Gilded Rose Kata in Ruby

This one took quite a long time to do. First I have to refactor and find a solution that seems reasonable. Then practice. But no matter how many times I try, I couldn't get it the solution down pass 15 so I fast forward the video. Definitely a fun kata. If you're practicing refactoring, this one really helps reinstating how often you should run the test.

Getting started on Clojure

One of my task last week is to write Tic Tac Toe in Clojure. Seeing code like this, of course I freaked out: I have no idea what it is saying. If I don't understand it, I didn't like it! I want to crawl back to Ruby. Ruby is much more English-like and way easier to read. It doesn't have a million parenthesis like Clojure. However, after spending a whole week in Clojure, I hate to admit it, but I'm beginning to like it. I like how easy it is to do a lot of things. For example, if I want to say get a total of a few numbers, this is all I have to write:

(+ 1 2 3 4 5)

Ruby

 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5

In this example, I have to say Clojure wins on account of simplicity. It is easy to read and write this statement. I don't know if you can get any easier than this.

Enough background, here is how I would have started to learn Clojure:

1. Blackstag - It is a really simple guide to get you started. You will not learn everything you need, but it's a good place to start. (I skipped installation because it's already installed on my computer so I'm not sure if it's still relevant.)
2. Clojure API - I read most of the methods in here. It will help you become familiar with what Clojure has to offer.
3. Roman Numerals Kata - Write your own roman numeral kata. I looked at others to see how they do it. Look up keywords that you don't understand.
4. Read other people code. I look at several Clojure implementations of TicTacToe because mainly I have to write it. But it really helps because I have an idea of how the game is suppose to work. That is not to say I read and understand everything I read. Anyway, here's a list of Github you want to checkout:
1. Rylan Tic Tac Toe
2. Micah
3. Colin
4. Wai Lee
5. Clojure Cookbook - I didn't look at it, but it sounds promising.
5. Clojure Docs - This is my best friend once I got an idea of what function I want to call. 

Note: I recommend using Emacs with rainbow parenthesis when you write Clojure code. If you are writing in Clojure, it is worth the time and effort to learn how to use Emacs. 

I got most of my Clojure Tic Tac Toe code done by reading Blackstag, Clojure API, and others code. I am much more comfortable with the language now.