Noel Rappin Writes Here

Modern Front-End Development for Rails

Hotwire, Stimulus, Turbo, and React

Improve the user experience for your Rails app with rich, engaging client-side interactions. Learn to use the Rails 6 tools and simplify the complex JavaScript ecosystem. It’s easier than ever to build user interactions with Hotwire, Turbo, Stimulus, and Webpacker. You can add great front-end flair without much extra complication. Use React to build a more complex set of client-side features. Structure your code for different levels of client-side needs with these powerful options. Add to your toolkit today!

Modern CSS with Tailwind

Flexible Styling without the Fuss

Tailwind CSS is an exciting new CSS framework that allows you to design your site by composing simple utility classes to create complex effects. With Tailwind, you can style your text, move your items on the page, design complex page layouts, and adapt your design for devices from a phone to a wide-screen monitor. With this book, you’ll learn how to use the Tailwind for its flexibility and its consistency, from the smallest detail of your typography to the entire design of your site.

Rails 5 Test Prescriptions

Build a Healthy Codebase

Does your Rails code suffer from bloat, brittleness, or inaccuracy? Cure these problems with the regular application of test-driven development. You’ll use Rails 5.1, Minitest 5, and RSpec 3.7, as well as popular testing libraries such as factory_bot and Cucumber. Updates include Rails 5.1 system tests and Webpack integration. Do what the doctor ordered to make your applications feel all better. Side effects may include better code, fewer bugs, and happier developers.

Simple Things Should Be Simple

June 13, 2021

Previously on Locally Sourced: The Tailwind book is out. Buy it in ebook or at Amazon. Modern Front-End Development For Rails is in final layout and headed to the printer. This post will make a lot more sense if you’re familiar with Hotwire If, for example, you bought a book about it… Simplicity is Not Simple To the extent that I have a guiding principle of software development it’s this Alan Kay quote:

Entropy Essays 8: Why Entropy?

May 19, 2021

Previously on Locally Sourced: About a year ago, I started this newsletter with a bunch of posts that I originally called XP 2020 and later called Entropy Essays – you can find all the posts here. I got bogged down and never got to the punchline… There’s a common thread in the story of how testing, object design, and pair programming have been adapted since XP and Agile became buzzwords. I think estimating fits here as well.

Take Home Interview Code

April 14, 2021

After writing about one kind of contrived sample code, I want to write about a different kind: the kind that is part of an interview process. A disclaimer right up top: I do occasionally evaluate coding samples for Root, but I did not design the current coding problem, nor did I design the metric that is used to evaluate solutions. Nothing I say here should be taken to imply anything about Root’s interview process.

Books I Liked In 2020

April 6, 2021

You don’t need me to tell you that 2020 was a weird year, and that definitely showed up in my reading list. For a long time mid-year, I really shied away from anything that was dark or challenging. Still, I somehow managed to read books this year, and I managed to put together a list. Eventually, I mean it is April 2021, which is a little late for a Best Of 2020 list.

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Teaching Testing and Design

With Avdi Grimm, Betsy Haibel and Penelope Phippen

Episode 72, October 2019

Teaching and Learning

With Sandi Metz

Episode 69, August 2019

Pragmatic Programmer at 20

With Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas

Episode 68, August 2019