Daikini

Nathaniel Talbott’s RailsConf 2006 keynote presentation of “Homesteading: A Thriver’s Guide” just ended and I left wanting to buy that ticket. I knew I wanted to go, but where? It had to be someplace that I was interested in. Some place I was passionate about. With two children and my wife competing for my limited time it had to be something that I had a personal stake in. Doing it for someone else according to their whims wasn’t going to cut it for me. Unless it’s something really great it’s hard to get passionate about someone else’s dream. I needed to make something for me. Something that I wanted and would use.

Every project I’ve worked on has had the same basic requirements of getting started. Get the source control repository up and access granted to it. Get the continuous integration working so that tests are run on the checked in code. RSS feeds and Campfire notifications so we can keep updated on what is happening. Know at a basic level what code has been executed by the testing suite. It’s not that any of this is difficult to setup. It’s just error prone, repetitive and cumbersome. Three adjectives that typically strike a nerve with programmers. It certainly bothers me.

When I get started on a project I want to jump right in. Get that problem solved and that code out there. Release early, release often and all that. Having to go through the somewhat painful task of going through the setup motions every project is one itch that I decided to scratch.

RoundHaus is my attempt to scratch that itch. Make it easy to get started and easy to stay on top of it. I don’t think I’m the only one with this particular itch so hopefully it will be a great help to others as well. I’m buying that ticket. Only time will tell if the destination pans out.

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