Category: Oregon

A technical post: Ruby interpreter comparison—MRI 1.9.1 vs. REE 1.8.7

I ran a small, controlled "real-world" experiment comparing these two interpreters.  The results show identical time performance. My interest is Rails application speed This site, OregonLaws.org, is a Rails 2.3.4 application.  (These blog pages are the sole exception, running on WordPress.)  I manage the architecture and deployment so that server response time is 200 ms … Continue reading A technical post: Ruby interpreter comparison—MRI 1.9.1 vs. REE 1.8.7 →

It’s the little things that count: new spell-corrections in the search results

A lot of small subtle pieces go into making a search experience that's smooth and keeps the visitor in control at all times: breadcrumbs ("Home > Search results"), a new search "form" pre-populated with the previous query, a prompt clearly explaining the results of the last action ("Your search..."), an offer to continue on from … Continue reading It’s the little things that count: new spell-corrections in the search results →

Five superseded Oregon ORS editions: 2005, 2003, 2001, 1999 and 1997

Last night I discovered a great source of vintage versions of the Oregon Revised Statutes: The Internet Archive's WayBack Machine.  I had a true Homer Simpson moment --- "Doh!  Why didn't I think of this before?"  For research-aholics, this is nothing short of nirvana. Great but not perfect The WayBack Machine isn't a perfect solution, … Continue reading Five superseded Oregon ORS editions: 2005, 2003, 2001, 1999 and 1997 →

Now serving secondary sources — relevant articles that give context and news

Articles from newspapers and other publications are now feeding into the OregonLaws.org database and are beginning to appear alongside the primary sources. For example, the page for ORS 447.233, Accessible Parking Space Requirements, now points to a recent Oregonian article, When Disabled Parking Disables the Disabled. Another is ORS 737.320, Review of Certain [Workers' Comp … Continue reading Now serving secondary sources — relevant articles that give context and news →

Good printouts — a frequently-requested feature

ORS statutes and glossary entries now look clean and elegant when printed directly from a browser. There's no separate "print" link or icon---just print from your browser's "File" menu, and the web page will re-format for paper. There were several requests for decent printouts in the feedback forum, and from friends. I found it a … Continue reading Good printouts — a frequently-requested feature →

New automatic error checking

We've added a new feature to the site: it now automatically detects many of its own errors. It does this by correlating the text of the statutes with the information in its database. In the interests of transparency and quality, visible error messages will appear where the system finds a mismatch; see the first screenshot. … Continue reading New automatic error checking →