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beathagenlocher.com
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@beathagenlocher.com
57 followers 260 following 180 posts
Mostly random stuff I find interesting, or other sharable thoughts that cross my mind.

https://beathagenlocher.com
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beathagenlocher.com
Threading Macros And Pipes

#Macros #Racket #Functional Programming #Simplicity #Declarative Programming
≺≻ Modeling Programs as Functions In functional programming, we try to model our programs around the idea of functions that take in inputs and return outputs. A webserver, for example, is just this: ``` HTTP request -webserver-> HTTP response ``` A compiler is this: ``` Source code -compiler-> Target Language Code ``` And a file browser window just this: ``` folder path -file browser-> folder view ``` When we go through with this, a big chunk (except for the part at ther boundary where effects should happen) of our program is just Function Composition. When we apply this idea naively, our programs look like this: ```js title="main.ts" export const main = (request) => { return formatResponse(validateRequest(parseHeaders(request))) } ``` ```elixir title="main.ex" def main(request) do format_response(validate_request(parse_headers(request))) end ``` ```haskell title="main.hs" main :: Request -> Response main req = formatResponse(validateRequest(parseHeaders req)) ``` ```racket title="main.rkt" (define (main request) (format-response (validate-request (parse-headers request)))) ``` This is okay (and still waay better that a ton of statements, I'd say), but not it loses the nice property of statements that it's not nested. Also, when we try to read/understand the code, we're probably going to read it from right to left (while mentally 'piping' through the arguments in our heads). If we mentally parse the code like this either way, we can also just write it down like that: ```js title="main.ts" import { pipe } from 'effect' // for example, but it's pretty easy to write yourself, too export const main = (request) => { return pipe(request, parseHeaders, validateRequest, formatResponse) } ``` ```elixir title="main.ex" def main(request) do request |> parse_headers |> validate_request |> format_response end ``` ```haskell title="main.hs" main :: Request -> Response main req = req & parseHeaders & validateRequest & formatResponse ``` ```racket title="main.rkt" (require threading) (define (main request) (~> request parse-headers validate-request format-response)) ``` Two more sidenotes: - I think pipelines are especially useful when paired with something like Elixir's `IO.inspect()`, like this: ```elixir title="main.ex" def main(request) do request |> parse_headers |> IO.inspect() |> validate_request |> format_response end ``` - Pipelines need their functions to be functions of only one arg (in 'effect', for example), or they need to make a choice on where to splice the argument into the function call. Elixir always splices it into the first, while Lisps aren't decided that (decide per-case), and normally have both a `->` (inserts as the first argument), `->>` (inserts as the last argument), as well as `-as->`-variants, which you can call like this: ```elisp title="example.el" (-as-> topic-string _ (string-split _ "," t " ") (mapcar (lambda (topic) (concat "#" topic)) _) (string-join _ " ")) ```
January 20, 2026 at 1:02 AM
beathagenlocher.com
Backing up my stuff from Github

#git #Github #Codeberg #Gitlab #Gitea #Forgejo
Today, I thought about making myself less dependent on Github (once again). There are a few ways to do that (I still want to have an account on Github and be there, just be less dependent on them) – the easiest would be thing for this would be setting up a git mirror. I could do that by setting up my private git forge (forgejo or gitea), or by just going to one of the git hosters (Gitlab or Codeberg) Two promising tools for that seem to be: - https://github.com/ChappIO/git-backup - and https://github.com/cooperspencer/gickup But _actually_ setting this up is for another day. ^^ (Small caveat: Codeberg doesn't want you to mirror your stuff there for resource reasons.)
January 19, 2026 at 10:26 PM
beathagenlocher.com
dash.el for nice list operations

#Emacs #Macros #Syntax #Functional Programming
When programming in Elisp I've been using the `->` and `->>` threading Macros for quite some time. I learned to value them first in Racket (`(require threading)`), then in Elixir: (`|>`), and since then I use them wherever it makes sense (`&` in Haskell, or the `->`/`->>` Threading Macros in Clojure, for example. And yesterday, I opened the in-Emacs docs of `->` for the first time (since I actually needed `-as->` in that situation, and wanted to see whether it exists, which it does) only to see it's part of a library called dash.el, which has lots of list functions with an intuitive api. Nice! In case you're _more_ confused about Threading Macros now than you were before, take a look here: Threading Macros And Pipes.
January 19, 2026 at 10:10 AM
beathagenlocher.com
Emacs Unicode Input Doesn't Work Correctly: IBus Errors

