From: Dave Burt <burtdav@...>
Date: 2004-05-15T21:33:51+09:00
Subject: Re: Please revisit  Ruby's Best and vote for additions

I think James is right that a PetStore is going to be one of the most
important things needed to successfully advocate Ruby in a Java/.NET
dominated world.

But another big advantage Java has is IBM's Robocode. It's a great
introduction to programming - you play a game, you know how to write Java.
It particularly appeals to young coders (and young people who aren't coders,
but will be after playing for a bit).

A thread starting at (ruby-talk:21131) suggests a Ruby version of this. In
fact, RAA lists Rubots as a project that was started in December 2002 by Tim
Bates, but never progressed.

If Tim's still around, I wonder if he's got any code lying around. If not, I
may just start trying to hack something up that mirrors Robocode fairly
closely - it seems to me (a Ruby nuby, admittedly) a fairly good design to
start with.




"James Britt" <jamesUNDERBARb@neurogami.com> wrote in message
news:40A4EC25.2000205@neurogami.com...
>
> Advocate the use of Ruby for *what*?
>
> It isn't clear to me that what appears to be a popularity contest will
> lead to a useful presentation on advocating Ruby.  We might do better to
> determine why people bother writing software at all, understand what
> they look to accomplish, and show how Ruby suits their needs.
>
> When trying to get people to use Ruby, the biggest push back I get is
> "Nobody knows it.  I can't get people to support it."
>
> While showcasing WEBrick or Drb might get some nods of admiration,  I
> don't see how they demonstrate that Ruby a)  is easy to learn,  and b)
> handles the same business requirements as Java, C#, and other, more
> widely deployed, languages.
>
> Maybe I miss the point of trying to pick some showcase Ruby programs,
> unless the idea is to walk through the code and explain how
> straightforward it is to write something interesting and good.
>
> Or maybe to show off some stunt code in order to simply grab people's
> attention.  But "Watch, this is cool" only gets you so far.
>
> The apps on that list are all quite good, but most would have had no
> place in the last three Java jobs I had.
>
> Ruby is competing against J2EE/JSP/servlets, and app servers such as
> WebLogic, and their .Net counterparts.
>
> We need to demonstrate that Ruby easier to develop, easier to maintain,
> and solves the same business needs (including concerns over speed,
> security, scalability, and reliability).
>
> Perhaps Ruby needs the equivalent of the "Pet Store" example.
>
> James
>