Michael Hartl
Independent Researcher at Self-employed
Los Angeles, California, United States
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolMichael Hartl is an independent researcher and longtime software entrepreneur with 18 years of experience building educational products and developer tools, best known as the author of the Ruby on Rails Tutorial and founder of Learn Enough and Softcover. He has a Ph.D. in physics from Caltech and a background in theoretical astrophysics and teaching, which informs his rigorous, pedagogical approach to technical writing and tooling. Michael has been the hands-on full‑stack developer for the canonical Rails tutorial sample apps and related Learn Enough projects, shaping how thousands learn web development. After his companies were acquired in 2022 he pivoted to independent study in mathematics and theoretical physics while advising and investing in startups. Based in Los Angeles, he combines deep academic training with practical product-building and a talent for making complex subjects accessible. He prefers email contact and is focused on research and mentorship rather than social media outreach.
18 years of coding experience
11 years of employment as a software developer
Y CombinatorCalifornia Institute of TechnologyA.B., Physics, A.B., Physics at Harvard University
Stackoverflow
1,931reputation
256kreached
31answers
2questions
ruby
top-5%
ruby-on-rails
top-5%
Github Skills (39)
javascript10
image-gallery10
picture-gallery10
bootstrap10
image10
testing10
css10
rspec10
user-authentication10
authentication10
rails10
user-interface10
ui-design10
graphical-user-interface10
photo-gallery10
Programming languages (12)
Github contributions (5)
railstutorial/sample_app_2nd_ed
Mar 2012 - Jul 2017
The Rails Tutorial Sample App, 2nd Edition
Role in this project:
Full-stack Developer
Full-stack DeveloperContributions:141 commits, 1 push, 1 comment in 5 years 5 months
Contributions summary:Michael primarily contributed to the development of the sample application's static pages and layout. They implemented the home, help, about, and contact pages, and ensured the correct title tags were present. Furthermore, the user integrated the necessary header and footer components into the application's layout, and incorporated bootstrap styles for a responsive design. They also added functionality for user signup and profile pages.
rails-tutorial
railstutorial/sample_app_rails_4
Mar 2013 - Jun 2017
The reference implementation of the sample app for the Ruby on Rails Tutorial (Rails 4)
Role in this project:Full-stack Developer
Full-stack DeveloperContributions:116 commits, 3 PRs, 2 pushes in 4 years 3 months
Contributions summary:Michael primarily focused on implementing the core features and structure of a sample web application built using Ruby on Rails. They started by setting up the basic structure, including controllers, views, and routes for static pages. Further development included adding pages, modifying layouts, integrating the asset pipeline and building user functionality like signup, profile pages, and authentication. The user also developed testing frameworks to maintain the quality of the code.
railsruby-on-rails
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