David Acevedo's Blog

REST is a web-site architecture paradigm. One that's used in Rails and that for the longest time seemed to involve some mumbo-jumbo. But it's way simpler than I originally thought, but also easy to confuse. So what is REST? REST stands for Representational State Transfer. But basically what this means is that instead of there being a digital asset in a location all there is a representation of that digital asset. Or in other words instead of finding a file in a particular location, all there is is a file-path-location that is interpreted as a command  for a digital asset that lies elsewhere. This has two consequences: the file you are seeking does't have to exist, the Rails server can create it ad hoc, and you don't have to go to one page to view an asset and another page to modify it. The server can interpret different commands along with the path as a way of manipulating that asset. How REST works is kinda besides the point. I already got that, but not why it di...

Here is how to install CoffeeScript sans Cywin on Windows 7. First, install Noje.js. Go to nodejs.org  and download the windows installer. Once you'll install it you'll need to add the Node.js directory to the path. Second, to add Node.js to the path open the Control Panel and select System, then "Advanced System settings" then the tab "Advanced" and the button "Environmental Variables..." Scroll down until you find the variable PATH and add to the end ";C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs" you don't need to put a semicolon at the end. Thirdly install CoffeeScript from the command line (search for "cmd" on the Start menu)with this: npm install -g coffee-script (make sure you run the command with privileges by right clicking and selecting "Run as Administrator") Fourth verify the version with this: coffee -v you should get something like this: CoffeeScript version 1.1.3

Felix Arroyo won his re-election campaign for Boston City Council. I'm so proud of the work he does. Win or loose, Felix is a politician in it for the right reasons. A fantastic individual, I'm so happy for him. Oh, and Felix is my brother in law, so the politician in my family (my father is a politician) turned out to be my sister. Something I'm also glad for. :)

I'm writing a book and the second draft is due (to do it). I figured this month being national write a novel month it would be great. Yet all day I have not written a thing. But the second draft is upon me and it will get started. I will go print the first draft tomorrow and go from there. I'm excited! And terrified... I will dedicate two weeks to the second draft writing like it was my job.