Ode to Coffee
2015.09.27National Coffee Day 2015
I love coffee. There can be no doubt in the minds of any person who has ever met me that I have a raging affinity for the sacred ambrosia: dark, hot, rich, decadent COFFEE.
To illustrate, I have precisely ONE item in my Zombie-Apocalypse-preparedness kit… a hand-crank burr grinder. I have not yet managed to start my own cottage coffee plantation in a greenhouse in my back yard to GROW my own beans to grind IN the grinder, I have not yet solved the problem of how then to ROAST the coffee I will one day grow for myself (I’m sure it can be done in a skillet over an open flame in a pinch) but by all that is holy if I am ever without power I WILL HAVE THE ABILIY TO GRIND MY BEANS.
I acknowledge that this is madness, but it is MY madness.
In the spirit of National Coffee Day I wanted to post the first Gist I ever posted on Github:
And as I was contemplating this special occasion, over a cup of rich medium roast, it occurred to me that every time I edit the Gemfile for a RoR project I see Coffee-Rails.
I have wondered what it was so it seemed like a good time to look into it.
CoffeeScript adapter for the Rails asset pipeline. Also adds support for .coffee views.
And from coffeescript.org
CoffeeScript is a little language that compiles into JavaScript. Underneath that awkward Java-esque patina, JavaScript has always had a gorgeous heart. CoffeeScript is an attempt to expose the good parts of JavaScript in a simple way.
CoffeeScript is to JavaScript what Ruby is to C. Granted, that is a vast oversimplification. But this is an interesting parallel. Take something that, while powerful and functional in its own right, is perhaps convoluted and complex and make it elegant and simple.
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” – Isaac Newton
Progress is made by advancing the collective knowledge. Ruby makes OOP elegant and simple. CoffeeScript makes JavaScript elegant and simple. These are the tools of the current builders.1
If I want to light a fire I don’t rub two sticks together, I whip out a Blu-flame Zippo. If I want coffee I grab a pack of beans, grind them, and brew them. I didn’t grow the beans, I didn’t build the grinder, but they are the tools I use to make something essential every day.
The tools available to those of us who wish to build Apps are elegant and powerful. Thus we may stand upon the shoulders of giants, coffee in hand, and build the future.
~AMP
P.S. I just want to plug RailsCasts #267 CoffeeScript Basics while I’m at it. Aimed at viewers with prior knowledge of JavaScript.
1. Reoccurring theme(s) may be imminent…