Why, Scott, Why?!

"Why, Scott, WHY?!" is a collection of posts and projects which catalog the developer's history in the field. The site's name reflects a common sentiment when working with him due to his proclivity for making tools for problems no one thinks they have. Need to solve Wheel of Fortune puzzles from the command line? Neither has anyone else.

Who is Scott?

• Scott makes software. His most interesting projects are tools spoken in passing, born of statements like, "Wouldn't it be great if AWESOME_THING existed?"
• Scott makes posts. A teacher at heart who loves sharing tips and tricks to anyone who will listen. May these articles live on longer than him so future readers can appreciate how easy they have it now. Writing code in a terminal using Vim? What's that?!
• Scott makes jokes. His sense of humor is an acquired taste full of puns and absurdities. Trial and error is used extensively throughout the process. One of them has got to be funny.

Q & A

Should SQL be taught in the classroom?

Yes. A language that describes data should be everyone's second language. It's supported by more business tools than JavaScript and is easier to learn.

How to exit Vim?

Type literally: :qa! then press enter

What's your favorite language?

Ruby. It's not the fastest, but the most succinct for my uses. This may change depending on the project. Some tasks need speed, some may already be mostly implemented in another language's ecosystem, and sometimes Ruby is a bad team fit if everyone isn't comfortable with it. If I'm on a desert, I'll write Ruby in the sand. 10.times { p "HELP" }

What projects have you worked on?

See projects.

What about my question?

Do you have a question for Scott? Ask in the comments and he'll post an answer here or as a separate post.

Sponsor Scott

Currently working on convincing his mom he has 10 friends.