From: Charles Oliver Nutter <headius@...>
Date: 2009-10-20T10:29:50+09:00
Subject: Re: Windows Ruby Version Check

On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 10:46 PM, Aaron Patterson
<aaron@tenderlovemaking.com> wrote:
> You don't have to set up your environment to point at the JVM?  How hard
> is it to find, download, and install the JVM?  How about the same steps
> for JRuby?

Of course we're talking past your point now (my fault, I didn't get
the joke), but you mention below the JRuby+JRE installer. So the above
steps would be reduced to two: download JRuby+JRE installer from
jruby.com; run it.

> I only had to "unpack MRI" to install it, and somehow it took way more
> than 1 step.

Yeah, I didn't get that it was a shot against Windows...I should have
looked at all the screenshots :)

>> With JRuby 1.4, there's even an installer that can do those two steps
>> in one shot, plus tweak your PATH. And JRuby 1.4 will have a native
>> jruby.exe as well.
>
> Tweaking your PATH isn't a step?  I'm confused again...

It's an optional step we leave to up to users on *nixes because they
all have their own preferences (future installers may do PATH juggling
for *nix users too). On Windows, we just set it, since more people
there get confused if we don't (and it's a pretty gross process to
alter it.)

> I installed JRuby 1.4 that included the JRE.  It was exactly 1 step less
> than installing MRI on windows.  But the limit of (n - 1) as n
> approaches infinity is still infinite.  Believe me, I felt like I was
> approaching infinity.

No doubt...we spend a *lot* of time trying to support Windows, which
is why we have an installer and a native jruby.exe for the 1.4
release. Windows is just so painful to cope with. I understand why
ruby core doesn't have enough resources to keep it working well and
build things like installers for it.

> I would reproduce my last email with JRuby, but this was a dig on
> windows, not JRuby.  Next time I'll more clearly indicate that I'm
> trying to be funny.  I'll also say "MacRuby" instead of "JRuby".  ;-)

Yeah, I get that, but the connotation I read (me being overly
sensitive to such things, to be sure) was that it would be even
*worse* trying to install JRuby for no clear reason. It's not, and so
I often feel the need to address unintentional FUD.

But I withdraw, at any rate, since we're pretty far off from your
actual point now :)

- Charlie