From: Mark Probert <probertm@...>
Date: 2002-04-03T02:12:37+09:00
Subject: seeking to understand...


Dear All,

[Please note that I don't want to start a flame-fest, rather to
seek to understand.  I seek to cause no offence in sending this
post and humbly apologise if it does.]

I recently found the following article at Bruce Eckel's site:

         http://www.mindview.net/Etc/FAQ.html#Ruby

In it, he says --

"FWIW, I usually find that this question [Do you have any opinions
about the Ruby language, especially compared to Python?] is asked
by someone who is considering learning to program, and was snagged
by the fact that Ruby is new, and perhaps thinks that it's going to
be the next great thing like Java. From everything I can see, it's
not. For some reason, the creator of the language saw Python and
decided to do a clone, and people who had never used Python thought
it was a good idea. Harsh, maybe, but that's my impression: if you've
used Python at all, you wouldn't give Ruby a second glance."

Mr Eckel is entitled to his opinion.  I have read and respected his
opinion based on the "Thinking in..." books and earlier works of his
I have read in various journals, so I don't want to dismiss it as
an ignorant rant.

Can any on the list who are familiar with both Python and ruby comment
on the last sentence of the above?  What made you take a "second glance"
at ruby?

Regards,



-mark.