Simple REST API Testing Setup using Vows.js, Tobi, and Node.js

I’m learning so many new things at BrightTag! Among them, I’m helping develop a new service in node.js. After piecing together a fewÂ articles online about using node for asynchronous testing of REST services, I thought I’d share the testing setup I’d settled on, in case it can help you. The setup is written for vowsjs and can easily be tailored to your situation.Â I’ve tried to make heavy use of asynchronization, macros, and contextualized requests. In the case below, I was integration-testing an oauth security middleware (simplified here for, well, simplicity). Continued…

Posted in Tutorials.

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By codyaray – September 18, 2011

Delete Lines Matching Regular Expression From Multiple Files

Today, I had to remove 650 instances of a line matching a certain pattern scattered across 145 different XML files. Not a pleasant task. (If you’re wondering, I’m deprecating a field in the XML DTD and wished to remove all current instances).

Just to save you all the searching and debugging, here is the final form and my notes.

egrep -rl '^<pattern>$' * | xargs sed -i .bak '/^<pattern>$/d'

Continued…

Posted in Tutorials.

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By codyaray – August 18, 2011

Service Learning

Today, I stumbled upon the last article that I helped push through for Drexel Smart House before graduation. True to form and philosophy, this article is espousing an educational paradigm called “service learning.” This piece appeared in the Bridge (iSchool publication) and focuses on an HCI course by one of my favorite Drexel professors and personal mentors, Dr. Jennifer Rode.

Get a PDF version for easier reading

I’m looking forward to seeing where the amazing new leadership team takes this project. I left at the most exciting time for DSH, but I’m excited to do whatever I can as an alumni to see this project, and all of the ideals and philosophies that it represents, flourish.

Posted in Education.

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By codyaray – August 9, 2011

Graduated!

Yayy!! A big thank you to all my family, friends, mentors, and supporters who have helped me at various points along the way. You’ve all helped fashion a great experience for this poor Southern boy, and I hope that you’ll allow me to help you in turn, whenever the time arises.

Posted in News.

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By codyaray – August 3, 2011

Case Study: Cell Phone Bill Analysis

Have you ever looked at the long list of calls on your phone bill, and wished there were a better way to see who all you’ve spoken with and other related information? Like some of you, I’m a data junkie, and I sure did. For now, I’m an AT&T customer. Like most modern phone companies, AT&T makes your call history available for download from their website in CSV format. Using a simple script, we can transform this long ugly list of numbers into something more meaningful.

Graphs such as these can tell us a few interesting things, Continued…

Posted in Case Studies.

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By codyaray – July 27, 2011

For Loops and Finite Series

At the request of one of my AP Computer Science students, I’m posting a few solutions to a simple loop problem in Java. The question reads:

How many times are the following loops executed?

for(int i=0; i<10; i++)
   for(int j=0; j<i; j++)
      System.out.println(i*j);

The possible options are A) 100, B) 20, C) 10, or D) 45.

Now, there are a few ways you can go about solving this problem. Continued…

Posted in Tutorials.

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By codyaray – July 23, 2011

Update on My Life

I’m sorry its been so long since I’ve written! A lot has changed in my life recently, and I should tell you all about it. In brief,

Finally graduated from Drexel University with both my bachelor and master degrees in electrical engineering.Â (Honors, baby!)
Moved to Chicago. Technically, I’m currently living in Evanston, IL, at Northwestern University. See next point.
Starting working with gifted students through Northwestern University’s Center for Talent Development Continued…

Posted in News.

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By codyaray – July 19, 2011

Teacher Transition: Instructor to Facilitator

There’s a transition underway in how students learn, and consequently in how teachers should conduct their classrooms. Gone are the days in which a teacher should “instruct” the class, lecturing from the front of the classroom and furiously scribbling on a blackboard. Today’s teacher should serve as a facilitator of the learning process.Â With the ease of access to information via books and the web, students no longer need to sit at the instructor’s feet as she shares her wisdom. Rather, the instructor should create an environment, both physical and experiential, so that students are capable of transforming raw data and information into knowledge and wisdom. Continued…

Posted in Education.

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By codyaray – May 1, 2011

Skyscraper Competition

After sorting through old emails, I stumbled upon an invitation to compete in a Skyscraper design competition from my friend Patrick T. Hoffman. I was in a Native American class at the time, so everything I was reading was very earthy/natural, as reflected in my comments, but I still think there’s some interesting stuff there.

The competition was theÂ 2011 eVolo Skyscraper Competition that aimed to promote “innovative concepts for vertical density” and “examines the relationship between the skyscraper and the natural world…the community…and the city.” Providing a venue to creatively re-imagine skyscrapers of tomorrow, the competition asked entries to address the questions “What is a skyscraper in the 21st century? What are the historical, contextual, social, urban, and environmental responsibilities of these mega-structures?” Continued…

Posted in Ramblin' Thoughts.

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By codyaray – April 30, 2011

Social Power to Drive Change

I’ve known about GroupOn for a while, but finally made my first purchase today. Some time ago, I fell in love with a friend’s startup, MyDunkTank, and another localÂ Philly startup, LoseItOrLoseIt. What do all three of these services have in common? They’re using social power to drive change.