From: "SNYDER, BARRON F (AIT)" Date: 2002-04-03T03:13:21+09:00 Subject: RE: seeking to understand... I am a Java and Python programmer and have recently taken a look at Ruby. I also have great respect for Mr. Eckel and think that his books are wonderful and that he is a great teacher. However, unlike many, I believe there is always room for another language. What initially drew me to Ruby was the claim that Ruby is completely object oriented along similar lines to SmallTalk. Also the fact that it is a fairly compact language (like Python), appealed to me. In my recent and somewhat limited exposure to Ruby (I read the pickaxe book and The Ruby Way and have experimented with code samples of my own), I like Ruby. But, I have found that Python is probably a better language for me. Unlike Mr. Eckel, I don't view Ruby as a Python clone but rather as an improved Perl. Ruby offers much of the power of Perl but in a far more structured way. I will continue to dabble in Ruby but will stick with Python primarily because I like the explicitness of Python. Since about 80% of my time is spent maintaining and enhancing old code, explicit is good! The readability of my old Python code is great and I fear that like Perl, old Ruby code may take a little while to figure out. In my opinion, if you like Perl, you'll love Ruby. But if you come from a background of VB or Java, you will probably prefer Python. My $0.02, Barron -----Original Message----- From: Mark Probert Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 11:13 AM To: ruby-talk@ruby-lang.org 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.