Clojure Gazette 139: core.async, Haskell, Pairing

core.async, Haskell, Pairing

Issue 139 - August 31, 2015

Hi Clojurators!

The world continues to become more Clojure-friendly. I can't help but think that it is in large part because of the acceptance of JavaScript as a real language. When I was in college fifteen years ago, it was ridiculed as a mere scripting language. But as the web has grown more interactive, people have had to embrace it, warts and all. This means that lots of programmers nowadays know two or more languages (the server language and the browser language). Why not a third?

I'm not saying that's the only reason, just that it contributes. My thanks go out to JavaScript, the gateway language.

Rock on!

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Sponsor: Clojure Applied

Have you written a few programs in Clojure and are wondering how to get to the next level? There's a new book coming out by Ben Vandgrift and Alex Miller that's like a road map for the Clojure subcontinent. It gives you a high level view of the in-language tools and libraries to structure an application, manage state concurrently, test your code, and deploy your software. But it also gives you the detail you need to make informed choices based on practical needs. And don't miss the history and philosophy appendices! If you've ever wondered how to structure your Clojure application, this book has the answer. The Beta eBook is out now, and print is coming soon. Thanks to the authors for sponsoring the Gazette!

Pairing with Junior Developers

I've been pairing with Junior Developers quite a bit at my day job. This article has great tips for pairing with someone more junior than you. The tips are just so hard to do! I'm so used to just typing code as fast as I can, it's difficult to allow someone to move more slowly. But as the article asserts, it's the best thing to do.

State of the Haskell ecosystem - August 2015

What a great read. I'm somewhat familiar with Haskell, so this was great. It showed me a lot of the progress that has been made since I last used Haskell regularly. I would love to see a document like this for Clojure.

Solitude and Leadership

Big thoughts on leadership in modern life.

The Agile Labor Union

A different perspective on Agile: it's a workers' rights movement for programmers. This article presents the case, analyzes Agile from that perspective, and shows some of its shortcomings.

Spicing up Java projects with Clojure

I've never added Clojure to a Java application, but sometimes I wish I could have. This looks like a good guide.

thoughtbot Trail Map

Such a wonderful, curated collection of resources on all sorts of technical topics, from grid systems to Heroku. It has been fun a nd humbling to explore this map.

Superstring Github

A utility library for strings in Clojure.

doo Github

A ClojureScript test runner that runs cljs.test tests on multiple platforms.

Code Read of core.async Timeouts

It's always good to know how your tools work. Not only can you use them more effectively, but you also learn how to build your own tools. This is a walkthrough of how core.async timeouts work. It's from over two years ago, but it's still a good read.