Here is the problem:

I created a couple of libraries for an app I’m working on and put them in a ./lib directory and they reference each other like this:

##./lib/lib-a.rb##
require ‘lib-b’
…lib does stuff with classes included in lib-b…

##./lib/lib-b.rb##
require ‘lib-a’
…lib does stuff with classes included in lib-a…

##main.rb##
require ‘./lib/lib-a’
…use lib-a which tries using lib-b…

Well when I’m in the top-level directory and try including one of the libraries it won’t work because lib-a.rb will look for lib-b.rb in the current directory and it doesn’t know to look in ./lib

If I change lib-a.rb to call require ‘./lib/lib-b’ it will work from the main script because it knows how to get to lib-b from the top level directory.

The real problem is that the application is bound by that top level directory now. If I try to make a test in ./tests/test.rb like this:

##./tests/test.rb##
require ‘../lib/lib-a.rb’

The problem is that lib-a is looking for lib-b in ./tests/lib/ because of the ./lib reference….

The basic problem here is that, even though we are using relative paths, the paths are like absolute paths relative to the current directory. We need to avoid such relative paths as much as absolute paths in our code. How do we do this?

The solution:

The ruby require uses the global variable $LOAD_PATH to figure out where to look for libraries. $LOAD_PATH is an array of directories that you can add to to get your libraries loaded properly without any directory spec in the require statement. Here is an example:

##./lib/lib-a.rb##
require ‘lib-b’

##./lib/lib-b.rb##
require ‘lib-a’

##main.rb##
$LOAD_PATH << ‘./lib’
require ‘lib-a’

##./tests/test.rb##
$LOAD_PATH << ‘../lib’
require ‘lib-a’

This will set up the load path to be passed to everything properly so that ruby can just work its magic.

I have an Apple Mac G5 that I use for running my DAW’s and music production. About a year ago I reinstalled the OS from scratch and set the partition type as Case-Sensitive. At the time I thought that was clever because I work in linux all day and linux is case-sensitive. Wow was that a mistake. It is amazing how much case-sensitivity causes headaches on a daily basis. Adobe Photoshop (and most other adobe products) will not install. They require case-insenstive operating systems… (case-insensitive is the default for OSX). Protools, although doesn’t require it, doesn’t seem to work correctly under a case-sensitive OS. Even iTunes has it’s share of issues. Which is where rsync saved the day for me.

In my iTunes library I ended up with a bunch of files that named the same, some with capital letters and some without.  For example, I have a two files in a directory named: “Coheed and Cambria – Welcome Home” and “coheed and cambria – Welcome Home”. How it got like that I will never know but it really made things tough.

Last week I bought a 1TB SATA drive from Fry’s and installed it in the G5. I then moved all my project files and audio files and everything important off of the main hard drive to the new one, which I of coarse formatted as case-insensitive preparing for a fresh install of OSX. Well, when I dropped the iTunes folder on the new drive it started copying only to error when it hit the Coheed directory. Because in a case-sensitive environment there were two Welcome Home files (one with capitals and one without) and in a case-insensitive env they are the same file. Needless to say the finder copy failed and I would have had to wade through 19GB of music to find where this happens and clean it up to move everything over.

Welcome rsync to save the day. I opened up my good ‘ol terminal and popped off an rsync instead:

rsync -av –inplace /Users/heijmans/Music/iTunes /Volumes/MusicDrive/

rsync is able to overwrite the files without caring and TADA! all fixed! Thank you rsync for being so awesome.

Command expaination:

-av –inplace means:

a = archive: copy over everything. (there is more to it but you will need to go read the manual)

v = verbose: show me what you are doing

–inplace = inplace: don’t copy over to a temp file and then compare the source and dest. Just overwrite the dest file inplace. This is handy if you are running an rsync for the first time and there is nothing to compare. It speeds it up a bit.

This year I resolve to:

• Exercise 3 times a week.
• Resume morning meditation
• Pay off my credit cards
• Finish at least one personal project that I have started
• Write more things down so I don’t forget as much
• Take better care of myself

That’s it. Lets see how that works…

public void static main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(“Kill me”); }

I will post my pictures, videos, expierences, etc as I get around to doing the project. As of right now, I need to finish unpacking all my stuff; household as well as recording (Just moved to the valley of silicon).

