From: James Britt <james_b@...>
Date: 2005-08-17T00:27:38+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby for my new business?

Jared Nuzzolillo wrote:
> Hello list. I am in the process of starting a new business venture in South 
> Florida. My partners are handling the business and financial aspects 
> (product development, initial funding, etc) and they've asked me to be in 
> charge of the technical aspects. The company is primarily offering a 
> service; software is only the icing on the cake. But I do feel that it could 
> make the difference between barely squeezing out a living, or large success.
> 
> So, I am expected to make nearly all of the technology decisions. My 
> background is in javascript. I've been using it to write server-side ASP 
> pages and client side DHTML for 6 years now. While many would scoff at the 
> idea of professional software being written in javascript, it is a very 
> dynamic, agile language and has served me quite well. 


And many would agree with your approval of JavaScript.  It has suffered 
from a bazillion poor examples and a forest of bad books.


> But when I found Ruby, 
> I almost instantly fell in love. It almost felt as if Matz looked at my top 
> ten language features list and implemented eight or nine of them. 
> 
> I would LOVE to use Ruby for this new venture; the agility and efficiency it 
> will provide will be vital to our success. But, my biggest fear is that, 
> when I need to hire help (probably two more programmers in the next six to 
> eight months), I will be unable to find experienced Ruby practitioners. I am 
> familiar with the "Python Paradox" and I agree with the concepts behind it, 
> I am just wildly ignorant of the market conditions down here in South 
> Florida.

I think you'd be surprised.  But, if you have doubts, design a small, 
relatively inexpensive project, and advertise for Ruby developers, and 
see how it goes.  Consider it the cost of market research and product 
planning.

If you cannot find people, or they are of poor quality or of a 
disagreeable nature, then reconsider.

If there are any colleges near you, see if they have CS or EE 
departments and poke around there.  You only need one or two smart people.

James


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