From: "M. Edward (Ed) Borasky" <znmeb@...>
Date: 2006-07-22T11:32:32+09:00
Subject: Ruby on Handhelds (was: Re: One-Click Installer: MinGW? or VC2005?)

gregarican wrote:
> 3) Need for targeting embedded devices. From cell phones to PDA's to
> smartphones there are lots of cutting edge projects which Ruby could
> help expose how truly easy and fun programming them could be. But it
> doesn't seem as if there's an overwhelming acknowledgement of this in
> the Ruby community as a whole.
>   
I don't really like this idea. I find "live handheld programming" a 
frustrating experience. Without a readable screen and a usable keyboard, 
no matter how much RAM or flash memory a handheld has, it's basically 
just a PIM/PDA/expensive calculator.

The last handheld I owned that I considered programmable was the 
HP-100LX. This had DOS 5.0, a small but readable 80x25 screen and a 
small but usable keyboard. It would run Forth, DOS Perl 4, Derive and 
just about anything that would run under DOS. And it had a great PIM/PDA 
built in as well as Lotus 1-2-3 2.4.

I've got a Sharp Zaurus 6000, BTW. Supposedly it runs Maxima and it has 
a nice screen, but the keyboard is tiny. It's a tad big for a pocket, 
but it's the closest thing I've found to the HP-100LX.

There's a *reason* people use SDKs to program small devices. I don't see 
the point of a Ruby interpreter in anything without a real keyboard.