Luke Melia

RJS templates aka JavascriptGenerator templates are a powerful tool in the latest versions of the Ruby on Rails framework that has been a real mind-bender for me. In a nutshell, they give you the ability to respond to an AJAX request by telling the page to execute a sequence of javascript commands. And the javascript can be generated using Rails’ excellent helper classes that build on prototype.js and scriptaculous.

Turns out they can be a little hairy to debug. When I had some bad javascript, I wasn’t seeing it captured in the FireFox console. The javascript would just silently fail to execute if there was invalid javascript syntax. Rails Weenie to the rescue:

Drop this into the bottom of your layout:

[html]

[/html]

This let’s you see what ajax calls are being made and what javascript is being sent in response. Notice your boneheaded error, fix it, and smile!

I was interviewed for an article about hiring software developers in November. The interview appeared in the December 15th issue of Software Development Times [PDF 3.7 MB]. Flip to page 6. Here’s a brief excerpt from “Advice From the Trenches: Building a Winning Team,” by Jennifer DeJong:

Programming expertise and creativity top the list of what these development managers want in new hires. But communication and collaboration skills matter, too. “The days when a programmer can be an anti-social person who works alone all day in a cubicle are over,” said Melia. One way to make sure you don’t end up with a throwback on your hands is to get the entire team in on the interview. That can put a candidate on the spot, but it also shows firsthand how they interact with others, said Melia, who is currently recruiting a fourth team member. “You see how they act in a meeting.”

I sent the link out to my folks, of course. My mom’s reply was choice: “I don’t understand this article, but I’m very proud of you.” She’s got it hanging on her fridge. Just like elementary school!

Speaking of recruiting, I’m looking to hire a senior OO developer for a May start. Get in touch if you’re interested!