Problem 1: Can't install Git, try running Update; Can't run Update, please install Git

My CoffeeScript PeepCode screencast started off by telling me to install HomeBrew.

The HomeBrew installation is easy enough on a Mac, I literally just ran:

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/mxcl/homebrew/go)"

and HomeBrew was installed properly on my machine.

However, the instructions then said that I should run "brew doctor" before doing anything else, as a way of ensuring that everything was up and running properly.  So, I run that command:

brew doctor

And it says:

You must: brew install git

So I do that:

brew install git

And it replies:

Failed to execute: make
Error: Homebrew doesn't know what compiler versions ship with your version
of Xcode (dunno). Please `brew update` and if that doesn't help, file
an issue with the output of `brew --config`:
  https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues

Ok, so I run "brew update," and I get:

You must: brew install git

Error: Failure while executing: git init 

Hopefully, by now, you're picking up on my frustration.  I can't install Git until I run "brew update", and I can't run Update until I install Git.

So I go to the Git HomePage and download the GUI installer.  I run it, it says "Installation Successful!", but, when I try to run 'brew update' again, it still complains that I need to install Git.  I try running "which git" to see where Git was installed, but my Mac can't seem to find it.

Asking around the office led me to the solution:  the Git GUI installer installs Git to /usr/local/git/bin, instead of /usr/local/bin.  So, I added /usr/local/git/bin to my PATH, and everything worked wonderfully.

-----------------------

Update

Turns out you can bypass all of this mess by simply installing Xcode, which is free from the Apple AppStore.

When my HomeBrew told me:

Error: Homebrew doesn't know what compiler versions ship with your version
of Xcode (dunno). Please `brew update` and if that doesn't help, file

I assumed it meant "you have Xcode installed, but there's something wonky with the compiler version."  Turns out it could also mean "you don't have Xcode installed."

I installed XCode onto my machine, after which "brew install git" worked just fine.

I'll probably delete the "regular" version of Git so that it doesn't conflict with the Homebrew version.

The King is Dead; Long Live the King

So my foray into Android was pretty short-lived.  Turns out that it's really difficult to find time to learn a new language when your place of employment has no use for that language.  Sure, I could've spent more time learning at home, but, as I don't *need* to learn Android, it was never high enough on my priority list to actually sit down and do it.

So, it's on to a "new" language:  JavaScript.

Now, I put "new" in quotes because I already "know" JavaScript -- at least I thought I did.  After all, JavaScript was a huge part of my job description at Shutterfly when I was hired here 5+ years ago.  However, there were so many advances in JavaScript and its use during the past 3 years that I've spent writing Flex code, that I feel like I don't know JavaScript anymore.  To put it into perspective, I've never used JQuery, and that puts me into the "elementary" level of JavaScript coding by today's standards.

When I told some colleagues that I want to learn JavaScript, it was recommended that I learn CoffeeScript instead.  While I initially rebuked, because why learn B when you're trying to learn A, some good points were made:  most significantly the point that CoffeeScript translates *directly* to JavaScript, and can help you learn the "correct" ways to write JavaScript, without having to suffer through all of the "wrong" ways.

So I'm off to learn CoffeeScript using a screencast from PeepCode at https://peepcode.com/products/coffeescript/.  PeepCode, unfortunately, is not free.

I'll also be referencing the O'Reilly book, JavaScript: The Good Parts, which can be downloaded for free at http://it-ebooks.info/book/274/.