This post originated from an RSS feed registered with Ruby Buzz by Dave Hoover. Original Post: Look Ma, No Server-Side! Feed Title: Red Squirrel Reflections Feed URL: http://redsquirrel.com/cgi-bin/dave/index.rss Feed Description: Dave Hoover explores the psychology of software development Latest Ruby Buzz Posts Latest Ruby Buzz Posts by Dave Hoover Latest Posts From Red Squirrel Reflections

When I launched the sexy http://polyglotprogrammers.com page, I decided that it would only serve static HTML and JavaScript. I thought it would be an interesting constraint that would help me break out of my server-side tendencies. So I mashed in a Google Calendar and a badge that shows the latest posts from our Google Group. I was happy with how easy this was.

And then we launched Polyglot Programmers of Chicago and had our first meeting. Being the lazy organizer that I am, I didn't ask anyone to RSVP and we ended up ordering too much pizza and stocked too much beer. I pondered aloud at a recent Obtiva geekfest about my need for an RSVP system without any server-side dependency and Renzo suggested we use Twitter. Coming off of a couple weeks of obsessive Twitter hacking, I was keen to try it. (The Twitter API is a programmer's playground, add a <canvas> tag, and it's a programmer's amusement park.) So I hacked together our RSVP system in 10 lines of client-side code. First, I provided the link to submit the RSVP:

<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/home?status=@polyglots+@ppoc+June+2008">RSVP to this meeting via Twitter</a>

<script type="text/javascript">
function rsvp(json) {
	var confirmed = document.getElementById("rsvp")
	for (var i = 0; i < json.results.length; i++) {
		confirmed.innerHTML += '<img src="' + json.results[i].profile_image_url + '" /> <a href="http://twitter.com/' + json.results[i].from_user +  '">' + json.results[i].from_user + "</a><br />"
	}
}
</script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://summize.com/search.json?&rpp=100&callback=rsvp&q=@polyglots+@ppoc+June+2008"></script>