Polishing Ruby - RubyConf 2014

There are gems out there solving very common problems that could easily be contributed back to Ruby itself. Suggesting a new Ruby feature isn't as daunting as it sounds. As long as you're diligent, you too can push ruby forward.

Transcript

1. Building a better language together Polishing Ruby
2. Why are you here?
3. Because you care about Ruby?
4. Prove it.
5. Leave it better than you found it.
6. Nobody’s asking you to change the world.
7. Just add to it.
8. Not like this.
9. Improving the world a little for a good reason is better than changing it a lot for a bad one.
10. +1
11. @olivierlacan (oh-lee-vee-yay!)
12. Not a satanist Really.
13. Please don’t smite me during this talk. @hone02
16. APIs. I made one. (wee!)
17. Ruby with
18. Rails and
19. tests I even wrote and stuff.
20. ★ (pause for wild cheering) ★
21. What if someone (me) changes the API later?
22. it breaks the iOS app? What if
23. What if I forgot my pants and everybody is laughing at me right now?
24. and then go get ice cream! Let’s write some integration tests
25. Given a user,
 When I ask the User API,
 Then I should receive data about this user.
26. user = create(:user, name: “Olivier”) response = get(“/api/users/1.json”) data = JSON.parse(response.body) ! expect(data). to include({ name: “Olivier”})
27. RSpec says 1 example, 0 failures
29. Can I do that in Ruby?
30. Can I ask a Hash: Do you include this other Hash, perchance?
31. Let’s try.
32. data.include?({ name: “Olivier”}) => false
33. Nope.
34. RSpec is neat.™
35. user = create(:user, name: “Olivier”) response = get(“/api/users/1.json”) data = JSON.parse(response.body) ! expect(data). to include({ name: “Olivier”})
36. rspec-expectations include matcher
37. lib/rspec/matchers/built_in/include.rb:58
39. lib/rspec/matchers/built_in/include.rb:74
40. You’re a Hash. 
 I’m a Hash. Let’s dance!
41. lib/rspec/matchers/built_in/include.rb:58
44. Is your value for this key the same as my value for this key?
45. Warning Doesn’t work with nested hashes.
46. Now, back to Hash.
47. How does Hash#include? work?
48. Hint: Not as neat.
49. x = { a: true, b: false } ! y = { a: true } ! x.include?(y) => false
50. Hash#include? == Hash#has_key?
51. Hash#include? Hash#has_key? Hash#member? Hash#key?
52. That’s weird.
53. We value keys over values.
54. Poor values are going to feel devalued.
55. “ Principe of least astonishment If a necessary feature has a high astonishment factor, it may be necessary to redesign the feature.
56. Is Hash#include? astonishing?
57. String#include?
58. x = "abc" => "abc" ! x.include?("a") => true ! x.include?("d") => false ! x.include?("abc") => true
59. Array#include?
60. a = [1,2,3] => [1, 2, 3] ! a.include?(1) => true ! a.include?(4) => false ! a.include?([1,2,3]) => false
61. Answer: Hash#include? is a little astonishing, to me.
63. Maybe I can do something about it.
67. Lesson #1 ! My expectations and surprises are not universal.
68. Lesson #2 ! Nobody wants to break the Ruby API.
70. Hope, at last!
71. “Does this Hash contain this other Hash?”
72. Hash#contain?
73. x = { a: true, b: false } ! y = { a: true } ! x.contain?(y) => true
74. Wouldn’t that be nice?
75. Or Hash#subhash? like Set#subset?
76. Along comes a Patch Monster
77. Nobuyoshi Nakada @hone02
79. nobu made my idea real.
80. Thank you nobu.
81. Lesson #3 ! You don’t need to know C to contribute to Ruby.
82. Lesson #4 ! There are many good humans in the community who will help you.
83. What now?
84. bugs.ruby-lang.org
86. Read the Wiki Read the Wiki (yes, it’s a little messy)
88. How to Request Features
89. Meaningful improvement? 1
90. Before Iterate over the hash or use a 
 side-effect of another method (hack) to the achieve expected result.
91. After Ask hash if it contains another hash: it responds true or false. It’s an expressive and less surprising interface.
92. New request? 2
95. Not really.
96. But different scope 
 & use case.
97. And the issue hasn’t been followed-up on.
98. 3 Can it be done another way?
99. Yes, but verbose or inexpressive.
100. 4 Would it benefit many people?
102. Seems like it.
103. 5 Good name?
104. Question: does hash contain other hash? ! Method: Hash#contain?
105. So, yes.
106. 6 Arguments?
107. A hash.
108. 7 Return value?
109. A boolean.
110. 8 Any risk of incompatibility?
111. Nope, it’s brand new.
112. 9 Write it.
114. But nobu’s patch is better.
116. 9 Make a concise but complete proposal.
118. I’m still working on it.
119. Follow through. 10
120. Will do.
121. Let’s Rewind
122. Find Inspiration 0
123. Other People’s Feature Requests
126. Documentation Patches
128. “ documenting-ruby.org Existing documentation could use some polish in form of clearer descriptions and better examples
129. Docs are a great 
 place to start.
132. Accepted Features
134. https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/projects/ruby-trunk/issues?query_id=94
136. There are quite a few unassigned ones.
138. Bugs!
140. Sounds less fun, but fixing bugs will definitely help.
141. Feature requests are a tougher sell.
142. Maintainers
145. Talk to maintainers
146. The Core Team is pretty busy, why not save them some work.
147. Get Comfortable
149. Terence Lee
151. You’re not alone.
153. That’s my answer by the way.
156. olivierlacan.typeform.com/to/WxL7Ql
157. Science needs to meet reality before it becomes technology.
158. This is were you come in.
159. Your point of view matters.
160. Your help is needed.
161. status quo With a more diverse community the is more likely to be challenged.
162. That’s how we make progress.
163. Let’s make this Ruby sparkle!
164. Thank you for caring. hi@olivierlacan.com