Hello all. I am drafting a tutorial for Ash, using AshCsv as a transparent datalayer, and contrasting the imperative-declarative ways of going about things. It’ll have some LiveBooks / source CSV, so it’s minimal setup to get started; and some accompanying videos for those who like to see it in action.
Before doing those, I want to make sure the content is alright. I am writing as someone relatively new to both Elixir and Ash, so your critical eyes would be helpful. I’ve published the draft here: A Gentle Primer to Ash – jon.hk
If you can let me know what should be changed (and probably how), then I’ll try to work it in. I anticipate one criticism being too much redundancy; that is intentional, as I think making minimal changes between steps, and showing each of these minimal changes explicitly, helps people who are new.
(I’m thinking about what is the right scenario extension for [2-4] relationship… ideas are welcome!)
Edit: I am also looking to disable code-formatting in LiveBooks, as they messes up the Ash DSL. Is that possible?
Very cool! Definitely a fresh take, and was engaging the whole way through! It’s hard for me to evaluate beginner content because I’m so deep in the weeds so I’ll leave that to others . One small note: you shouldn’t have to load calculations to filter and sort on them, the data layer should take care of that. If you do have to load them, it is likely something to be fixed by the data layer. In short, filtering/sorting is a separate concern from viewing the data.
Thanks Zach for the kind words and the pointer re: sort/filter. I’ve updated the writing / code accordingly.
I wrote up [2-4] Relationships and the article is for the most part complete. I’ll let it sit for some days, to see if there are suggestions / amendments, after which I’ll polish up the LiveBooks, and record the companion videos.
The LiveBooks / CSVs are here! I personally love tutorials that come with LiveBooks (and enjoyed @woutdp 's Ash set), and hope this self-contained/transparent setup can be an inviting start for everyone that was intimidated by the sheer Bigness of Ash.
The prose and LiveBooks are now done, with a new section on Code Interface inserted after calculations/queries, and the Relationship section is re-written to assume knowledge of code interface. I think this is as much as I can stretch “a Gentle Primer”
Different strokes for different folks: there are also (low production) video walkthrough accompanying the article, that is parallel to the prose and the LiveBooks. I will keep coming back to this thread for your comments, but I consider this complete (and if you find it helpful, you’re welcome to share with the world).
. One small note: you shouldn’t have to load calculations to filter and sort on them, the data layer should take care of that. If you do have to load them, it is likely something to be fixed by the data layer. In short, filtering/sorting is a separate concern from viewing the data.
I personally love tutorials that come with LiveBooks (and enjoyed 
Will add that back in the next day or two.
