#DevDiscuss Archive

Tuesday August 7, 2018
9:00 PM EDT
  • ThePracticalDev Aug 7 @ 9:04 PM EDT
    Time for #DevDiscuss Tonight's discussion is about the open-sourcing of the DEV codebase, hitting https://t.co/2HZ7aq1EYr tomorrow afternoon US Eastern time. So lat's chat! Do you have any thoughts on the matter? Any questions for me? (@bendhalpern)
  • ASpittel Aug 7 @ 9:06 PM EDT
    Congrats!!!! 🎉I know it's been a ton of work to get to this point, but it will be really awesome to involve the community in all aspects of https://t.co/zCypgXnXK2! #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • jmdembe Aug 7 @ 9:08 PM EDT
    This is awesome! Congratulations! #devdiscuss
    In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • kylegalbraith Aug 7 @ 9:08 PM EDT
    What are the three things that led you to open sourcing https://t.co/151NoqPqk4 and what hurdles did you have? #DevDiscuss
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:08 PM EDT
    Yeah, it totally will, but I think things are pretty simple in our world. Our small team tries to deploy early and often in a boring way. Not that we don't have hiccups. #DevDiscuss
    • d_j_stein Aug 7 @ 9:06 PM EDT
      Wonder if it will hint / show their deployment process!
      In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • Wintermute21 Aug 7 @ 9:10 PM EDT
    I assume it's mostly RoR @ThePracticalDev #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern, @ThePracticalDev
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:10 PM EDT
    1. The community is more valuable than the code, but if we collab with the community, the code could some day reflect the quality of the community. 2. Hardest part is putting ourselves out there, and of course, the hurdles of not open-sourcing from day one. #DevDiscuss
  • Wintermute21 Aug 7 @ 9:11 PM EDT
    Unless I'm wrong? #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:11 PM EDT
    Yep, plain ole' Rails app. But who knows what the codebase will look like in a few years. Borders are always moving and the evolution will be fun to see! #DevDiscuss
  • Wintermute21 Aug 7 @ 9:13 PM EDT
    Can we use the code to teach ourselves rails if we don't know it already? #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:15 PM EDT
    You're DEV profile is looking a bit bare Jessica, gotta hang out on https://t.co/lWepprFqmW more! 😁 #DevDiscuss
    • jmdembe Aug 7 @ 9:08 PM EDT
      This is awesome! Congratulations! #devdiscuss
      In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • davidcstevens_ Aug 7 @ 9:15 PM EDT
    what's the #1 challenge/solution you're most proud of in the https://t.co/Re2kHr9sTw codebase? (scale? post features? etc) #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:16 PM EDT
    Please do! We'll have experienced Rails devs always hanging around the code and evaluating PRs. It will be a tremendous place to learn. #DevDiscuss
    • Wintermute21 Aug 7 @ 9:13 PM EDT
      Can we use the code to teach ourselves rails if we don't know it already? #DevDiscuss
      In reply to @bendhalpern
  • cszhu Aug 7 @ 9:17 PM EDT
    wow congrats! Do you have any tips on someone who is just getting started with open source stuff on how to get involved with the DEV codebase? :) #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • Wintermute21 Aug 7 @ 9:18 PM EDT
    I'm a .net guy and would love to use the source to my favorite tech site to learn a new stack. <3 #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:21 PM EDT
    I'm proud that after I hacked on it solo for a while with bad test coverage and lots of hiccups along the way, that things generally improved over time to the point where we can proudly and safely put our (still very imperfect) work out there #DevDiscuss
  • dangolant Aug 7 @ 9:22 PM EDT
    In the spirit of https://t.co/qlbVn6ze92: Can you talk about some architectural choices you are exceedingly *happy with*? #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:23 PM EDT
    We have some very experienced devs in our circles that respond to enthusiasm with a lot of enthusiasm. Open source is not easy but we have folks who will give you their time to help you become a great coder and open source contributor! #DevDiscuss
    • cszhu Aug 7 @ 9:17 PM EDT
      wow congrats! Do you have any tips on someone who is just getting started with open source stuff on how to get involved with the DEV codebase? :) #DevDiscuss
      In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:24 PM EDT
    I think we've leaned into what Rails makes simple and easy while not being JS haters like some users of old-school web frameworks can be. Also, I'm proud that we always see it as a journey/evolution. No "final" architecture. #DevDiscuss
  • JoshuaGilless Aug 7 @ 9:25 PM EDT
    Congrats on the open source! I'm looking forward to taking a look through the codebase. #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • Wintermute21 Aug 7 @ 9:28 PM EDT
    "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. " Lao Tzu #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • dangolant Aug 7 @ 9:29 PM EDT
    I appreciate you calling out how easy it is to fall into JS haterism, because I’ve definitely fallen prey to it in the brief period since starting with Rails 😂 . For all the criticisms, much of the time, Rails does feel pretty Cadillac #devdiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • kylegalbraith Aug 7 @ 9:29 PM EDT
    I'm always curious what the bits are that need to be polished before taking something to open source. #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bhilburn Aug 7 @ 9:33 PM EDT
    The newbies that are most successful are often those that don't put the maintainers in a position of having to reject a contribution because the design or feature is incompatible with the technical goals or direction of the project, IMO. #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:33 PM EDT
