Unlock the Power of Ruby on Rails: Learn and Code in VS Code Like a Pro!
The number of new projects and startups being created around ChatGPT is crazy. Just look at the number of VS Code Extensions being built around ChatGPT.
Or the number of projects based on ChatGPT in Github.
The ChatGPT frenzy is off the charts! Just take a look at the explosion of projects and startups centered around ChatGPT, especially with the launch of GPT-3 in June 2020. In fact, a whopping 28,134 projects were started in 2023 alone, accounting for 90% of all ChatGPT projects in just the last 3 months! This surge in activity can be attributed to the direct influence of ChatGPT 3.5, released on March 15, 2022, and the highly anticipated release of GPT-4 on March 14, 2023.
Twitter is buzzing with excitement as countless people share their ChatGPT-based projects. Many of these projects are wrappers, which are the easiest to build and have a low barrier to entry. These wrapper applications are leveraging the power of the ChatGPT API to solve specific problems, such as coding assistants, customer service chatbots, and more.
There’s even a project that has created an entirely new clone of the ChatGPT web page UI.
Value investors such as Warren Buffet or Peter Lynch like businesses that have a competitive advantage, that have a high barrier to entry. Businesses that have an edge can sustain longer and be profitable for a long time.
The barrier for any competent engineers to build a ChatGPT based wrapper application is too low that anyone can copy your idea over. Building software with the tools we have today is much easier. Well, you can even just ask ChatGPT how to build the application.
Given how easy it is to build applications that just wrap up the ChatGPT API, the remaining competitive advantage you as a builder would have is your efficient execution and swift implementations. If you want to win against people like @mckaywrigley above, then you have to compete to build and execute faster and more efficiently in comparison. He just started coding a few years ago, but look how efficient he has been and how many projects he has been building.
In a way, he is building that competitive advantage through his fast execution and building iteratively and publicly.
Another way of competitive advantage is to build something people want within a niche segment. In a niche, you are closer to the users and know specifically what their needs are.
As a developer, you have the opportunity to build something that meets the specific needs of a niche audience. In fact, almost every stack or framework can serve as a niche. For example, as a web developer, you can focus on creating tools that simplify web development.
A few years ago, I began working on Ruby on Rails projects and quickly realized that learning Rails through online resources, courses, or YouTube videos was a time-consuming process. I found myself constantly switching between my development environment and learning materials, which was inefficient.
That’s why I decided to build CodeZoomer, a VSCode extension that allows developers to learn Ruby on Rails right within their IDE. With CodeZoomer, developers can access bite-sized lessons on the Ruby on Rails framework, each taking less than an hour to complete. Each lesson comes with its own starter repository, so developers don’t have to worry about managing their own project code and its history.
What’s more, CodeZoomer makes it easy for developers to copy code snippets and run terminal commands directly within the lesson content, eliminating the need for constant context switching between learning materials and the development environment. By bringing the lesson content directly into the IDE, CodeZoomer helps developers learn more efficiently and effectively.
This extension offers bite-sized lessons on the Ruby on Rails framework that can be completed in less than an hour. Each lesson is focused on teaching a specific feature of the language and comes with a starter repository, so you don’t have to worry about tracking your project’s history.
With CodeZoomer, you can access the lesson content and run terminal commands directly within your IDE, making it a more convenient and efficient way to learn Ruby on Rails.
Or run the provided Rails Console commands in the lesson with a click of the Run button on the lessons page.
One of the most exciting features I have in mind for CodeZoomer is the ability to seamlessly integrate lesson content with a user’s project. Currently, users can copy code from the lesson and paste it into a specified file in their project, but it can be made even better. Imagine being able to click on a file name within the lesson and have VS Code automatically open the file for you, or create a new file if it doesn’t exist. All you’d have to do is paste the code you copied earlier into the file.
But that’s just the beginning. I have an even bigger idea for CodeZoomer: to integrate it with ChatGPT. With this feature, users would be able to generate custom step-by-step lesson content based on their specific project needs. For example, if you’re working on a repository project and want to implement a new feature, you could simply select your project and ChatGPT would generate a personalized lesson plan for you to follow.
Of course, to make this a reality, I would need plugin access to ChatGPT. I’m eagerly waiting for this to become available so I can continue to improve CodeZoomer and provide an even more personalized and seamless learning experience for users.
Now, you might be wondering, “How do I know people want this?” Well, I can tell you that I would have definitely wanted this extension when I was starting out. But I don’t want to assume that everyone feels the same way.
That’s why I’m reaching out to you directly. If you’re interested and excited about the idea of learning Ruby on Rails right from your IDE, then I invite you to join my waiting list.
Together, we can make the learning experience smoother and more efficient for developers everywhere. So don’t wait, join the waiting list now and be one of the first to try out CodeZoomer!
