[ruby-talk:23410] Re: Ruby and Python: a fuzzy question

On Fri, 26 Oct 2001, Mike Sassak wrote:

> What the hell does this have to do with programming then? Well, I think
> that like the different writing styles, each language is a vehicle, and
> programmers gravitate toward the one that best (to cop a phrase from the
> Python camp) "fits their brain". That makes the distance from
> conceptualization to running code shortest. Now, if I were to go
> further, no doubt I'd have to ask the question of what constitutes
> beauty in a programming language, and _that_ is something that's just
> not answerable, (though some would try). It comes down to the "X"
> factor, to trying new languages until you find the one that "fits your
> brain". When you're having fun writing every line of code, you've found
> what you think is beautiful. Every line of Ruby is write is fun. So, I
> choose Ruby. 
> 
Thanks for expressing things so clearly. I tend to think along the same
lines. Ive expressed it as "I feel at home in Ruby". I tried
Python and didn't feel at home. Why? I'm not sure...

Here's collection of fuzzy notes relating to this:

For me Ruby feels like it helps people follow Einstein's motto 
"Make things as simple as they can be but no simpler". If Python does for
others its great.

I also tend to think of Ruby as moderately terse. I can express the
the essence and there is still enough there for me to understand it at a
later time.

I've used a fair amount of pure functional (lazy) languages (Haskell) and
while they are even terser and abstract I sometimes felt they were to far
away "from the machine". Even though Haskell's great, for me Ruby strikes
a better balance between noosphere-abstraction and low-level-bits. Mind
you I think this is largely a question of "upbringing". Had I not had
any experience with computers and imperative programming before taking my
first programming course at the university (in func progr lang ML!) that
model might make me feel more at home.

/Robert