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# RMU SESSION 6 EXERCISE 1

If in doubt about how to submit, see SUBMISSION_GUIDELINES file.

In this exercise, we will be exploring how to work with background job
processing, a technique frequently used in Ruby to place a separation between
frontend data intake and expensive backend processing. For this exercise, you'll
be building a simple frontend application that utilizes at least one worker
process.

## EXAMPLES

* An application that generates and emails large batches of bills for a 
  medical center in PDF form after applying some filters, using a worker
  for the PDF generation and email sending.

* An application which converts uploaded audio files into a normalized 
  format suitable for streaming, using a worker for the audio conversion.

## GUIDELINES

* Your frontend component can have any sort of UI you'd like, ranging from a
  simple command line interface to a web application.

* Your backend component must do a job appropriate for a worker process,
  meaning that it must either be time consuming, dependent on a certain
  kind of environment, or something that otherwise benefits from being run 
  asynchronously.

* You may use any background job processing framework, but I'd recommend
  looking at Resque if you don't already have experience with this kind
  of work: https://github.com/defunkt/resque

* Your worker should integrate with at least one third party software package.
  It can be pretty much anything: gems, web services, and command line 
  applications all count.

* Use idiomatic Ruby conventions as much as possible. Throughout the session,
  writing code well is as important as meeting the requirements. But don't be
  afraid to ask for help, perfection is not expected in a first submission.

* Try to pick a realistic application, one that someone might actually
  want to use. Avoid contrived scenarios where possible. Include a
  good example of how to use your application.

* Avoid duplicating the work of other students. Announce on the mailing list
  what you're planning to build, and add a description on the assignment
  submission page in university-web.

## QUESTIONS?

Hit up the mailing list or IRC. RMU exercises are left deliberately open ended,
and often benefit from some discussion before, during, and after you work on
them.