KISDigital

This blog is now on the fediverse as @blog@kisdigital.com.

BoxExpress is an Express.js-style web framework for BoxLang, running on Undertow with a virtual thread per request — no servlet container needed.

Ported my forum app (DismalThreads) from ColdBox/CBWIRE to BoxLang/boxlang-express as bxThreads — swapping CBWIRE's component reactivity for hand-rolled fetch()/websockets.

Spines/Fire is one of Homecoming's premier farming Brutes.

BoxExpress adds server-sent events and full WebSocket support for pushing live updates to clients — dashboards, progress bars, chat, notifications.

bx-graphql brings GraphQL to native BoxLang via graphql-java, wrapping it in a schema-agnostic module with convention-based resolvers and zero framework lock-in.

BoxExpress 0.1.15→0.2.1: five patch releases fixed empty-value crashes (query/cookie/multipart), hardened proxy-IP trust for real platforms, fixed session data loss against non-memory stores, added response outcome accessors and opt-out session writes, and

Reference guide to City of Heroes: Homecoming IO enhancement sets, organized by power type (melee/ranged/AoE damage, defense, resistance, healing, holds, pets, travel, etc.).

Robert replaced a synchronous third-party analytics service (which caused outages when rate-limited) with a custom `RequestLogger.bx` for his site.

This site runs on one 1-vCPU DigitalOcean instance with no APM vendor — just a self-built page reading JVM metrics directly, and the habit of watching it.

Bots/FF Mastermind: ranged robot pets + Force Field shields for team defense.

I rebuilt this blog on boxlang-express, my own Express.js-style BoxLang framework, moving from a CommandBox droplet to a thin DigitalOcean App container, with static assets on Cloudflare R2 and a homegrown MySQL access log replacing GoatCounter.

BoxLang Express went from basic routing to a full-featured framework across 10 releases (0.1.1→0.1.14): sessions, CSRF, CORS, rate limiting, security headers, uploads, and a SQL-backed session store.

BoxExpress brings Express.js-style HTTP endpoints to BoxLang using the JDK's built-in HTTP server.

Robert built a Slack clone on BoxLang with no bundler, no database, no auth.

Robert rebuilt his 8-year-old Vue D&D combat app in BoxLang, using SocketBox/WebSockets for real-time state.

Robert asked Claude to describe their personality without flattery.

Robert ported 1983's Zork to BoxLang to demonstrate natural language parsing without AI models.

DismalThreads forum implements a gamified achievement system inspired by Dungeon Crawler Carl's snarky tone.

Claude skills are reusable, prompt-based automation shortcuts stored as `SKILL.md` files with YAML frontmatter and Markdown instructions.

Robert presents a ColdFusion/BoxLang coding challenge to build a recursive function that converts a flat array of hierarchical category data (using `id` and `parent_id` relationships) into a nested tree structure without using loops.

`rsync-profiles` is a simple bash wrapper that replaces long, error-prone `rsync` commands with named profiles.