Comparing ActiveInteraction and dry-monads

Rails is an awesome web application framework and it used by a lot of companies to ship features fast and iterate quickly. Developers also love the ecosystem and the stability that the framework offers. But it is not without its criticisms. One of them, which I experienced in my professional work as well, is its lack of direction on how to structure business logic.

The introduction of Concerns provided another layer where this logic can be extracted from models and controllers, but I think that this is still lacking, especially as the complexity of the application grows over time. Continue Reading

Life Problems and Money Problems

Life Problems and Money Problems

A common cause of relationship and family problems is money. Even if you get along well with others, friction can still exist if there is a financial aspect to an issue (more often due to lack of money). In fact, a lot of issues in the world are money problems.

But there are problems that are not about money. If you or a loved one got afflicted with a disease that has no cure, no amount of money can afford you the medicine, as it doesn’t exist (yet). Once you lose your family or friends, they cannot be brought back regardless of your wealth. If your relationship with someone reaches a breaking point, money alone cannot get it back to the way it were. Continue Reading

What Is My Alternative?

What Is My Alternative?

Is there a time in your life when you feel stuck? The days go by like yesterday, and tomorrow looks to be the same as today. It seems like an endless grind with no light at the end of it. But can you do something different? Can you change your situation? Ask yourself the question, what is my alternative path?

Being stuck means that there are no open paths moving forward. They are either closed off or you can’t even see them. At this point, there are three actions you can take: Continue Reading

Paralyzed Perfectionist

Paralyzed Perfectionist

Suppose I were to give you a key ring with a hundred keys, and I were to tell you that one of these keys will unlock it, this door we’re imagining opening in onto all you want to be, as a player. How many of the keys would you be willing to try?

David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

If there is a key that will unlock your true potential and unleash your gift to the world, would you use it? Of course, anyone with common sense would try to. But what if it came at a cost? What if, in order to unlock it, first you have to experience failure, not just once, not twice, but most of the time? Continue Reading

Managing Multiple PostgreSQL Versions

During the course of your software development career, you get to use different flavors and versions of databases, such as PostgreSQL. Newer projects and applications often use the latest versions while older projects tend to lag behind in upgrading their stack.

Consequently you need to be able to run different versions of the database in your machine, and be able to switch easily between versions. The alternatives, such as re-installing the desired version when needed or using a different machine for different projects, isn’t practical most of the time. Continue Reading