From: Huw Collingbourne <huw@...>
Date: 2006-08-17T18:35:04+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby is exploding onto the scene as Java did at the end of 1990s


"krf" <krf@Vega.com> wrote in message 
news:pan.2006.08.16.20.25.51.294863@Vega.com...
> On Wed, 16 Aug 2006 06:40:31 -0700, zoat wrote:
>
>> Java is no longer the answer to every software development problem. Ruby
>> is exploding onto the scene, just as Java did at the end of 1990s.
>
> Yes.  Do you remember the hype?  Statements like "In a few years, 95
> percent of all programs will be written in Java"

I remember the hype very well. I was covering the 'Java phenomenon' at 
Comdex in Las Vegas that year. We would, it seemed, all be using Java 'thin 
clients' instead of PCs and Windows would be a thing of the past within a 
year or two. I've seen some hype in my time but nothing to compare with 
Java. The plain truth is that while Java has been *quite* successful, it has 
yet to come anywhere close to its own hype.

The 'hype' around Ruby, at present, is nowhere near to that. This may be due 
to the fact that Ruby does not have a big company (Sun) pushing it. This 
quickly brought into the Java fold many other big companies (e.g. Sybase, 
Corel, IBM/Lotus, Borland - even, yes, Microsoft).

Personally I think it's much healthier for Ruby to progress at its own 
pace - with developers moving things forward rather than PR departments.

best wishes
Huw Collingbourne

http://www.sapphiresteel.com
Ruby Programming In Visual Studio 2005