Post on 15-Jan-2015
description
Building an alarm clock with node.js
or
Hacking vs. Engineering
Felix Geisendörfer 29.09.2011 (v1)Donnerstag, 29. September 2011
TextWelcome to the Siesta
right-after-lunch Session!Donnerstag, 29. September 2011
Building an alarm clock with node.js
or
Hacking vs. Engineering
Felix Geisendörfer 29.09.2011 (v1)Donnerstag, 29. September 2011
@felixge
Twitter / GitHub / IRC
Donnerstag, 29. September 2011
My Problem
• Getting up early in the morning
• That means before 12:00 (noon)
Donnerstag, 29. September 2011
This talk
• How I solved this problem
• Hacking vs. Engineering the solution
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Patient History
• 23 years
• Working from home
• Can work any hours
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So why get up early?
• To get more stuff done ...
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Previous attempts
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Behavioral ConditioningDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
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Flying alarm clockDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
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Circadian rhythm app (Sleep Cycle)Donnerstag, 29. September 2011
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Many alarmsDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
Nothing was working
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Text
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VLCDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
pmsetDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
The Script
https://gist.github.com/1a40a207cf6132f77efa
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sudo ./alarm.js 7 30
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Result
• Reliably waking up at any time
• Get to choose different music every night
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Hacking vs. Engineering
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(Software) Engineering
“Rigorous application of science”
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Hacking
“Playful cleverness”
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Hacking vs. Engineering this project
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Tests?
Engineering: Yes
Hacking: Maybe
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Airtunes?Engineering:
Implement protocol
Hacking:
Piggyback on iTunes or VLC
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Codevar file = '/my/music/file.mp3';var vlcPath = '/Applications/VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/VLC';var vlc = spawn(vlcPath, [ '-R', '--sout=#transcode {acodec = alac channels = 2, samplerate = 44100}: raop{host=10.0.1.13,volume=255}', file]);
vlc.stdout.setEncoding('utf8');vlc.stderr.setEncoding('utf8');vlc.stdout.on('data', process.stdout.write);vlc.stderr.on('data', process.stderr.write);
vlc.on('exit', function(code, signal) { console.log('vlc exit: %i %s', code, signal);});
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Wakeup from Sleep?
Engineering:
pmset schedule wakeorpoweron <datetime>
Hacking:
pmset schedule wakeorpoweron MTWRFSU <time>
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Code
var powerCmd = sprintf( 'pmset repeat wakeorpoweron MTWRFSU %02d:%02d:00', powerHour, powerMinute);
exec(powerCmd, function(err) { if (err) throw err; process.setuid('felix');});
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Turn off speakers?
Engineering:
Install speakers in unreachable place.
Hacking: ?
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Text
Duct TapeDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
Duct Tape of Concurrent I/ODonnerstag, 29. September 2011
Engineering Solution for ConcurrencyDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
Why am I talking about this?
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JS has a very hacker-driven culture
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Duct tape of the webDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
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Duct tape of the DOMDonnerstag, 29. September 2011
• Hacking is lots of fun, go do it!
• Hacking can be a good solution!
• But be aware that many problems call for an engineering approach.
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Where we need more engineering:
• Libraries
• Domain logic
• Performance
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TL;DL
• Hack when in doubt
• Engineer when clear
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EngineeringHacking
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Questions?
☝@felixge
Donnerstag, 29. September 2011