Node.js' sweet spot: A 2 years old dev's opinions on PHP, Ruby, Python and Node.js.

I fell in love with programming in 2005 when my sister bought me the book, C++ Programming in easy steps. However, it wasn't until about two (2) years ago that I decided to really learn programming (best decision ever). I still cannot believe I made it this far. Truly, newbie... everyone can code. It just takes persistence.

To be honest, the number of programming languages to chose from was quite overwhelming. C, C++, C#, Java, Ruby, Python, PHP, JavaScript, Objective-C... the list goes on. I settled on scripting languages because I wanted something light weight, and believe it or not at the time my computer was a netbook! Humble beginnings I must say.

However, before I can explain why I think Node.js/JavaScript hits the sweet spot let us take a look at other languages I have picked up on the way.

Introducing the unofficial MPower Payments Node.JS Library

MPower Payments is a wonderful payment system that is 100% Made in Ghana. It is a solution that Ghana has needed for a while and Alfred Rowe and his team have done a great job. Congratulations!

I always wanted to use MPower, but since going Node.JS I have decided not to look back. Thankfully MPower released their HTTP API so this Sunday I decided to implement a Node library. Being a Ghanaian myself, why not?

It is fully featured and can be used in your projects right away! Below is the link to the documentation and source code.

https://github.com/samora/mpower-node

Happy coding!

Finally there is a cure for Ruby on Rails on Windows... Vagrant.

Ruby on Rails (RoR) on Windows is a pain! I have been searching for a simple solution for a long time. There are a few solutions out there but most of them were not good enough for me. Recently I discovered Vagrant and everything has changed. But before we dive into Vagrant let me highlight the issues I had with the other solutions.

RailsInstaller is the most popular solution for RoR on Windows. It's a one click installer that installs Ruby, Rails and even Git. The problem is that a lot of gems are not compatible with Windows so you might eventually hit a roadblock if you are someone who depends on 3rd party libraries.

Another commonly suggested solution is to run a linux distro through virtualization software such as VMWare or VirtualBox. This solution is a good one if you have powerful hardware. If you don't it'll definitely slow down your computer. Prior to Vagrant this was the best solution and I think it's actually the bases for Vagrant.