    No security through obscurity anymore! We still have plenty of hacks and warts, but in prep, the docs/readme/env vars/etc. were areas of focus. We still need to figure out how to really describe the roadmap in words. (Not my specialty!) #DevDiscuss
    • kylegalbraith Aug 7 @ 9:29 PM EDT
      I'm always curious what the bits are that need to be polished before taking something to open source. #DevDiscuss
      In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:36 PM EDT
    I definitely encourage refactoring some code as the best first issue. It doubles as really great teaching moments which apply to any codebase, even across languages in principle. #DevDiscuss
    • bhilburn Aug 7 @ 9:33 PM EDT
      The newbies that are most successful are often those that don't put the maintainers in a position of having to reject a contribution because the design or feature is incompatible with the technical goals or direction of the project, IMO. #DevDiscuss
      In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bhilburn Aug 7 @ 9:37 PM EDT
    This happens more often than anyone would like, and it's horribly painful for both parties. My nightmare is when someone files a PR they clearly spent days working on, and it will never be mergeable. #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • bhilburn Aug 7 @ 9:38 PM EDT
    Working with the maintainers / devs early and throughout your coding process, getting feedback and guidance along the way, is by far a more constructive and healthy way to contribute and get involved 😃 #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • IgnoreIntuition Aug 7 @ 9:40 PM EDT
    What are your goals for open-sourcing the code base. Are you looking for the community to help with enhancements / big fixes? Are you hoping for this to become a more widely used blogging / community platform? Are you just giving the community a new toy to play with? #DevDiscuss
  • lavie_encode Aug 7 @ 9:41 PM EDT
    This is really interesting. There should be more preemptive discussions about this within the newbie dev communities. I didn't even know what a style guide was until I was asked if I had ever read one. 😂 #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bhilburn, @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:42 PM EDT
    All of the above. But also looking towards the unknown magic of open source. This has been a project of happenstance and discovery, and this is an exciting next step. #DevDiscuss
    • IgnoreIntuition Aug 7 @ 9:40 PM EDT
      What are your goals for open-sourcing the code base. Are you looking for the community to help with enhancements / big fixes? Are you hoping for this to become a more widely used blogging / community platform? Are you just giving the community a new toy to play with? #DevDiscuss
  • Programazing Aug 7 @ 9:45 PM EDT
    Check out my website/blog at https://t.co/4DAQVTUa1s #DevDiscuss
  • IgnoreIntuition Aug 7 @ 9:45 PM EDT
    Well that settles that. I, for one, would love to take a whack at contributing. Looking forward to combing through some of the code in my down time. #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern
  • kentcdodds Aug 7 @ 9:47 PM EDT
    If you could do it all over again, would you have started it open source? Why or why not? #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:49 PM EDT
    Rubocop, brakeman, eslint, plus some others that don't immediately come to mind. It all feeds into @codeclimate. All at the advice of folks like you and others along the way. I still vividly remember when you and I walked through the code forever ago. #DevDiscuss
    • andreasklinger Aug 7 @ 9:39 PM EDT
      @bendhalpern congrats! i remember this was your goal since years with this codebase! excited you made it happen! Question: what tools/checks did you put in place to minimize your review effort / educate contributors what's expected? rubocop? danger? brakeman? etc?
      In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern, @bendhalpern
  • bendhalpern Aug 7 @ 9:52 PM EDT
    Absolutely! Despite many mistakes along the way, I have very few regrets about everything, but not going OSS from day one is one of them. Many moons ago when this was just a little side project, I didn't even think about it. #DevDiscuss
    • kentcdodds Aug 7 @ 9:47 PM EDT
      If you could do it all over again, would you have started it open source? Why or why not? #DevDiscuss
      In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • bhilburn Aug 7 @ 9:52 PM EDT
    Great point, and many OSS communities are famously bad at documenting this. It goes beyond things like style guides, too. I've had people submit a PR, coded completely to style, but with a feature wildly out-of-scope. No amount of refactoring would matter. #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @lavie_encode, @bendhalpern
  • lavie_encode Aug 7 @ 9:55 PM EDT
    Ugh, and such a waste of time and energy. I'd rather write useful code that's just out of style alignment (even knowing y'all don't have time to help straighten it out) than code that can't be used at all. #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bhilburn, @bendhalpern
  • bhilburn Aug 7 @ 9:58 PM EDT
    Exactly! It's really heartbreaking, and can leave people feeling very dejected. It feels *horrible* when I reach this conclusion as a maintainer, and I've put myself through contortions to avoid it in the past. Anyway, work with the devs early & often 😃 #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @lavie_encode, @bendhalpern
  • orderwithchaos Aug 7 @ 9:58 PM EDT
    Kudos! Two ops questions :) 1) Which repo service (if any) is DEV source code currently hosted on? 2) What I/PaaS service provider does https://t.co/0AqZhPZ7an run on? Or is it on-premise? #devdiscuss
    In reply to @ThePracticalDev, @bendhalpern
  • kylegalbraith Aug 7 @ 9:59 PM EDT
    I'm working on a new side project and facing this right now. Do I start OSS or not? #DevDiscuss
    In reply to @bendhalpern