Expressive class hierarchies, inline RBS, callables, and new Ruby frameworks

Hello Ruby friends!

Just thought I'd catch you up on what's new at the Fullstack Ruby blog & podcast…but first, something I'm keeping a close eye on:

Soutaro Matsumoto, maintainer of Steep and a major contributor to RBS (Ruby 3.x's official typing system), has been working on a very exciting improvement to the ecosystem: commented inline types! That's right, it's looking likely that Ruby will finally gain what I've wanted for so long: the ability to gradually type your Ruby code using special comments authored right alongside the code—rather than hand-maintain separate .rbs files.

I've been experimenting with this and it's already looking quite promising. Is it too little, too late? One could argue that, but I'm choosing to feel pretty optimistic about this development and how much benefit it can bring to our IDEs and code comprehension/quality overall.

All right, so posted on the blog lately:

• ​Using Lambdas and Callables for Deferred Evaluation, Control Flow, and New Language Patterns (whew, that's a mouthful!)
  Something which confused me early on as I learned Ruby was when to write a block vs. lambda. Here are my detailed thoughts around the distinctions and the possibilities.
• ​Expressive Class Hierarchies through Dynamically-Instantiated Support Objects (ok, I think I must have a predilection for wordy headlines! 😝)
  Abstract classes don’t always stand alone, but spring to life as a part of an object cluster. Here’s how to ensure you’re always instantiating the right ones.

As for the podcast, I recorded an episode about my background becoming a Ruby developer, and how I eventually arrived at the place I'm at now, having taken a keen interest in "alternative Ruby" and how the language community can evolve to support a broader ecosystem. I promise, I'm done with that particular topic for now and will focus more on the code-level going forward! But it feels good to share openly what my thought process has been.

​Let me know what you'd like to learn more about! Your feedback will help shape the topics I cover on Fullstack Ruby. Thanks so much for being a subscriber.

–Jared

This newsletter is sponsored by…well…me! 😂 Yes indeed, I'm now offering 1:1 coaching (or training for small teams) about all things web development, from Ruby-based app architectures and using gems effectively, to frontend design systems, web components, vanilla CSS/JS, and a whole lot more. I also enjoy helping folks who are trying to grow open source projects to bring in fresh contributors and improve governance structures.

If any of that sounds up your alley, book me for a free Zoom call to kick off our conversation. 🤙☺️

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