From: Mark Roseman <mark@...>
Date: 2005-04-03T00:19:46+09:00
Subject: Re: Getting Ruby approved

Things like a rich event loop (much more than just after/timeouts, it's 
a single easy model for all I/O and UI stuff), virtual file systems,  
mature end user deployment solutions like Starkits, code protection, 
excellent performance tuning, etc. are a few examples of things that 
evolve over time, and are more likely to be in the more mature languages 
- hence the appeal.  As I said, I hope some of these types of things 
migrate to Ruby over time; I'm sure you can get most of the way there 
now by cobbling pieces together, but the edges are quite rough.

You mentioned OO being a drawback of Ruby in another message, but I 
don't think that's a drawback at all.  (Yes, coming from someone who 
does a lot of Tcl for small and large programs, both with and without 
using some of the established OO extensions for Tcl).

> I believe that self-contained languages are useful, but their reach or
> goals can't be compared to more general purpose languages like Ruby,
> though other languages like Tcl are very nice in their niche. It's
> like JavaScript: how to replace them in their niche?
> 
> People can use general purpose languages and obtain as much as a good
> result as the self-contained ones, but it takes some extra work, which
> may pay-off in the next project.
> 
> When general purpose languages evolve, it means that their easiness
> and reach may increase with the time, while the self-contained
> languages may have a harder time embracing other goals (like becoming
> cross-platform, supporting OO, etc).

I'm probably just missing something, but what do you mean by the 
distinction between "self-contained" languages vs. general purpose ones?  
(If you have somewhere to point me to, that'd be fine too).

Also, what would you see as Tcl's niche?  (I've always felt it's use was 
fairly broad-based, with small pockets here and there, but a lack of 
concentration... not necessarily a good thing).

I think Ruby has a great foundation, and I'd love to see it evolve 
quickly to smooth out some of the rough edges that are a natural part of 
every newer language.  

Thanks
Mark