From: Chris <ceo@...>
Date: 2004-09-16T03:25:27+09:00
Subject: Re: Ex-Perl coders: Howz it feel to convert to Ruby?

James Edward Gray II wrote:
> On Sep 15, 2004, at 9:54 AM, Chris wrote:
> 
>> So the question for any hardcore Perl coders out there that have 
>> converted to Perl (or are fluent in both) is: Is it really worth the 
>> time?  Are the paybacks there?  And do you feel you've exceeded your 
>> capabilities in Perl using Ruby?
> 
> 
> You almost sound like you're looking for the "Silver Bullet" of 
> programming languages.  I'll tell you  upfront that I don't think there 
> is one, so you can let that color the rest of what I say...
> 
> I would rate myself as a Perl Expert and an Intermediate Ruby 
> programmer.  I've recently "converted" to Ruby in that I'm now using it 
> for more and more day-to-day tasks.
> 
> Everything else that follows is solely my opinion.
> 
> I feel Perl has a slight edge in quick and dirty scripting.  Simple 
> things like having to call to_s() on the integers I print or remembering 
> when to use times() instead of upto() slow me down or trip me up just a 
> bit.  Of course, this is probably my familiarity as much as anything 
> else.  Please don't get me wrong.  I'm not complaining about the Ruby 
> way of doing things, but I do think I throw down a quick throw-away or 
> one-use script a touch faster in Perl.
> 

I've run into this too, and it is a bit of a hiccup, but not too bad. 
It's easy in Perl to "auto-type" and that's mostly nice.

> On the flip side, Ruby is by far the cleanest most readable language 
> I've ever worked with.  That gives a huge advantage in bigger and long 
> term projects, I think.  I can just read my code, without having to 
> figure it out all over again.  Because of that, I can make changes 
> easier and maintain software faster.
> 
> Related to that, Perl's object system is downright laughable next to 
> Ruby.  Heck Java doesn't stand up that much better.  If you're a OO guy, 
> there's a lot to like in Ruby and I am.
> 
> I spend more of my time writing big programs than small scripts, so it 
> should be clear why I've begun to prefer Ruby.
> 
> The other big difference I've noticed is maturity.  Perl and especially 
> the CPAN are quite mature, simply as a function of time.  Ruby is still 
> "young" in places.  I view this as a plus and a minus.
> 
> When I need a module XYZ, it's not always immediately available, easy to 
> find, easy to install, or completely finished.  The CPAN can often claim 
> all of those things at once, which is a stunning feat.
> 
> Again though, I also view this as a plus.  I sometimes feel like 90% of 
> the problems have already been solved in Perl and there's not a lot of 
> room let for my mark.  I don't feel that way about Ruby.  If a module is 
> missing, I could be the one to write it.  This is more a feeling than 
> anything else, but it's kind of fun to be on the adventurous side of a 
> young language, to me at least.
> 
> You seem concerned with downtime though, so this may not hold true with 
> you.
> 
> Those are just some of my general impressions.  Hopefully, they give you 
> something of what you're looking for.
> 

A great post.  Very helpful.  I'd probably agree or will end up agreeing 
with all of this over time.  It is difficult to overcome CPAN versus 
Ruby's youngness as you pointed out.  But the rest is on the money too 
(eg. Perl's "way" of OO'ing, etc.)

-ceo