT & Compile Capybara-Webkit:

$ brew update $ brew install qt

Step 2 - Add capybara-webkit gem to Gemfile (under group :development, :test):

gem "capybara-webkit"

Step 3 - Bundle

Step 4 - Tell Capybara about Capybara-Webkit in your spec_helper.rb (inside RSpec.configure block)

Capybara.javascript_driver = :webkit

I highly suggest reading the following for futher information:

http://tutorials.jumpstartlab.com/topics/capybara/capybara_with_selenium_and_webkit.html

https://github.com/thoughtbot/capybara-webkit

https://github.com/thoughtbot/capybara-webkit/wiki/Installing-Qt-and-compiling-capybara-webkit

http://www.neotericdesign.com/blog/2011/11/capybara-webkit-rspec-and-javascript - not sure if you'd need the 'database_cleaner' gem

[launcherovaira]

Adding Badges to your Repo

This is intended to fill a few holes in Launch’s tutorial on adding badges for your project.  I’m taking a bunch of this directly from their tutorial and adding the parts that weren’t explicitly included, but were helpful, especially in getting my Codeship and Coveralls badges to turn green.

Codeship

Step 1

Sign into Codeship with GitHub, create a new project, and connect your GitHub repository.

Step 2

Select “Ruby on Rails” from the drop-down. Make sure to change the ruby version to the version your group is using in development.

rvm use 2.0.0 --install

Step 3

Click “Save and go to dashboard”

Now, whenever you issue a pull request, Codeship will build your app, run the tests, and then let you know whether or not the build has passed.

If you would like to learn more about how you can configure Codeship, check out the documentation.

Coveralls

Step 1:  Add the gem to your gemfile:

# ./Gemfile group :test do gem 'coveralls', require: false end

 Step 2:  Add to the top of your spec_helper file:

# ./spec/spec_helper.rb require 'coveralls' Coveralls.wear!('rails')

 Step 3:  Add to your .gitignore file:

/coverage

Step 4:  Turn on your repo on coveralls.io

Step 5:  In your Codeship settings, set your environment config variables (config vars) with your COVERALLS_REPO_TOKEN.  

Codeship Dashboard < Project Settings < Environment

Add ```COVERALLS_REPO_TOKEN``` on the KEY side and your token (from the coveralls site) on the VALUE side.

 Step 6:  Create .coveralls.yml file and add coveralls_repo_token:

repo_token: COVERALLS_REPO_TOKEN

Shoutout to Kelly and Tom for this helpful tip on keeping your coveralls repo token private. :)

Step 7:  Add the appropriate badge to your README (exact code for your repo can be found on coveralls.io)

Coveralls documentation

Code Climate

Step 1:  Add your GitHub Repository

https://codeclimate.com/github/signup

Hound

Step 1:  Add this code to .hound.yml in the root of your project directory:

