From: David Douthitt <ssrat@...>
Date: 2005-11-29T11:42:29+09:00
Subject: Re: Programming Newbie: Ruby or Java?


Christian Leskowsky wrote:
> I'm not sure why you guys think Ruby is easier than Java from a "Learn It"
> perspective.  Maybe somebody can elaborate on this.  I don't really see it.

I've been trying to learn Java, having used Ruby since 1.4.  Someone
says it feels like having your hands chopped off.  This is brutal, but
there is an element of truth in it.

To elaborate, *everything* in Ruby is an object.  This makes everything
simple and elegant - and there are no exceptions.

In Java, there are many things which are *not* objects - one of which
is Integer.  I could see where this would trip up most Smalltalk or
Ruby programmers right up front - or anyone who expects things to all
act in the same way.

The other big problem with Java is its license.  Ever wonder why no
open source distribution such as Debian or Fedora has Java?  Its the
license....