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Thank you! I am very excited to be here.
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Mostly because I was hoping to finally win that ridiculous game.
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Thank you, Sam. But next time, I really, you know, two weeks or three weeks, they'll do it again.
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And I’m definitely going to cheat. I don’t know how I’ll do that, but that’s my current plan at least.
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Before we get too far, let me address this big question that I know is pressing on your minds: Who is this guy?
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So, my name is Adam Cuppy, and I run a consultancy called Coding Zeal.
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This fancy logo that sits upon my chest indicates that we are application specialists.
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What we do is web and mobile applications, specifically working with other engineering teams to help them better process and deliver features they can’t get to.
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We’re kind of like backlog vacuums, taking care of the stuff that's always high on the list but just doesn't seem to get done.
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So, if any of your companies fit that mold, you're trying to hire fast enough, or you have too much to do, please give me a call at the end of this.
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I'd love to talk with you. As a very latency-oriented person, you can definitely tweet at me.
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I'm on Twitter; my handle is down here at the bottom. You can find me there if there's anything you find fascinating.
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I would definitely want to hear about it. Similarly, if there are things that you’re questioning or things that didn't make sense, please let me know.
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Hit me up on Twitter; I would love to get feedback as much as possible.
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Alright, now before we get too far, I want to talk about a topic called documentation. Just as a show of hands, how many of you love writing documentation?
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Look around the room; these are the liars! Just kidding! No, really, raise your hand if you love writing documentation.
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At times, I do too. But let's be honest, how many of you enjoy doing documentation? Okay, so most of you seem unsure whether you love it or hate it.
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How many of you don’t do it at all? Like it’s just not a part of your world; you just never have to write it?
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How many of you have to write it for every single thing that you do? Raise your hand if you know what documentation is.
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Excellent! So, here's the bottom line for me: I am incredibly grateful and thankful for those who put the effort and time into it.
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One of the many things I absolutely love is the sheer amount of documentation that exists in really well vetted libraries. For example, Rails. I genuinely appreciate their documentation.
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I will literally go to the Rails documentation just to read through it as a form of subconscious appreciation. Because I realize that, without it, it would have been very hard to navigate the complexities of the Ruby ecosystem.
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Yet, at the same time, even being someone who appreciates it, I often find myself having a love-hate relationship with documentation. There are times where my love for documentation is directly correlated with my frustration levels.
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If I were to rate my feelings about documentation on a spectrum, I find that the more time I spend writing it, the more likely I am to feel frustrated.
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When documentation is really nice, it makes me feel less likely to express frustration, but as things start to progress and the documentation becomes less clear, I might want to shout out.
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By the end of it, if I get deep into a documentation process that isn't well thought out, I may feel like I'm about to burn the whole code base down.
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Documentation is indeed a love-hate relationship. I found an article on Hacker News which discusses how writing documentation is really hard, and most people don’t find it fun to write.
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However, I found it fascinating that there exists a kind of dichotomy regarding how we value documentation on a daily basis versus the time and effort that's actually put into creating it.
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This is generally how I feel about writing documentation. I constantly strive to do it well, aiming to provide the perfect explanation.
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Yet, sometimes, I encounter libraries that make the documentation too complicated, making me wonder why it can't be simpler.
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Coincidentally, the next talk is about system tests. If you have ever had to integrate system tests into a Rails app, you probably know how frustrating it can be.
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I want to give a massive thanks to Aileen for continuing that conversation about integrating system tests since it can be quite difficult.
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Now, let's digress a bit and talk about someone named William Shakespeare, who lived approximately 400 years ago.
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Over the course of about 30 to 40 years, he wrote a whole series of works, many of which you can't see clearly today on screen.
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Back in Shakespeare's time, most of the plays were performed for the Queen, and among the plays he wrote, there were comedies, tragedies, and history plays.
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Many of his works reflect the political climate of the time and were often subject to scrutiny regarding their favorability toward the crown.
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What’s intriguing is the fact that Shakespeare often walked a fine line in expressing his views in a way that wouldn’t be considered heretical or treasonous.
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He was known for crafting these intricate poetic pieces, and I’m sure you’ve all heard of him before. His work has been translated into hundreds of languages."
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In running some analyses on his work, I found that in all of his pieces, Shakespeare wrote over 800,000 words.
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Of those, approximately 1,700 words were used for the first time in his works, redefining language as we know it. These words have remained in use by many generations.
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Here’s what’s fascinating to me: out of over 800,000 words written 400 years ago, there was basically no documentation.
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That’s right. Shakespeare crafted intricate fight sequences, poetry, and elaborate performances without any formal documentation.
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How did that work? It’s a big question that kept floating around in my head.
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Before diving deeper, I want to ask you to close your computers and shuffle forward. Find a seat nearer to the front.
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You are my Groundlings today, and I would like to introduce you to the Ruby Nation players performing a scene from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, which was amazingly written 400 years ago.
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During Shakespeare's time, it was illegal for women to be on stage, so all roles were performed by men. This meant that if a female character had to be depicted, such as Lady Capulet, it would be played by a man.
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Today, just as actors in Shakespeare's time had to project their voices to reach the audience, our Ruby Nation players will do the same.
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They'll need to make large, grand gestures to convey their emotions clearly—something that we’ll be ensuring with today's performance.
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So without further ado, let me introduce you to these incredible players. Please give it up for the Ruby Nation players!
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As we dive into the scene, there may be humor, and while not everything will be historically accurate, the essence of Shakespeare will shine through.
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Let us experience this moment in Verona, bringing Shakespeare's legacy back to life, and remember—this was 400 years ago.
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This type of performance is a call back to an era where comprehension and documentation were represented fully in the performance itself.
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And here on stage, these players will exemplify that tradition and artistry.
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Ultimately, I hope to illustrate how Shakespeare’s style could correlate to contemporary programming languages, particularly Ruby.
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As we explore various aspects of documentation in code itself, it draws parallels with his artistry.
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In a way, Shakespeare not only paved the way for English literature but also provided a framework for creativity that resonates today.
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So to tie it all back together, through establishing patterns, disrupting those patterns, and ensuring clarity in our code, we can achieve results reminiscent of Shakespeare's work.
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Thank you for joining this exploration of Shakespeare's style and how it can inspire our modern programming practices. If you have any questions, please let me know!
