ChicagoRuby RSS Feed

Which NoSQL Database Do You Choose?

Tue, 01 May 2012 15:41:44 GMT

WindyCityDB: June 14-15, 2012 at Groupon

You already know this: NoSQL means Not Only SQL. In a well-designed app, the right NoSQL tools will complement existing relational tools. Some data problems are better solved via the relational model, while some unstructured problems are better solved with a NoSQL approach.

Now, which NoSQL database do you choose?

Hands-on With Four NoSQL Databases

This year’s WindyCityDB will give attendees an in-depth look at four of the more popular NoSQL engines. This is not NoSQL 101. Here’s what you can expect this year:

Focus on four (4) NoSQL databases: MongoDB, Hadoop, Couchbase, and Neo4j.
Only 50 attendees. More opportunity to interact with presenters and other attendees.
Plenty of hands-on NoSQL lab time: Two hours with each database with experienced developers in the room.

Learn more at http://windycitydb.org or on Twitter:@WindyCityDB.

Lightning Talks - May 1, 2012

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:21:54 GMT

Lightning Talks: 5 Minutes of Shared Knowledge
Sometimes you want to dive deeply into a single subject. Other times you want a quick overview of many subjects. Lightning talks are a great way to grab a quick overview so you can decide which subjects to investigate further.

ChicagoRuby has a great line-up of lightning talks scheduled for Tuesday, May 1, 2012. Our presenters include:

Bradley Schaefer – Saxerator, a new streaming xml-to-hash library.
Ginny Hendry – Sprockets & the asset pipeline.
Josh Cheek – Surrogate, a framework to aid in handrolling mock/spy objects.
Aaron Kalin – Breakable toys.

Do you have something to say about Ruby, Rails, or software development in general? How about a non-software topic that devs find interesting? Then drop a note to the organizers!

WindyCityDB: June 14-15, 2012
Accelerate your NoSQL learning at WindyCityDB. This year’s WindyCityDB will travel well beyond NoSQL 101. Highlights:

Focus on four (4) NoSQL databases: MongoDB, Hadoop, Couchbase, and Neo4j.
Only 50 attendees. More opportunity to learn.
Plenty of hands-on NoSQL lab time: Two hours with each database with experienced developers in the room.

Learn more at http://windycitydb.org or on Twitter:@WindyCityDB.

How do I do [x] in Ruby or Rails?

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 13:00:15 GMT

Elmhurst Meetings: How do I do [x] in Ruby or Rails?

It’s official. The “How do I…?” format was well received at our Feb 2012 meeting, so the ChicagoRuby organizers have decided to make that the standard for Elmhurst. What a powerful way to learn!

The “How Do I…?” format is somewhere between a hack night and a presentation. The key question: “How do I do [x] in Ruby or Rails?”

We might talk about the best shopping cart or calendar or whatever for Rails. We might talk about the best way to do database maintenance with Ruby, or the best tools for organizing Ruby or Rails development.

Every ChicagoRuby member is invited to drive! Let the group know what you want to do, what you’ve tried, and what would be interesting to you.

Yes… the whole thing might descend into chaos! At that point, Chuck Palahniuk (author of Fight Club) might say: “What we call chaos is just patterns we haven’t recognized yet.”

Let’s put our heads together and create!

WindyCityGo: April 5-6, 2012

WindyCityGo is Chicago’s mobile developer conference. Come on out for two days of iOS, Android, and HTML5 exploration. Learn how to create better mobile apps and how to sell them effectively. Meet others who are just as passionate as you. Developers, designers, entrepreneurs, and investors all find value in WindyCityGo. Learn more at http://windycitygo.org or on Twitter: @WindyCityGo.

WindyCityGo: April 5-6, 2012

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 15:53:57 GMT

WindyCityGo is Chicago’s mobile developer conference. Many ChicagoRuby members have built (or plan to build) mobile components for their Rails apps. WindyCityGo presents timely information and networking opportunities for developers who are passionate about learning and excellence.

WindyCityGo has grown since last year. Here’s how:

More Mobile Development Content. Two days instead of one. WindyCityGo will be held on Thursday & Friday, April 5-6, 2012. Two days devoted to mobile app development. And if you like to spend weekends with your family, WindyCityGo will not interfere.
Improv & Networking. Big reasons to go to a conference: To meet smart people and to share ideas. That’s why we added The Chicago Improv Commission to the mix. What’s so funny about iOS? Find out at WindyCityGo. And while you’re at it, meet devs and designers for your next great team.

The bottom line: If you’re a Chicago-based developer, you deserve to have a timely & effective mobile conference right here in your city. If you’re from elsewhere, we welcome you to Chicago. That gangster stuff ended long ago!

Go ahead and register. We look forward to seeing you at WindyCityGo.

Organizer Team: Thank You!

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:05:32 GMT

Growth
In 2007, ChicagoRuby consisted of five people meeting in a library in library in Chicago’s western suburbs. Since then we have achieved:

A membership of 1500+ Rubyists.
Multiple events every month, in Chicago and in the suburbs.
Three annual conferences: mobile, NoSQL, and Rails.

Departing Organizers
Our organizer team drives our growth. Two organizers left our team recently, and we’d like to thank them for everything they did to make the team stronger:

Toby Tripp – Thank you Toby Tripp for being our liaison at ThoughtWorks and for continuing with the team when you headed to Backstop Solutions Group.

Matt Polito – Thank you Matt Polito for being in that west suburban library in 2007. Thank you for finding a designer for the ChicagoRuby logo and for your crazy videos at the WindyCity conferences!

New Organizer
We added a new member to the organizer team in January: Rishi Kushare. Rishi recently graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology and he’s enthusiastic about Chicago’s software development community. His focus: Growing the ChicagoRuby community, and making sure that every member gets value from the ChicagoRuby experience. Welcome Rishi!

The Team
Our current organizers are Dean Pannell, Ginny Hendry, Justin Love, Prasanna Pendse, Rishi Kushaare, Tracie Pannell, and Ray Hightower.

We enjoy serving the ChicagoRuby community, and we look forward to more. Dash a message to the organizers if you have ideas on how we can do things better. Thanks!