Hacking Computers, and the Net

I spent a little time exploring the patterns involved in using React.js with Meteor. It's incredibly easy, it turns out. I'll show some examples here. The setup: meteor add kadira:flow-router npm install react react-dom react-mounter npm install react-addons-pure-render-mixin meteor add react-meteor-data Then of course remove all blaze related meteor packages. Ok, Some basic component patterns: Let's create one that accepts a single argument: Hello.jsx import React from 'react'; export const Hello = ({name}) => ( <div>Hello, {name}</div> ); That's all there is to it. Now, let's see a pattern for a component that takes two arguments. We can see that to add further arguments, we can just tack them on after the first two: TwoArgs.jsx import React from 'react'; export const TwoArgs = ({one, two}) => ( <div> <h2>TwoArgs!</h2> <h3>One is: {one}</h3> <h3>Two is: {two}&

This is just a quick intro to React to show how easy it is on a very basic level. React is often compared to Angular, but the two are very different: Angular is more of a framework , whereas React is more of a library . So, with React, we can make Components, and in so doing, we can intersperse plain Javascript to instill behavior. This article is not showing (or using) best practices, or a recommended structure. It's purpose is only to show how easy the basic mechanics of React are. Let's grab the getting started cli from React's page npm install -g create-react-app create-react-app my-app cd my-app npm start After this is done, and you have the project displayed in your browser, let's experiment. A boiler-plate header we can use for each new class can be as simple as: /src/Foo.js import React, { Component } from 'react'; class Foo extends Component { render(){ return(); } } export default Foo; So, all that we need to change to get st

I had mixed results following The clojure-doc tutorial for Emacs, and found I had to do a few modifications. Following the recipe is easy: I was not able to easily get Aquamacs to work. Frankly, I lost interest after the initial try, and just went with the emacs build for OSX. I might mess with Aquamacs at some future point, but for now, let's just stick with Emacs proper. Install Emacs from brew First, set up Emacs from brew: $ brew install emacs --cocoa --srgb $ brew linkapps Emacs NOTE If you already have Emacs in your Applications folder, the second brew command will fail. To make sure we're on the same page, just rename Emacs.app to something else, like EmacsCocoa.app or whatever, then re-run the second brew command to link the Emacs distribution you just installed with brew to your Applications folder. After it successfully runs, you'll have a link in your Applications folder called, "Emacs". Clicking it will open the GUI version of Emacs.

I was given an interesting challenge to scrape some data from a specific site.  Not to write a completed, packaged solution, but rather just to scrape the data.  The rub being, the site uses Javascript paging, so one couldn't simply use something like Mechanize.  While a self-contained product would require inclusion of V8 (as the Javascript would need to be run and evaluated), to just scrape the data allows making use of whatever is easy and available.  Enter Watir . Watir allows "mechanized/automated" browser control.  Essentially, we can script a browser to go to pages, click links, fill out forms, and what have you.  It's mainstay is in testing, but it's also pretty damned handy in cases where we need some Javascript on a page processed... like in this case.  Keep in mind though, it is literally automating a browser, so you'll see your browser open and navigate to pages, etc. when the script runs.  But, there is also a headless browser option.  This is

You must have Command Line Tools installed. If you don't , this tutorial is not for you. Google: installation of XCode and Command Line Tools. Normally, I use brew to install things (when it offers a solution), but in this case the keg version was a couple minor version's off. And, there had been sufficient addition's that motivated me to want the current release. So, building from source was the path of least resistance. First, what not to do : The note's caution against using OS X's Terminal , as their make.sh script pukes a shit-ton of text during the build, and according to them, it can slow the build. I did not experience an issue with this, compared to other builds I've done in the past.   BUT , they also say build can be accomplished with other LISP's installed (you must have a lisp installed prior to building). OMFG , unless you want to wait a month of Sunday's, my experience building with CLISP was slower than the Molasses in January.  D

I have had several occasion's where Java apps would open, and then immediately close.  Often, I don't have the time to dig into the reason, as they aren't crucial.  So, I just move on. Recently, I was maddened by this happening to an application ( see other blog post on Kindle Previewer ) I really needed to use, so I had to get into the trench.  After cracking open the app, and rooting through the various files, I did some spot-checks of the java version used to build the jars ( 2 bytes at offsets 6 & 7 ), as well as had a look at the info.plist, which had the JVMVersion key set at 1.5+. Since Oracle took over Java, Apple has essentially abandoned it to them, and hasn't done an update I *think* since version 6. All of Apple's Tooling for Java stops with JVMVersion key's of 6* and 6+.  The short answer to all this is, if something was built using Apple's AppBundler tools, and you have updated Java on your Mac to 7 or above, you're probably SOL to g