Just to give an idea of what has inspired me check out these artists:
Squarepusher – http://www.myspace.com/akais5000
Daft Punk – http://www.myspace.com/daftpunk
The Society of Rockets – http://www.myspace.com/thesocietyofrockets
Girl Talk – http://www.myspace.com/girltalk

as well as the usual hardcore, metal, emo, etc influences…

You can find all the aforementioned music on my myspace profile playlist – http://www.myspace.com/deceptivedream

So, now that I have a job and a cube, I need things for my cube to make it nerdy-awesome. I have been putting things on my “gift list” (link above ^ ) so that:

A) I don’t forget and have a reference to all the things that I have found, thought was cool, and wanted.

and

B) So that if any of my beloved readers/fans wants to get me something… there is a list

So check it out, you may find something that you want too

But hey, they got another user out of it!

Justin.tv is a live webcasting website that is totally free! Like YouTube for live footage. It is the most awesome up and coming application out right now. 

You can check me out two ways… First you can click on the “Live Feed” link above or if you want to chat while I am live you can go directly to my live feed on Justin.tv by clicking here.

The past two weeks have been nuts. I had to work last Saturday and it looks like I will be working this Saturday and Sunday! Damnit!

This release cycle is nothing short of a power cycle death march. We had a few weeks to add functionality  and do yet another redesign on some stuff. It was kind of crazy to begin with but hey, add the fact that the production system has been a little spotty and you have a recipe for watching the release deadline fly right by without fail. So there is that right now. I am struggling to not die.

Also this past couple of weeks, I have been working towards getting better with Java. I have been reading up and experimenting in the Java realm. I want to broaden myself from Systems Admin to Software Developer… I got involved in some java projects and Sean and I have been working on a new application called JAmba. Well, mostly Sean right now but I am learning. If you want to know more about JAmba go to www.jambagroup.org (I built the whole site…I am proud damnit). Sean and I are planning on using JAmba for the production site in this next release, provided we can work the bugs out. We hope to release the source code and the package on the JAmba site by next week for anyone to use and play with.

The next update comes from the little bit of personal life I have managed to sneak in to this crazy release cycle. At Karate,  as of Wednesday, I learned all four Kata I need for the test in May.  All I need to do is practice and polish and hopefully by June Lisa and I will be donning some yellow around our waist. Also, last Wednesday we had to do a birthday workout because our sensai turned 61, so we had to do 61 pushups, 61 sit-ups, 61 leglifts, 61 crunches… you get the idea. I am so sore still, though it was fun. 

So next we decided to go to REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) in Berkeley because they are having one of their “Garage Sales”. Basically, at REI, you can return almost anything at anytime for any reason, so when they get the used equipment, they have to get rid of it somewhere… So they have these “Members Only Garage Sales”. So we get there at like 10:00 and get tickets to get in for 11:40… That was how many people were ahead of us! So for an hour and a half we walk around the store and find plenty of fun things to keep us occupied. 11:40 rolls around and we go in. Nothing really to be had worth anything. There was a pair of almost new Evolv climbing shoes for like $40 but there were size 10 and I wear size 11… SUCK! Oh and there was a pair of beat up climbing shoes that said “Reason for Return: Didn’t fit quite right, didn’t notice for seven years”… LMAO, returned seven years later! Amazing! We bought some climbing chalk and left.

So after we left REI, it was time for lunch. Lisa and I decided on Zachary’s Pizza. The best pizza in the east bay in my opinion. I got lost trying to get there as usual but we finally got there. Oh Zachary’s Deep Dish, how I love thee! We order the Mushroom, Spinach, Chicken pizza. It was good but I think that Lisa is right when she says that deep dish needs to be a “Meat Pizza” with sausage and pepperoni and such. It really makes the hearty flavor.

We left Pizza heaven with bellies full and decided to go for a walk down the strip there. We went in to a shop that had awesome Buddhist items for a garden and in the home. Then we went in to a furniture shop that had no beds… hmm… Lastly there was “Rosebud Gallery”… This place was a work of art. It was a junk shop with gallery prices… what a joke. There were a lot of awesome things but it was just too expensive for what it was.

We left and went to Wal-Mart for some laundry detergent…but they were sold out of Roma Detergent in two different stores… am I missing something?! Sold out?! Seriously!? So we left and headed back for Alameda. On Park St, we found the Alameda Video Game Exchange. They had everything from Atari to PS3! It was awesome!

Lastly, we went to Fudgelato and got some awesome Gelato. I got Chocolate Hazelnut with Dark Chocolate and Lisa got something with coconut and mint. We came home and passed out!

What a Saturday!