Elm on github.io using compiled JS

I ran into an issue using Elm on my github.io pages. My case involved using an index.html page to load the compiled JavaScript.

I used the following reference in the elm-package.json file:

"repository": "https://github.com/jbrgfx/jbrgfx.github.io.git"

Then I generated the JS using elm-make:

elm-make src/Main.elm --output elm.js

Once I committed the change and pushed it to github, my github.io site and the source on my workstation failed to render because of the repo name and its use of dotted separators.

Since my project was built on top of another repo, I changed the reference in the elm-package.json file to the original repo which did not contain dotted separators in the name.

After recompiling, adding and pushing the change, my github.io site was back online.

This fix worked because the dependencies in the both projects were identical; pointing github.io to another package source is an established way of launching github,io pages. I did it as an after-thought and a necessity once I saw the cause of my perdicament. I could have made the choice to import the original project as the base of the pages project and built from that original.

Found note on Elm-discuss indicating that others have spotted the issue.

Elm developers with a CName should not have to worry about this issue.

Review the elm-package.json source on github.

Changing gears . . .

This site was built originally for two purposes, both of which have been achieved:

I wished to popularize Inkscape as a tool and SVG as a format, and others have succeeded on this first front. Inkscape is a very full-featured graphics tool, but i have moved on to using watercolor on canvas and will continue to paint. SVG has been widely adopted and well used.

The site was left dormant as part of the second goal which was to test Search Engine Optimization techniques on an untouched and practically unused site filled with absolutely unique content. The test was successful, so now I wish to actually use the blog to point to newer work coming from the other side of my brain -- programming and software engineering.

On this front, I have begun to learn the ELM Language for front-end development. Recent work is on github.

I chose ELM for three reasons:

1. My back-end side projects all use functional programming languages and I wished to use that same approach on the front-end;
2. And, I wished to separate front-end work as cleanly and as completely as possible from the back-end and to minimize pain-points in front-end development like manipulating the DOM and adjusting CSS;
3. Finally, ELM is type-safe and compiles to Javascript, so the code works without runtime errors and is very portable.

More about how ELM helps me achieve each of these goals in future posts.

Turbulent Water

Experimenting with Inkscape's filters to simulate turbulent water.

Inkscape painting of an English garden

I worked from dark to light using three layers in Inkscape. Pictured above is the finished painting, and below the dark green, red and purple layer on top of the background, with the background alone at the bottom.





You may download a partial source document in XML format of layer two from Google Docs.


The photograph upon which I based the painting is hosted on Flickr and distributed under a Creative Commons license.