#IBus #Emacs #Linux
Over the last days, I finally took on a few issues that have been plaguing me on this particular system for some time. One of them: A weird bug where my Emacs Unicode input stopped working. It looked like this: <video controls="controls" preload="auto"> <source src="emacs-ibus-errors.webm" type="video/webm"/> </video> As you can see, there is an overlay that flashes the unicode keycodes as they're typed, and then some of them result in working characters, and some don't. (The missing ones here are `–` and `—`, `U+2013` and `U+2014` respectively) Though I haven't found a proper solution yet, just restarting `ibus` via `ibus restart` makes it work from then on.
January 16, 2026 at 6:30 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Typing Emojis with :shortcodes: in Emacs
After I just properly learned/understood how completion in Emacs works, today I had my 'wait a moment' moment for knowing what to google to emoji input via `:shortcodes:` in Emacs. It's as easy as _knowing_ that you need to google "emacs company emoji input" And then the thing that immediately worked was company-emoji. ```elisp ;; packages.el (package! company-emoji) ``` ```elisp ;; config.el (require 'company-emoji) (after! markdown-mode (set-company-backend! 'markdown-mode 'company-emoji)) ``` Nice to be able to easily type emojis again, finally! 🙌
January 16, 2026 at 5:11 PM
beathagenlocher.com
22. Tü.λ-Meetup: Property Testing
The next edition of tu-lambda is up: https://www.meetup.com/tu-lambda/events/312848576/ If you're in the vicinity of Tübingen at the 28.01.26, come by :) (There's gonna be free pizza! )
January 16, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Reposted by beat
bobkonf.bsky.social
Reminder: #BOBkonf2026 early bird ticket sales end tomorrow, 16 January, at 23:59 UTC+1!
January 15, 2026 at 2:48 PM
beathagenlocher.com
curl Converter
Today I found curlconverter You give it a `curl` `HTTP` request, and it translates it into a corresponding request in many, many other languages. Sweet :)
January 12, 2026 at 6:56 PM
beathagenlocher.com
elysia
TIL about Elysia, a .. pretty nice-looking new-ish framework for writing strongly typed web services that has a strong emphasis on Bun. Their docs are pretty nice, they have cool tutorial/playground (and a very small thing: Their CORS plugin just works (that's not _that_ high of a bar, I know)) I especially like how code example-heavy their comparison pages are: https://elysiajs.com/migrate/from-hono.html Sweet!
January 12, 2026 at 6:50 PM
Reposted by beat
taskmastery.bsky.social
If I could recommend just 1 non-fiction book that I read in 2025 it would be Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman.

It left me energized and clear-eyed with a new perspective on my own values. It's the my only re-read of the year and I'll read it again.

#booksky
December 24, 2025 at 7:09 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Today I learned Lix has an installer that's based off the determinate systems one now.

So now, you can install Lix with this command:

```shell
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf -L https://install.lix.systems/lix | sh -s -- install
```

Nice!

Syndicated from my digital garden
December 1, 2025 at 5:10 PM
beathagenlocher.com
I just found `nix-portable`, a way to run Nix as a static executable from any linux system.

Cool!

Syndicated from my digital garden
November 30, 2025 at 10:44 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Github has a website where one can see all the public keys per user.

It's at `https://github.com/.keys`.

Sweet!

Syndicated from my digital garden
November 26, 2025 at 1:43 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Next week is functional programming time in Tübingen again:

www.meetup.com/tu-lambda/ev...
21. Tü.λ – What the Guix!?, Wed, Dec 3, 2025, 6:45 PM | Meetup
# Schedule **18:45 Doors open & Welcome** **I. What the Guix!? (Bost, Alex)** *Hey you!* Psst, are you a developer or an IT person? Do you use multiple computers with ma
www.meetup.com
November 26, 2025 at 12:51 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Today I learned how to also show the time in mu4e's email list.

This is how you do it:

```elisp
(setq mu4e-headers-date-format "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M")

(setq mu4e-headers-fields
'((:human-date . 18) ; this needs to be there
(:flags . 6)
(:from . 22)
(:subject)))
```
November 25, 2025 at 12:44 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Today I learned about a new tool in the Nix space: Clan

Really looking forward to trying this out.

Syndicated from my digital garden
November 24, 2025 at 1:35 AM
beathagenlocher.com
Today I finally watched A Language Server for your DSL for Fun and Profit, which was a pretty nice talk.

In the talk, he mentions L4—it's a Specification Language for legal systems.

Looks interesting!

Syndicated from my digital garden
November 20, 2025 at 5:06 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Recently, I came upon The Quiet Rich, specifically the article on Work Boundaries.

So I thought I'd try and write this down for me: My Work Boundaries

Syndicated from my digital garden
November 18, 2025 at 9:37 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Is this finally a nonbroken publish from Emacs by @beathagenlocher.com?
November 15, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by beat
bobkonf.bsky.social
We're back! Mark your calendars: BOBkonf returns on 13 March 2026 …

… and our Call for Contributions is up, with a submission deadline of 17 Nov 2025.

Find out more here:
bobkonf.de/2026/cfc.html
BOB Conference logo: a smiling stick figure face that seems to look over a line, drawn in black lines on a white background. The figurine has three red hairs. The writing right of the image says "BOB Konferenz 2026"
October 2, 2025 at 11:49 AM
beathagenlocher.com
And now I can publish texts to Bluesky from Emacs!

Code here: https://github.com/haglobah/doom/blob/444e2079faac47eb33703b66eec1d1443049be81/packages/bluesky.el#L1
September 24, 2025 at 7:52 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Just came upon this wonderful piece again:

The high-return activity of raising others’ aspirations

Already raised someone's aspirations today?
September 24, 2025 at 7:04 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Today I found out that Randall's got a blog, too:
blog.xkcd.com
Maybe I was one of those lucky ten thousand today ^^
(And yes, I know, it's more like 300 000 if you assume it to be world wide)
xkcd
The blag of the webcomic
blog.xkcd.com
July 1, 2025 at 10:48 PM
beathagenlocher.com
Lol. Just now I learned that git hooks are actually internal to git.
Just take a look at `.git/hooks/` in your repo:

git-scm.com/book/ms/v2/C...

(makes _so_ much sense, I know, I know)
Git - Git Hooks
git-scm.com
June 2, 2025 at 9:45 AM
beathagenlocher.com
Today I learned about the Temporal object in JS: developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/W...
Temporal - JavaScript | MDN
The Temporal object enables date and time management in various scenarios, including built-in time zone and calendar representation, wall-clock time conversions, arithmetics, formatting, and more. It ...
developer.mozilla.org
June 1, 2025 at 6:10 PM