Swaggadocio

Math Joke

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:08:17 +0000

Q. What’s the integral of ¹/_cabin?

A. A log cabin

Worst part of the job…

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:28:16 +0000

Worst part of the job…

Token

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:32:00 +0000

Token

Object#tap - Ruby's K Combinator

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:00 +0000

Say we want a method that returns an instance of the class Logger. We want this method to either return a previously instantiated object, if it exists, or we want to instantiate one. In Ruby we have a nice piece of syntactic sugar known as “or equals”, previously covered here. To briefly recapitulate what it does is return the object on the lefthand side when it is not nil, or it evaluates the righthand side, assigns it to the lefthand side, and return that value.

def logger
  @logger ||= Logger.new
end

Very nice, beautiful, and simple. However what happens when you need to call a method on the resulting object? Something that can’t be passed as an argument into the constructor? Using the same example of our logger method, one might want different datetime formatting on their log entries.

def logger
  @logger ||= Logger.new
  @logger.datetime_format = '%c'
  @logger
end

Terrible. The datetime setter is being called each time the logger method itself is called. Horrible, wasteful, unnecessary, and ugly. We could get around this by putting a return statement in there, but this too is ugly and quite quickly the method becomes bloated. I believe it is better to embrace what Ruby is: a synthesis of the most powerful and flexible computer science concepts and ideas.

New in Ruby 1.9 and backported to 1.8.7 is Object#tap, Ruby’s implementation of the K combinator. Tap makes some really beautiful code possible. Simply put, what it does is take the object it is called on, pass it into a block, whatever is inside the block is evaluated, and the object is returned even if the block returns something different. This also means you can get your method chaining game on nice!

Let’s see what our logger method would look like using this functional style:

def logger
  @logger ||= Logger.new.tap { |o| o.datetime_format = '%c' }
end

Come on dude! How beautiful is that? One line of ninjitsu, and I believe perfectly clear once you know what Object#tap is.

Conceptually, Object#tap is very simple. When called on an object, the objects yields to a block, passing itself in as a block variable and finally returns self after that. So, if you’re still on 1.8.6 and are going a little green with envy right now, don’t worry, thanks to Ruby’s open classes you can still get the good stuff.

Object.class_eval { def tap() yield self; self end }

Ok, enough one liners for one day. :p

Haven't blogged about any Ruby for a minute. Coming up next…

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:21:21 +0000

Your high IQ will kill your startup

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:52:50 +0000

Your high IQ will kill your startup

Jaq: then imma ask u another question since i just asked for ur e-mail

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 12:48:54 +0000

Jaq: then imma ask u another question since i just asked for ur e-mail
Stevie: ?
Jaq: my blackberry doesnt allow me to sync all my contacts into it from addy book, it always says someshit about error. porque??
Stevie: i dunno. what is the error?
Jaq: idk, some bullshit as usual. i tried editing all my contacts
Stevie: what is the error message?
Jaq: would have to tell u later, cuz i havent tried in weeks n dont have the usb with me
Stevie: ok. cos this is basically like going to the doctor and sayin 'yo i'm ill' and when he says 'what are the symptoms'…
Jaq: lmfao
Stevie: you say 'i don't know', doc ain't gonna be able to prescribe shit for you.
Jaq: word. he can perscribe me some weed though
Stevie: LMAO

Best pals

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:51:04 +0000

Best pals

"My mother always said that once someone shows you who they really are, believe it."

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:51:00 +0000

“My mother always said that once someone shows you who they really are, believe it.”

- Jay Wilson

"Just sold my BMW to a member of the Bloods. When I told him what I do and my age, he said,..."

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:42:07 +0000

“Just sold my BMW to a member of the Bloods. When I told him what I do and my age, he said, “You’re probably gonna have a lot of haters. Keep my number and I’ll take care of anything.””

- The ever ‘quotable’ Brandon Fletcher

If someone describes your code as exceptional, do you take it as a compliment or an insult?

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:44:03 +0000

Hey man! Just RELAX!

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 12:20:00 +0000

Hey man! Just RELAX!

Pure Imagination from WIlly Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, the...

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:20:00 +0000

Pure Imagination from WIlly Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, the OG 1971 movie. Such a beautiful song.

Did anyone else find it scary as f*** when Gene Wilder’s temper used to turn on a dime if one of the kids messed up?

Wayne Bridge. You sir, are a G!

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:45:12 +0000

Wayne Bridge. You sir, are a G!

FACT: I once told heavyweight champion of the world David Haye...

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:36:00 +0000

FACT: I once told heavyweight champion of the world David Haye “Dave, I don’t care if you unified the cruiserweight division, if you carry on I’ll f***ing chin you.” when he was winding me up about something. Fortunately, Haye is a good sport.

I believe that I may have been slightly inebriated at the time.

“Yeeeeew!”

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:15:53 +0000

“Yeeeeew!”

(via fuckforfashion) I have one of these on my bookshelf. I also...

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 22:30:00 +0000

(via fuckforfashion)

I have one of these on my bookshelf. I also actually drunk one when I was mad thirsty and tossed the bottle lol.

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sjtgraham

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:43:05 +0000

http://uk.linkedin.com/in/sjtgraham

I love green.

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:24:00 +0000

I love green.

coryheywood: Stevie Wonder - She’s A Bad Mamma Jamma Tune is...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:22:00 +0000

coryheywood:

Stevie Wonder - She’s A Bad Mamma Jamma

Tune is still badass.

Certainly is. Except that it’s by Carl Carlton. Nod to the Koch for pointing that out.