kevin-j-m

This post introduces Sidekiq Pro’s batches feature. It builds some tests that exercise batches to explain how they work.

When we were putting the RailsConf program together, I brainstormed track options. We didn’t end up using them, so here are eight tracks you won’t see at RailsConf 2024.

An attendee’s perspective of my time at RubyConf 2023.

This presents sources that highlight Ruby news on a weekly basis, giving you something to follow each day of the week.

Recently I asked how people prefer to see inherited behavior tested. This discusses each of the options in more detail and shows the results of the poll.

Last week at Blue Ridge Ruby, we heard a lot of great talks. I compiled a brief summary of the program.

This post explores how flog, a tool that analyzes the complexity of your code, can identify areas to refactor.

This post explores inheritance and composition as a way to build and share behavior in a system to model guitar amplifiers.

Domain modeling is a tough and vast topic. I think hard and fast rules are difficult to come by. There are definitely guidelines and principles you can use though. I've compiled some of my favorites to code a system to play the guitar like one of my favorite guitarists.

Calling freeze on an object may not provide the immutability you expect. Here we dig into some of freeze's nuances to explore a surprise of my own making I encountered working with ActiveSupport.

Ruby’s Coverage module can now measure coverage of eval. Let’s explore how it works and why it’s important.

This post celebrates my first code commit merged into Ruby with the years-long tale of what put me in position to make the change.

Did you miss RubyConf Mini and are you wondering what happened? Were you were there and want a hit of nostalgia about that thing from DAYS ago? I’ve got you covered with my recap.

Are you looking for an elegant solution to pipe output from your Ruby code to Sonic Pi? This isn't it. But it does work.

This post utilizes a score of Array and Enumerable methods to model music notes.

Secret agents must keep followers off their trail. Your tests don’t have to. There are many options to arrange test doubles with RSpec. This article proposes doing so in a way that provides a consistent test organization.

RSpec request specs can test endpoints that raise exceptions handled by Rails to return 4xx or 5xx responses. To test the returned response code, rather than the exception, you need extra setup.

This article decomposes an interaction with an external dependency into its component parts. It discusses how to test each piece individually and the overall architecture.

It may not be *your* code, but you still want to make sure you're using it the way you expect to. Let's explore four ways to test interactions with third-party dependencies, whether it be a HTTP API, database, gem, or other system.

Using ruby for a quick web scraping operation, I was able to automate a small part of my personal life to facilitate an online purchase.

find_or_initialize_by in rails takes a block. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. Passing it a block may put you in an awkward position. Let's find out how.

Ruby setter methods may not return the result you expect them to. Find out what they return, and why, in this article.

Ruby's coverage module includes many options that can answer different questions about your code. This article explores the modes that the module provides.

Ruby's expressiveness and vast API provides a myriad of ways to solve the same problem. This post proposes different ways to add elements to an array only if a certain condition applies.

Ruby IO may not immediately write where you are asking it to. Here we explore where writing to a stream goes and when it may or may not be committed where you would expect it to.

Syntactic sugar for chaining positive and negative expectations in RSpec

Tests will sometimes require us to bend the truth and modify the state of the world in order to have repeatable, consistent results and feedback.

Learn how to build your own method using a block to temporarily change what's true in an application with this article.

Data input processes may be subject to different business rules than the data it ultimately correlates to in your system. You can still use familiar tools to apply those constraints and validations that only apply in this one case.

Learn how to improve the robustness of CSV file ingestion using ActiveModel::Validations in this article.

Using non-RESTful routes in your Rails application can lead to a lot of undue chaos and uncertainty. Don’t be afraid to break away from conventional patterns of mapping all of your controllers to models just for the sake of doing it when there are more expressive and straightforward ways to divvy up the responsibilities of your controllers.

The RailsConf talk sessions have been released on YouTube, thanks to RubyCentral.

If you'd like some suggestions on what to watch, I've got you covered.