From: David Vallner <david@...>
Date: 2006-12-23T21:53:03+09:00
Subject: Re: External Ruby Script in HTML

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Marc Heiler wrote:
> For someone that likes Ruby, Javascript does not matter.
> It feels like a crippled down, specialized language.
>=20

It's *supposed to be* specialised. Different roles and all that. Where
JS is used, you're not supposed to be expressing complex logic anyway.
Before anyone mentions Ajax, refer to my gruesome bias against the
hack^Wconcept. It's also *supposed to be* crippled. JS is a language for
a domain that requires restrictions first because of the possible impact
and woes fixing if there was a security issue with the language itself.

If I was a nastier person I'd say you're missing the point by leagues.
Oh, wait, I -am-, so, you are. Ruby wasn't around when the need for
scripting web browsers emerged. So, JS got into the standard. Standards
are the only thing that preserve the web from collapsing on itself in a
rain of tears and any touching them will lead to at best pain. (So, can
anyone recall actual use of XHTML 1.1 in the wild?). And even if Ruby
were around by then, it wouldn't be the Ruby you know, the domain itself
would necessitate crippling and specialisation. Allowing it to be used
"pure" is completely impossible.

By the way, you're confusing language and programming environment. JS
the language is, in terms of language power, incrementally or at worst
linearly inferior than Ruby the language, and could probably match it in
more features than you can think of. The standard library is Good Enough
for the task the language is primarily supposed to fulfill (script a
HTML rendering engine).

David Vallner


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