Jimmy Cuadra on Rails!

Update: A lot of this information no longer applies due to the revision of the site launched in January 2011.

The new version of Jimmy Cuadra Web Services using Ruby on Rails is now live. This is the culmination of a massive amount of work over the past many weeks and this past week and a half in particular. I'm very happy and proud to present this new version, which includes the following visible changes from the previous version:

  • A new screencasts section. As mentioned in my last blog post (which has now been converted to the first screencast), I plan on periodically releasing video tutorials on various tips and tricks related to web development. There is a new RSS feed for the screencasts as well. Add it to your RSS reader to be updated when a new screencast is released.
  • A new projects section. This section is home to other programming projects I'm working on that aren't really part of my portfolio. I plan for everything in the projects section to be open source. To start, the projects page includes information on my jQuery plugin, Pick An Item, and my previously mentioned MoxieMaster program.
  • The site is now written in HTML5. It takes advantage of the new possibilities for semantic markup through the use of new elements such as <article>, <nav>, and <time>.
  • No more accounts for commenting. The user account system will now be specifically for clients, and registration is not required to comment on blog posts and screencasts.
  • Ajax forms. The contact form and article comment forms now use ajax functionality for validation and submission.
  • Tagging. Both blogs and screencasts are tagged and articles of both types can be looked up by tag. The sidebar on all sub pages includes the list of tags.
  • Twitter feed integration and social sharing. The front page has been updated to include the latest tweets from the JCWS Twitter account. Social networking links have been added to all articles for easy linking to Facebook and Twitter.
  • Syntax highlighting. Code samples in blog posts and screencasts will now include colors and line numbers.
  • Numerous other small improvements and fixes.

It's been a hell of a ride and now that this update is in place, I plan to start adding content more regularly. Expect another post soon with more details on my experiences thus far with Ruby on Rails and HTML5.