the topsy ruby gem (rtopsy version 2.0)
28 01 2010The other day I was browsing through open source projects on GitHub and I found the topsy gem. (A gem is a ruby library that can be used for a certain purpose)
Initially, I was upset. It was a new gem for something that I had built more than one month ago. I thought that the programmer behind it (Wynn Netherland) should have collaborated with my existing gem: rtopsy.
After reviewing his code, I realized that he had developed a better version of my gem. So I decided that it was an opportunity to learn more about Ruby, gems and APIs.
I reached out to Wynn (via Twitter) and we decided to collaborate on the topsy gem. I added some ‘business objects’ to the gem. He added some logic for the rate limit status info. I added more documentation and examples. We worked through tests together.
The end result: A more stable version of the Topsy API Ruby gem. In the process, I learned a lot about testing code with fakeweb.
For the record, I didn’t find rtopsy until after I released my gem, or I would have just used yours.
It’s been fun to work together on this one. Hopefully we can tag team another API soon!
Yes, definitely.
It was a great learning experience for me. I want to continue building open source projects.
I look forward to working together again soon!