From: Edward Faulkner <ef@...>
Date: 2005-10-20T01:19:03+09:00
Subject: Re: Advantages of Ruby

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On Wed, Oct 19, 2005 at 11:21:58PM +0900, rjack@elegancetech.com wrote:
> I understand that there are advantages and disadvantages to dynamic
> versus static typing.=20

I recently rewrote a C++ library in Ruby.  The Ruby version is smaller
by a factor of 11, despite having all the same functionality.

And the Ruby version is well-covered with unit tests, something I
never had in the C++ version.  If you count the unit test code as part
of the library, it's still 8x smaller.

That's approximately 8x fewer bugs, 8x faster development, and 8x
lower maintenance cost.  Smaller code is better code.  Choosing a more
expressive language is the best way to make your code smaller.

Computer languages fall on a continuum that moves from low-level,
hardware-oriented code up toward more abstract, human-oriented code.
A rough ordering, IMHO, goes like this:

assembly
C
C++
Java
Python
Perl,Ruby
Haskell
Lisp

I choose Ruby over Java for the same reason you choose Java over C.
In general it's a mistake not to use the most powerful language you
realistically have available.

Why don't more people use the really high level languages?  Mostly
because languages are not only tools, but also habits of thought.  And
habits of thought evolve very slowly. =20

regards,
Ed

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