Sometimes refactoring requires making decisions that might make you feel uncomfortable and question your life choices. In this workshop, we are going to explore the situations in which doing everything you stand against is really the right thing. We are going to write some repetitive code! We are going to delete a test and not replace it! Whether you are a longtime or newer programmer, you will come out of this workshop with a deeper appreciation for when to DRY, and the dangers of wrong abstractions. You'll gain the confidence to make design decisions that go against convention.

We've got unit tests, functional tests, and integration tests — but where are our tests for production? How we define (and check for!) "correct behavior" for a Rails app running in the wild?

In this workshop, we'll start by creating an end-to-end check together (like an integration test on prod!) on a fun, interactive demo app. Then, we'll go one level deeper by adding custom instrumentation. (There will be prizes and at least one shiny light involved.)

You'll leave with a deeper understanding of how to ask questions of your app and how to think about ensuring "correctness" in production.

Programmers come from various educational backgrounds. Some jobs require strong math and/or CS experience, while other jobs can use them as a hiring filter which can make for a (possibly unintentional) elitist interview process that is far more difficult than (and distinct from) the work itself.

In this workshop, we'll discuss some math we can learn to overcome this kind of gatekeeping, practice converting between Ruby and Math syntax, and pull some example equations and diagrams from technical papers to break down in Ruby.

GraphQL is a query language for API: the server describes what data is available, and clients ask what data they need. Its popularity is growing rapidly. A lot of companies such as Facebook, GitHub, Twitter, Coursera, Shopify are using it.

This workshop is a full-stack introduction to GraphQL. We will explore the benefits of using GraphQL compared to REST API, add a GraphQL API endpoint to a Rails app, and build a simple React app on top of that by using the modern JavaScript tools. By the end of the workshop, we'll clearly see why GraphQL makes server and client fit perfectly together.

Being able to use language effectively saves so much coding trauma. You should learn to file good bug reports, write up problems, and describe what you're doing. I'll teach you in less than half a day! What is a documentation structure, and why does it matter to developers? Lots of developers get asked to write their own documentation, especially internal documentation and onboarding. In theory, this is good because they know the problems they are writing about and don't need to spend time explaining them. In practice, developers avoid this work because they don't have a good idea of how to start.

Rails has been successful in part because it provides means for easy collaboration. But at some point, developers will still need to interact with real people to be successful. Which can be even more challenging than code in many cases. However, there is a way to give the right side of your brain some love at RailsConf! In this session, you'll have fun and use improv to learn about active listening, ideation, status, and how to get great ideas out of everyone using a yes-and approach. Take a break from code for a few hours and learn how to get along with real humans by taking this session!

Frontend, especially CSS, have long been avoided by Rails Developers. SASS is a powerful, built-in tool that allows us to write more Object Oriented CSS. For those of us that like organization and feel that CSS is all a mess, SASS finally creates something that makes sense. Best of all, it is written in RUBY!

A bad hire will break apart your team, drive valued colleagues to leave, and kill your momentum. I know this because I’ve been part of a bad hire decision that turned into a scary campfire story about poor hiring. This workshop will teach you how to avoid my mistakes. Whether you’re brand new to interviewing, or are experienced and looking to improve, this workshop will improve your skills and confidence as an interviewer. You’ll leave future interviews with the certainty that the candidate is a good hire, and the ability to call out specific answers to your questions to back up your verdict.

Let's be real for a second. JavaScript is really frustrating. And JavaScript inside of a Rails app? That's even worse. Unfortunately, Rails hasn’t been the most accommodating place for building front-end applications, until now! Enter webpacker. For the first time in Rails history JavaScript is approachable, testable, and dare I say...usable? Yup, I definitely said usable. If you’ve never used front-end technologies before, come see how simple it is to get up and running. We’ll build a simple app, test it (because it's 2018), and hopefully, you'll gain a new and fresh perspective on JavaScript!

Rails is one of the best, if not the best way to get an idea from inspiration to working web application fast. Rails can also be the best way to quickly get an Internet of Things application up and running as well. In this workshop, you will learn how to quickly prototype IoT applications using inexpensive off-the-shelf device hardware and your Rails programming skills.

Learning how to write tests as a new developer can be daunting. Testing frameworks come with their own set of jargon and paradigms. What’s are mocks, doubles, stubs, and spies? Who is FactoryGirl? What’s the difference between ‘describe’ and ‘context’?

We’ll cover how to approach your tests, dissect the anatomy of a test, discuss when to use doubles vs data, and how to test different pieces of your app. Navigating tests was a struggle for me when I was getting started, and this workshop will provide a hands-on crash course in the RSpec essentials you need to be effective testing your Rails app.

First we had full stack Rails. Then we had Rails APIs powering Single Page Applications. Now take it to the next level with PRPL Rails. The PRPL (Push, Render, Pre-cache, Lazy-load) pattern condenses the best practices for fast Progressive Web Apps. In this workshop, we’ll show you how to bring the performance lessons from modern JavaScript to your Rails apps. You don’t need a heavy JS framework to compete in today’s marketplace where instant loading and offline capability are expected.

Most web developers would be horrified if software they worked on were vulnerable to security breaches that put their application's data and finances at risk. But just as important and often neglected is the potential of abuse vectors leading to users being harassed, doxxed, traumatized, or threatened. This workshop will introduce programmers of all skill levels to common ways that web applications are exploited by users to harm others, and some options for addressing them. We'll look at examples of software from pop culture with interesting abuse vectors and collaborate on possible solutions.

Your Rails app has made your company a lot of money. Why do you feel so underpaid?

Learn how to deal with tough jobhunting situations like: the recruiter pressuring you to decide (tonight!) - the charismatic founder telling you your equity grant is worth "millions" (really!) - the manager saying there are "other candidates in the pipeline" (now!) - And many others.

Want to learn the same tactics used by seasoned industry vets at companies like AirBNB, Facebook, Quip, Color Genomics, Plaid, and others? Come to this workshop!