From: Joel VanderWerf <vjoel@...>
Date: 2002-09-11T08:08:08+09:00
Subject: Re: call for commentary: review of Ruby for a magazine (long, sorry!)

> 1) is ruby just a "toy" language? OK, OK, don't all shout at once -- but
> who's using it for medium-to-large projects, 10K SLOC and up?

8K and growing, not counting comments, blanks.

> 2) how does the language fare compared to other ones?  do you have
> comparative-productivity numbers you'd be willing to share, vis-a-vis C
> (to be brutal) or Perl (to be a little fairer) or Python?

Wouldn't have attempted it in any of the above. Our main ruby project is 
replacing a C project that was around 50K lines. The ruby version has 
comparable performance (using some C), more features, and is much easier 
to maintain.

> 3) in your experience, how has the language's novelty affected its
> stability? for comparision, recall the early days of java, and how the
> evolution of the class library made "deprecated" a word that...well,
> let's just say "sounds like something scatalogical" and leave it at
> that, eh?

Hasn't been a problem. Bugs come up, but they get fixed very quickly. I 
am expecting some minor revisions for compatibility with ruby 1.7.

> 4) where do you use Ruby? headless cruncher programs on servers? as Web
> application glue? GUI end-user programs? fast one-off scripty things?

Everything from text mungers up to a high-performance vehicle and 
traffic simulation engine with GUI and animation.

> 5) what's your favorite flavor of GUI for Ruby apps? how does using it
> compare with other UI class libraries you've tried (e.g., Swing, MFC,
> OWL, Qt, whatever)?

Tk has a nice canvas. FOX has a nice, cross-platform look-and-feel. 
Haven't tried the others.

> 6) what development tools do you use all the time for Ruby development?

Nedit, irb.

> 7) is Ruby just one of the arrows in your programming quiver, or have
> you made the leap and left other languages behind? if he former, is Ruby
> often your first choice for green-field development?

Can't quite leave C behind. It's under the hood in our simulations. Ruby 
was the prototype language for that C code, though, and ruby is used to 
automatically generate most of that C code.

> 8) open-ended essay: what drew you to Ruby? what keeps you working with
> it? what bugs you about it?

Pluses:

Flexible syntax for creating little languages in which ruby code can be 
embedded.

Dynamic OO--easy to add methods during execution.

Powerful built-in data types, like String, Hash, and Array, but more 
consistent than perl, and unified by things like iterators.

Distinction between variables and values (unlike, say, perl or C). 
There's no direct way (or need) to get a reference to a variable.

Clean, thoughtful design without loads of historical accidents and 
backwards compatibility hacks.

Strong community.


Contact info:

-- 
Joel VanderWerf                          California PATH, UC Berkeley
mailto:vjoel@path.berkeley.edu                     Ph. (510) 231-9446
http://www.path.berkeley.edu                       FAX (510) 231-9512