spike: an easy way to start throw-away code (and still test drive)

spike

#!/usr/bin/env ruby

require 'fileutils'

class SpikeBuilder
  
  def self.build!(name, gemset)
    obj = new(name, gemset)
    obj.build!
  end
  
  attr_reader :name, :gemset
  
  def initialize(name, gemset=nil)
    @name = name
    @gemset = gemset || name
  end
  
  def build!
    self.methods.sort.grep(/build_/).each do |build_method|
      send(build_method)
    end
  end
  
  def build_readme
    contents = <<-END
#{name}
#{"=" * name.size}

Start entering some notes here.  You can call guard to turn this into an HTML page.
    END
    writefile 'README.md', contents
  end
  
  def build_guardfile
    contents =<<-END
guard 'markdown', :convert_on_start => true, :dry_run => false do  
  watch (/README.md/) {|m| "README.md|./README.html"}
end

guard 'minitest' do
  watch(%r|^spec/(.*)_spec\.rb|)
  watch(%r|^lib/(.*)\.rb|)            { |m| "spec/\#{m[1]}_spec.rb" }
  watch(%r|^spec/minitest_helper_lite\.rb|)    { "spec" }
end

    END
    writefile 'Guardfile', contents
  end
  
  def build_mainfile
    contents =<<-END
class #{new_class_name}
end
    END
    FileUtils.mkdir_p('lib')
    writefile "lib/#{name}.rb", contents
  end
  
  def build_spechelper
    contents =<<-END
$LOAD_PATH.unshift(File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '../lib'))
$LOAD_PATH.unshift(File.dirname(__FILE__))

require "bundler/setup"
require "minitest/autorun"
require 'turn'
require 'rr'
require 'ostruct'

Turn.config.format = :outline

class MiniTest::Unit::TestCase
  include RR::Adapters::MiniTest
end

# Requires supporting files with custom matchers and macros, etc,
# in ./support/ and its subdirectories.
Dir["\#{File.dirname(__FILE__)}/support/**/*.rb"].each {|f| require f}
    END

    FileUtils.mkdir_p('spec')
    writefile 'spec/minitest_helper_lite.rb', contents
  end
  
  def underscore_gemset
    self.gemset.downcase.gsub(/\W+/, '_')
  end
  
  def build_rvmrc
    contents = "rvm use ruby-1.9.3-p194@#{underscore_gemset} --create\n"
    writefile '.rvmrc', contents
  end
  
  def build_main_spec
    contents =<<-END
require_relative 'minitest_helper_lite'

describe #{new_class_name} do

  it "should just work" do
    true
  end

end

    END
    FileUtils.mkdir_p('spec')
    writefile "spec/#{name}_spec.rb", contents
  end
  
  def build_gemspec
    contents =<<-END
source 'http://rubygems.org'

gem 'minitest'
gem 'turn'
gem 'rr'

gem 'guard-markdown'
gem 'guard-minitest'
gem 'ruby-debug19'
    END

    writefile "Gemfile", contents
  end
  
  protected
  
    def new_class_name
      @new_class_name ||= name.to_s.downcase.split(/_/).map{|e| e.capitalize}.join
    end
    
    def writefile(filename, contents)
      File.open(filename, 'w') {|f| f.puts contents}
    end
end # class SpikeBuilder

name = ARGV[0]
gemset = ARGV[1] || name

unless name
  puts '', "#{'=' * 46}", "You must provide at least a name."
  puts "Usage: #{File.split(__FILE__)[-1]} spike_name [optional_gemset_name]", "#{'=' * 46}", ''
  exit 1
end

FileUtils.mkdir_p(name)
FileUtils.chdir(name)
SpikeBuilder.build!(name, gemset)

This is an easy way to build a little directory for throw-away Ruby code. I use it to learn while coding. I wrote about why I use it here: http://bit.ly/LnM9jf

It expects to use MiniTest, RVM, ruby-debug, Guard, and a few things like that to make things easier. To use it, put it somewhere like in /usr/local/bin, make sure it can be run (chmod 755 spike) and run it with:

spike some_creative_name, optional_gemset_name

Or just type spike to get similar instructions on the command line. Then:

cd some_creative_name
accept the .rvmrc
bundle
bundle exec guard

Now, write some code, it's test-driven. Update the README.md, it will produce a README.html (not sure how useful that is). But most importantly, play then throw away if you'd like.