Category Archives: programming

Firepad, an open source collaborative text editor

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Okay, so this is probably one of the coolest components coming along for Web 3.0:

Firepad, an open source collaborative text editor.

The implementation shown of just the editor is a little goofy considering you have anyone and everyone who wants to be editing on it. I suspect it’s turned off.

However, Socrates.io is a collaborative Markdown editor and shows results of edits in web real time, allowing multiple people (whomever has the link) to be editing the same document simultaneously. Really very, very awesome.

I wrote a thing… (rsync backup in ruby)

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Spent the weekend doing a bit of personal coding. It seems like one of the canonical exercises for *nix mavens is to write their own backup script using rsync. Such things are all over the place. While I’ve written, not one, not two, but now Three! rsync backup scripts, it’s a pretty worthy exercise when one is learning a language’s idioms — Far better than the proverbial “Hello, World!” program (always with exclamation point), and not anywhere near esoteric like Perl’s JAPH (Just Another Perl Hacker).

Appearing on a github near you.

Also available as a gem from rubygems.

Rails Vuln, and a good explanation

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This was tweeted yesterday:


Rails 3.2.10, 3.1.9, and 3.0.18 have been released. They contain an important security fix! Please upgrade! http://t.co/N9JwT1rZ
January 2, 2013 10:39 am via EchofonReplyRetweetFavorite
@rails
Ruby on Rails

And the vulnerability is explained further in this blog post:

http://blog.phusion.nl/2013/01/03/rails-sql-injection-vulnerability-hold-your-horses-here-are-the-facts/#.UOWanInjmGh

Basic upshot: Upgrade Rails Now.

27 Ways to Learn to Program Online

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For those of you starting out in learning programming, this might be a useful starting point. A list of various places around the web that one can learn how to write software.

I haven’t had a chance to vet the list to see if I think they’re worth it, but have a go if you’d like.

via 27 Ways to Learn to Program Online.

Whether you are looking to switch careers and become a full-time programmer, want to try to build a website or app on the side, or are just looking to round out your skill set, learning to code has certainly been something a lot of people have started to do lately. And while being a programmer might not be for everyone, there is a lot to be said about gaining a better, more educated view of how all those pixels get moved around all those screens.

The Secure Programmer’s Pledge

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The Pledge

As a secure programmer, I will:

  • not store sensitive data in plain text, I will protect it in a suitable manner.
  • always protect my users’ data as if it was my own.
  • only use vetted and published algorithms, I will not invent my own.
  • use existing libraries where possible, and only write my own implementation where no suitable alternative exists.
  • always use parameterized queries when executing SQL, I will not trust escaping.
  • take vulnerabilities seriously, and not just ignore them when found.
  • understand the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, and will always protect my applications from them.
  • not assume that I know better, but instead will try to constantly learn.
  • not trust the security of systems that I have not personally examined.
  • always try to educate others.

via ircmaxell's blog: The Secure Programmer's Pledge.

HackerYou – a new venture in teaching people how to develop software

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From the Ladies Learning Code Team, comes a new venture intended to spread the skill of writing software.

Hands-on, project-based learning from industry-leading professionals. 

No grades, just results.

Hacker: a person who creates something new out of

things that already exist. It’s about turning ideas into reality.

At HackerYou, it’s a good thing.

Who are we?

Founded by the team that introduced Ladies Learning Code in 2011, HackerYou is the best way to learn to code. The recipe? Hands-on, project based learning from industry-leading professionals. Small classes, and a 10:1 ratio of students to instructors. Hosted in learning environments that inspire. That’s HackerYou.

HackerYou via ReadWriteWeb.

Codeacademy: A resource for beginners in programming

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A new website/service has popped up, offering to teach programming skills in a “interactive, fun” and social manner. I haven’t delved into this to see it in great detail, but just perusing the lessons, it might appeal to some who might not otherwise be interested in learning to write programs.

I have a concern that the site might simply teach the skills of syntactically assembling bits of code, but forgo the deeper skills of the philosophies are designing and developing high quality software, and the parts of doing so that have absolutely nothing to do with the actual code.

Anyway, for your amusement:

Learn to code | Codecademy.