July 2012 Summaries

Game Bytes introduces readers to the work of Agora Games, a company specializing in developing software and systems for online video game services such as profiles, leaderboards, and matchmaking, while also contributing significantly to the open-source community. Led by David Czarnecki, Agora Games has been involved in well-known titles like Guitar Hero and Saints Row, and maintains a portfolio of open-source projects, including a leaderboard gem maintained primarily in Ruby and Python. The company emphasizes an engineering culture that encourages open-source contributions, facilitated by hackathons and a dedicated blog, Game Face, which tracks weekly contributions. Agora's embrace of GitHub since 2009 has streamlined their development process, moving away from Subversion to leverage GitHub's features for collaboration and project management. The article highlights the broader importance of open-source engagement in the gaming industry, reflecting on how it has shaped Agora's journey and continues to drive innovation and community involvement.

GitHub recently faced issues with its SSH infrastructure, leading to intermittent connection failures for a small number of Git SSH operations, affecting both users and GitHub's internal operations. To address this, the team implemented architectural changes by retiring old SSH patches and developing a new system that uses a shared library plugin within their Rails app, which communicates with an HTTP endpoint to verify authorized public keys. This approach reduces the number of direct database connections by leveraging a web server with persistent connections, thereby enhancing scalability and reliability. After deploying these changes, GitHub observed a significant decrease in database connections and an improvement in SSH server performance, although they continue to explore further scalability improvements. Users are encouraged to report any ongoing issues to GitHub's support team.

Bryan Helmkamp, creator of Code Climate and a notable Rubyist, discusses the origins and future of his static analysis tool, which began as a solution to maintain code quality in long-term Rails projects. Initially inspired by tools like metric_fu and later influenced by Sonar, Code Climate has evolved to focus on actionable insights with a user-friendly experience, culminating in a unique rating system that grades code from "A" to "F". While currently focused on Ruby, Helmkamp envisions expanding to other languages in the future, aiming to support teams of varying sizes and skill levels in maintaining high-quality code. The tool has garnered positive feedback from the open-source community, with plans to promote its use further through conferences and other channels. Helmkamp emphasizes that Code Climate is not about achieving perfect scores but about preventing failing grades and improving code incrementally, a philosophy that resonates with many developers across different projects.

GitHub is hosting a social event, dubbed a "drinkup," at Prater Biergarten in Berlin to express gratitude for being a temporary home away from their headquarters over the summer. Scheduled for Friday, July 20th, at 19:30, the event invites residents of the OctoHaus to join for drinks and camaraderie. The gathering is set to take place in the Prenzlauer Berg area at Kastanienallee 7 – 9, and the announcement was made by Julie Ann Horvath.

A group of individuals associated with the Hubbers community in Portland is organizing a social gathering at Dig a Pony, located near the Oregon Convention Center, on Thursday, July 19th, at 8 PM. This event coincides with a local convention, offering attendees an opportunity to connect and enjoy the evening at a venue situated at 736 SE Grand Avenue at Morrison. The announcement, written by Drew Woods, uses the tags "events" to categorize the occasion.

A group of GitHub employees is heading to Indianapolis for the indy.js meetup, with a plan to gather afterward for drinks at the Bourbon Street Distillery. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, at 8:00 PM at the venue located at 361 Indiana Avenue. This gathering is an opportunity for attendees to engage with GitHub team members in a casual setting.

The inaugural GitHub drinkup in Greece is scheduled to occur in Thessaloniki, organized as a stopover for several GitHub employees en route to Berlin. The event invites participants to join the gathering at Fragile, located at Valaoritou 29 in Thessaloniki, on Tuesday, July 17th at 20:00. The announcement, authored by Petros Amiridis, highlights the social opportunity for GitHub enthusiasts and the local tech community to connect.

OctoGala, taking place on July 22nd at Brick and Mortar, promises an evening of Golden Gate Glamour filled with cocktails, snacks, and music from Noise Pop DJs, all to benefit the non-profit organization Running Chicken, which supports women and children in need. Attendees are encouraged to dress in formal attire and enjoy dancing the Charleston while contributing to a worthy cause. The event is organized in partnership with Rally.org to ensure that all donations go directly to the organization, and interested participants can secure their spot by purchasing tickets online.

Adam Roben invites people to join him for a social event, referred to as a "drinkup reprise," at Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, where he plans to be alone and is seeking company. The gathering is scheduled for Tuesday, July 17th, at 8:00 pm, and attendees can look forward to complimentary drinks. As an added attraction, the food vendor Will & Pop's will be present outside the venue, offering delicious sandwiches for purchase. The invitation encourages participation and aims to recreate the enjoyable atmosphere of a previous event.

A social event called Drinkup is scheduled to take place at Churchill Bar in San Francisco, offering attendees the opportunity to engage in conversations about coding over drinks. The gathering is set for Thursday, July 12th, starting at 8:00 PM, and is organized by Kami Richey, known by the handle @kamzilla.

The GitHub Android App has been released on Google Play, offering free access to features such as working with Issues and Gists, an integrated news feed, and a dashboard for managing created, watched, and assigned issues. Users can view and bookmark repository issue lists with filters for labels, milestones, and assignees. The app’s code is open-sourced and available for browsing, allowing developers to contribute or make feature requests. Built on notable open-source projects like ActionBarSherlock and Android-ViewPagerIndicator, the app provides a consistent user experience across different Android versions and supports functionalities like swiping between issues and syntax highlighting for Gists.

GitHub has announced its first-ever external investment with Andreessen Horowitz, despite the company's profitable and fast-growing status without needing external funds. The decision to collaborate with the venture firm is driven by a desire to enhance its products, solve more complex problems, and improve user experience across different platforms. GitHub values the innovative and software-centric philosophy of Andreessen Horowitz, aligning with their own vision of transforming software development. The partnership aims to make GitHub more accessible for beginners and more powerful for experts, facilitating easier collaboration and advancing the software development process.

Julie Ann Horvath announces a social event in Madrid, inviting locals to join her and Vicent for a casual gathering at El Chapandaz. The event is scheduled for Sunday night, July 8th, at 8:00 PM, driven by the duo's presence in town for the Spain.js conference. The gathering seems to be an informal opportunity to connect and unwind before parting ways, with an emphasis on the convivial atmosphere of a "drinkup."

A new interactive course has been launched on Code School, allowing beginners to try Git and GitHub without any software installation. The course, available at try.github.com, is designed for developers, designers, and other knowledge workers who are new to these tools, and it only takes about 15 minutes to complete. It integrates with GitHub through OAuth and creates a tutorial repository named "try_git" in the user's GitHub account. Additionally, it pairs well with introductory Git videos available on the Git SCM site, providing a comprehensive learning experience for newcomers. The initiative is authored by Matthew J. McCullough.