In part 2 we coded our PDF generator as a background job. But the PDF is still being stored on the local file system. Let’s store it in S3 instead and give our users a URL so they can download it. First let’s add the AWS SDK gem to our … Continue reading
In part 1 we learned why backgrounding is important. Now let’s dive into some code. First things first. Add wicked_pdf and delayed_job to your Gemfile: Now we can generate a PDF from inside our Rails app with this simple command: You’ll notice that the more complex the HTML, the longer … Continue reading
What do you get when you combine the slick PDF generation capabilities of wicked_pdf with the elegance and efficiency of delayed_job? A high performance way to convert HTML pages into beautiful PDF documents. I’ve been leveraging wicked_pdf to generate high school transcripts from my SaaS app, Teascript, since 2009. Prior … Continue reading
I love OS X. It’s an incredibly reliable operating system and it’s usually a joy to operate. Unfortunately, since upgrading from OS X Mavericks to Yosemite I had been plagued with Bluetooth connectivity problems: My Apple keyboard would randomly disconnect from the computer. Once this happened, it became impossible to … Continue reading
Thanks to everyone who turned out for my API talk at the Triangle Ruby Brigade. I wasn’t expecting such a large crowd and the resulting Q&A was really good. It was interesting hearing how other developers are using APIs in their projects, and what problems they are encountering and solving. … Continue reading
If you’ll be in or near Raleigh the evening of March 12th, consider dropping by the Triangle Ruby Brigade. I’ll be presenting on how to build HTTP-based APIs in Rails, including: Creating an API controller Wiring up versioned routes for your API Protecting your API with authentication Choosing a transport … Continue reading
Ruby arrays have this handy method called transpose which takes an existing 2-dimensional array (i.e. a matrix) and flips it on its side: >> a = [[1,2], [3,4], [5,6]] >> puts a.transpose.inspect [[1, 3, 5], [2, 4, 6]] Each row becomes a column, essentially. This is fine and dandy for … Continue reading
I just ran into a problem configuring a Rails app to deliver email through Google’s SMTP servers. ActionMailer doesn’t support TLS/SSL which is required by Google. Fortunately, the action_mailer_optional_tls plugin provides this functionality. I wanted to host my SMTP settings in an external YAML file so I wouldn’t end up … Continue reading
The ads they run on Facebook are getting downright annoying. I’m confident I’m not alone in this feeling. Here’s a beginner’s tutorial describing how you can prevent Facebook ads from being displayed. You also pick up a few other nice features in the process. 1. Download and install Firefox If … Continue reading
I’ve been generally displeased with my Motorola RAZR. Sprint gave it to me over a year ago and aside from terribly poor battery life, it has one of the worst user interfaces I’ve ever seen on a phone. Despite that, it’s very compact and since my Sprint plan doesn’t expire … Continue reading