Author: Nic Raboy

Analyze Stack Overflow Data With Golang And HTTP

October 15, 2018 Nic Raboy

I was recently tasked with a project where I needed to gather data from Stack Overflow so it could be easily evaluated without having to dig around the website. Stack Exchange has many REST APIs available, some of which that don't even need tokens or authentication, so it came down to how I wanted to consume this data.

In this tutorial, we're going to see how to consume question and comment data from the Stack Exchange API using Golang and then export it to comma separated value (CSV) for further evaluation.

Build Electron Applications With Vue.js And Webpack

May 14, 2020 (Updated) Nic Raboy

If you're like me, you thought you'd try to build a cross-platform desktop application using the very popular Electron framework as well as the very popular Vue.js JavaScript framework. At first glance it might seem as easy as defining an Electron configuration, but in reality, a little more needs to be done when using Webpack to build the project.

I had written a few tutorials a while back around Electron, and even one with Vue.js, but in that example the Vue CLI and Webpack were not part of the equation. In this tutorial, we're going to see how to create a new Vue.js application using the Vue CLI, configure it for use with Electron, and then deploy it in all its glory.

TPDP Episode #22: NoSQL Databases And The Flexibility Of A Non-Relational Model

October 2, 2018 Nic Raboy

I am pleased to announce that the latest episode of The Polyglot Developer Podcast is now available for download. In this episode titled, NoSQL Databases and the Flexibility of a Non-Relational Model, I'm joined by Matt Groves where we talk about use-cases for NoSQL versus relational databases and how to use NoSQL in your own applications.

Matt Groves and I used to work together at Couchbase, which is a NoSQL database company, and is by no means the focus of this episode. The focus is NoSQL in general and all the great things that you can do with it.

Developing A RESTful API With Node.js And MongoDB Atlas

September 28, 2018 Nic Raboy

Most modern web applications need to be able to handle data consumption requests and data manipulation requests from clients using HTTP. It is the norm to pass JSON data between these requests so it makes sense to use a NoSQL document database because JSON and similar is the common storage format, eliminating the need to marshal data to new formats in every request.

Lucky for us, leveraging these concepts and technologies is not a difficult task.

We're going to see how to create a RESTful API using Node.js and Express Framework that communicates to a cloud instance of MongoDB called Atlas.

Peer-To-Peer Storage With A Raspberry Pi And Resilio Sync

September 17, 2018 Nic Raboy

I've been slowly trying to cut down on my online file storage footprint by switching to software and tools that I'm in full control over. For example, I was once a very heavy user of Dropbox and similar tools when it came to transferring files around between my computers, but that could leave my files exposed in the cloud, not to mention it was slow due to the time it took to communicate with the remote server.

This is where Resilio Sync comes into play. Once called, BitTorrent Sync, this software allows you to transfer files between devices on your network, without a middleman, in a peer-to-peer (P2P) fashion, like you would find with the popular BitTorrent protocol. The more devices, the faster the synchronization.

We're going to see how to install and configure Resilio Sync on a Raspberry Pi to act as a synchronization node on your network for file storage and fast transfers.

TPDP Episode #21: Developer Evangelism

September 10, 2018 Nic Raboy

I am pleased to announce that the latest episode of The Polyglot Developer Podcast, titled, Developer Evangelism, is available for download on all the major podcast networks.

In this episode I'm joined by Matthew Revell, founder of Hoopy and DevRelCon, where we discuss a potential career path for developers and marketers known as Developer Evangelism.

Emulate Classic Video Games On A Raspberry Pi Zero With RetroPie

September 3, 2018 Nic Raboy

Are you into video games, because I certainly am. Did you grow up playing the classics on your Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Nintendo 64? I did, and I still can't get enough of them. If you're like me and love video games and want to go back to simpler times, you can actually build your own entertainment station that contains a mashup of all the best consoles.

We're going to see how to use an incredibly affordable Raspberry Pi Zero W to create an entertainment system the size of a pack of gum that can emulate all the classics using a custom flavor of Linux called RetroPie.