AllCops:  Exclude:    - db/schema.rb  #DisplayCopNames: true AccessorMethodName:  Enabled: false ActionFilter:  Enabled: false Alias:  Enabled: false ArrayJoin:  Enabled: false AsciiComments:  Enabled: false AsciiIdentifiers:  Enabled: false Attr:  Enabled: false BlockNesting:  Enabled: false CaseEquality:  Enabled: false CharacterLiteral:  Enabled: false ClassAndModuleChildren:  Enabled: false ClassLength:  Enabled: false ClassVars:  Enabled: false CollectionMethods:  PreferredMethods:    find: detect    reduce: inject    collect: map    find_all: select ColonMethodCall:  Enabled: false CommentAnnotation:  Enabled: false CyclomaticComplexity:  Enabled: false Delegate:  Enabled: false DeprecatedHashMethods:  Enabled: false Documentation:  Enabled: false DotPosition:  EnforcedStyle: trailing DoubleNegation:  Enabled: false EachWithObject:  Enabled: false EmptyLiteral:  Enabled: false Encoding:  Enabled: false EvenOdd:  Enabled: false FileName:  Enabled: false FlipFlop:  Enabled: false FormatString:  Enabled: false GlobalVars:  Enabled: false GuardClause:  Enabled: false IfUnlessModifier:  Enabled: false IfWithSemicolon:  Enabled: false InlineComment:  Enabled: false Lambda:  Enabled: false LambdaCall:  Enabled: false LineEndConcatenation:  Enabled: false LineLength:  Max: 80 MethodLength:  Enabled: false ModuleFunction:  Enabled: false NegatedIf:  Enabled: false NegatedWhile:  Enabled: false Next:  Enabled: false NilComparison:  Enabled: false Not:  Enabled: false NumericLiterals:  Enabled: false OneLineConditional:  Enabled: false OpMethod:  Enabled: false ParameterLists:  Enabled: false PercentLiteralDelimiters:  Enabled: false PerlBackrefs:  Enabled: false PredicateName:  NamePrefixBlacklist:    - is_ Proc:  Enabled: false RaiseArgs:  Enabled: false RegexpLiteral:  Enabled: false SelfAssignment:  Enabled: false SingleLineBlockParams:  Enabled: false SingleLineMethods:  Enabled: false SignalException:  Enabled: false SpecialGlobalVars:  Enabled: false StringLiterals:  Enabled: false VariableInterpolation:  Enabled: false TrailingComma:  Enabled: false TrivialAccessors:  Enabled: false VariableInterpolation:  Enabled: false WhenThen:  Enabled: false WhileUntilModifier:  Enabled: false WordArray:  Enabled: false # Lint AmbiguousOperator:  Enabled: false AmbiguousRegexpLiteral:  Enabled: false AssignmentInCondition:  Enabled: false ConditionPosition:  Enabled: false DeprecatedClassMethods:  Enabled: false ElseLayout:  Enabled: false HandleExceptions:  Enabled: false InvalidCharacterLiteral:  Enabled: false LiteralInCondition:  Enabled: false LiteralInInterpolation:  Enabled: false Loop:  Enabled: false ParenthesesAsGroupedExpression:  Enabled: false RequireParentheses:  Enabled: false UnderscorePrefixedVariableName:  Enabled: false Void:  Enabled: false Style/AlignParameters:  EnforcedStyle: with_fixed_indentation Style/SymbolProc:  Enabled: false Style/MultilineOperationIndentation:  EnforcedStyle: indented Style/EmptyLinesAroundBlockBody:  Enabled: false Style/UnneededPercentQ:  Enabled: false Metrics/AbcSize:  Enabled: false

Step 2:  Then, sign in on the website and flip the switch for the GitHub repo that you want to activate.

Adding Badges to README

Make sure to change <YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME>/<YOUR_REPO_NAME> with the correct info  

```

 [](https://coveralls.io/github/<YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME>/<YOUR_REPO_NAME>?branch=master)

```

[launcherovaira]

Capybara test for finding a hidden button

For our small group project, we needed a search function, which itself was easy enough to implement.  What took me hours to figure out, ironically, was writing a unit test that could locate the hidden button of our search form.  Why have a hidden button?  Stylistically, it’s what I wanted.

Originally, we didn’t even have a button, let a lone a hidden one (so a user would just press the [ENTER] key to run the search).  But one of our EEs (instructors) made a valid point about screen readers not being able to detect the search form correctly without a button.  She then suggested using a hidden button.  Viola!

I started with the basic click_button command.  However, regardless what option I used (eg value, id, css selector, etc), the test couldn’t find the button!  At the end of all the searching, I found a solution that was so simple, it was a bit comical:

click_button "hidden-submit", visible: false

visible: false  Duh.  Because it’s hidden.

[launcherovaira]

Where’s Wendy? [series]

This series is to document my process in developing my “breakable toy” for Launch.  A breakable toy is essentially a final project, representing some culmination of our learning over the past 10 weeks.  I’ll delve into the more technical components/requirements in the next post, but this first post is meant to capture some early - admittedly, random - musings.

4 Weeks Before Deadline:

After an initial chat with my EE mentor, I put together a proposal, complete with initial user stories, ER diagrams, app functionality notes and articles referencing the tech/APIs I’d be using.  4 weeks out, and I’ve already learned some key lessons, as well as encountered some early challenges:

1)  Crowdsource app functionality with caution.  I’m lucky in that I have an audience interested in trying out my app, but polling them on the format of a particular feature via Facebook yields interesting results.  A lamp post?  Seriously?

2)  Polymorphic associations?  Wut.

