From: Ryan Leavengood <RyanL@...>
Date: 2001-11-02T04:39:33+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:24106] RE:  OT: Curl - new kid on the block [was: Ruby and Python: a fuzzy question]

> <BRAINDEAD_RANT>
> It looks to me like a wierd cross between LISP and some functional
> language they showed us at univ. (Maybe ML, not sure)
> 
> *shudder*
> 
> I may have been irrevocably damaged by my Basic->Pascal->C++
upbringing,
> but that Curl stuff just looks hideous!

Well after a very cursory look (about 10 minutes with one of their PDF
documents), I'll have to agree that the syntax is a little weird.  But
I've seen worse (Perl comes to mind ;)  You have to wonder if they came
up with a different syntax just for the sake of being different (instead
of just being another "me too!" C syntax copier like C++, Java, C# and
Perl.)  For example, pipes (|) are comment characters in Curl.
Interesting.

Besides the syntax, the language seems to basically be a statically
typed hybrid OO system geared toward being used on the web.  For that
purpose it seems to be good (I suppose), but I'm not sure of its utility
as a general purpose programming language.  Also the fact that it is
commercial means there is much less of a chance that I'll use it.

But I won't just knee-jerkedly write it off like people have with Ruby
when they already have their "favorite" programming language.  We might
even learn something from it.  But Ruby is still my "favorite"
programming language.

> If LISP = Lots of Indented Silly Parentheses, then CURL = Cruel Usage
of
> Retro Languageconstructs ;-)
> 
> Which reminds me, do we have any cool acronyms for Ruby yet?
> Such as... Really Useful Brain Yanker.
> </BRAINDEAD_RANT>

How about in the tradition of GNU recursive acronyms:

Ruby Unveils a Better You

or

Ruby Understands it Before You do

or

Ruby is Undoubtedly Better than You think


While we are on the topic of the Ruby name, I was checking out a book
about gems and noticed that ruby is the birthstone on the month after
pearl is (pearl is June, ruby is July.)  Is this where the name comes
from?  Ruby as the language after Perl?  Hehehe.  I just thought that
was interesting.  I also learned quite a bit about rubies in that book
and have some interesting names for future Ruby projects or web-sites.

Ryan Leavengood