Some initial articles on my “To Read List”:

http://eewang.github.io/blog/2013/03/12/how-and-when-to-use-single-table-inheritance-in-rails/

http://www.archonsystems.com/devblog/2011/12/20/rails-single-table-inheritance-with-polymorphic-association/

http://dan.chak.org/enterprise-rails/chapter-10-multiple-table-inheritance/ - though I think I’m looking for something more similar to link 2, rails single table inheritance with polymorphic association

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=2220311&seqNum=6

https://gorails.com/episodes/comments-with-polymorphic-associations

3)  I want this app to be a collaborative effort, opening it up to other Wellesley alums to contribute additional features.  For example, I’m planning a weekend out to visit campus with an alum who shares my love for photo/video, to snap some pics around campus to use for the app.  She’s a professional photographer/videographer/visual artist, and I’m really just hoping to practice my photography skills, which will hopefully result in capturing a few awesome shots that I can use.

Another alum, and First Year neighbor, whom I haven’t spoken to since before graduation (6+ years?), reached out last week offering to help with designing a logo.

Dream vision!  Having other Wellesley devs, especially Wellesley Launch alums, contribute to the app via Github, once I’ve submitted my breakable toy version.

I think in many ways, opportunities to collaborate on this app with fellow alums - despite it being a largely solo effort - will be a highlight in my building of it.  Launch’s emphasis on teamwork, communication and collaboration are aspects of development that I love most, and I’m excited to practice this even with my individual project. A cliffhanger of an ending!  But as mentioned previously, stay tuned for actual info on the app.

[launcherovaira]

It’s the Remix to Ignition..

It’s hard to believe that Launch starts tomorrow.  I made it through Ignition (Launch’s pre-work period), relatively unscathed - a healthy balance of utter confusion and growing confidence in my programming abilities.  As my final assignment, I’m here to share some thoughts on my Ignition experience.

1)  I was worried about being behind.  Not just, “I’ve never really coded” behind - but literally, I was starting 3 weeks after everyone else, which included the submission of our first coding challenge.  Not wanting to make this the theme of my Launch experience, I made a huge effort to catch up.  I think there’s a real fear of falling behind and getting bogged down on new material, as you try to keep up with everyone.  I’m not really sure how you’d circumvent this, aside from getting your ass in gear to stay on top of things and to not.give.up.

2)  Part of winning that battle is kicking your ego to the curb.  Perhaps it’s the rower in me, but wanting to be ahead comes naturally.  But when you’re trying to learn something new and complex, this mindset can lead to trouble.  Learning to program shouldn’t be about writing THE best code in the group, but rather, writing YOUR best code, day after day, challenge after challenge.  I think making sure you’re with it and feel good about the progress you’re making, regardless of where others might be - ahead or behind or somewhere in between - puts you in the best position to improve as far as you’re willing to go, and in theory, better contribute to the group and your fellow learners.

3)  Originally, I was drawn to programming because of the potential to create something.  To build.  To mold and shape, tweak and fiddle; giving birth to ideas merely somersaulting in my head.  A burst of motion, as a new idea pops up.  A tuck and roll as you brainstorm concepts, features and potential market relevance and success.  But then, that’s it.  One quick iteration of an idea, over before it even starts.  To me, the idea of learning to code was a little like turning that single somersault into a freakin’ gold medal winning performance.  But during Ignition, I felt less the lithe, seamless gymnast, and more a frustrated jackhammer operator, patching the numerous potholes from our last #BostonWinter.  Drilling away at lines of code, beating it into.. something.  One of the books we were tasked to read was my introduction to the concept of good design with Object Oriented Programming (Sandi Metz’s “Practical Object-Oriented Design in Ruby”).  And now that I’ve proven to have a better chance of making something, I’d love to one day write code with the same sort of confidence, ease and familiarity that I do when writing, well, stories in English.

Here’s to the day I trade in my jackhammer and succeed in programming with an eye for design and style.  Channeling the grit and grace of Kerri Strug a la The Magnificent Seven, I think it can happen.

[launcherovaira]

3 Reasons I Chose Launch Academy

I’ll keep this short and to the point for now..

1)  Boston

There aren’t many programming bootcamps in the Boston area, but I knew I wanted to stay in town to minimize costs and commuting time.  Plus, if you’re fortunate to find a bootcamp in your town/city, I’d imagine this is helpful in terms of networking, post-grad help, etc.

2)  The W Network

After some digging, I realized a good number of #Wellesley alums had gone through the program and seemed to really love it.  This was a significant factor in my decision.

3)  Great interview

I had an excellent chat with Omid, one of the admissions officers at Launch Academy.  He was able to answer all my questions and painted a good picture of LA’s culture and values.