From: Wesley J Landaker <wjl@...>
Date: 2003-08-26T10:34:59+09:00
Subject: Re: Why did you switch from Python to Ruby?


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On Monday 25 August 2003 7:21 am, Michael Campbell wrote:
> > >   x=3D$<.read;puts [x.map.size,x.split.size,x.size]*' '
> > >
> > > Trsr:
> > >
> > >   #!perl -p0777
> > >   $_=3D"@{[y/
> > >   //,0+split,y///c]}
> > >   "
> >
> > This illustrates pretty well why I switched from Perl to Ruby. =3D)
>
> I know there's a smiley there, but let's be fair; people don't
> generally say they switched from C because of the entries in the
> OCCC, and that is clearly an overt example of TRYING to be
> obfuscated.

Well, I was mostly being funny, but seriously, it was my experience that=20
a lot of perl code that I worked hard to write clearly was far from=20
easily understandable to me when I looked at it a few months later.=20
Once you get really good with perl it's a lot easier, but it can still=20
be a monster to figure out. Until I came across better languages, perl=20
was one of my favorites, but even then I shook my fist at it once or=20
twice for being a "write-only" language. (=3D

Sure, you can obfuscate anything you want, but the thing I like about=20
Ruby is that it *naturally* tends to be nice and understandable. Perl,=20
it *naturally* tends to turn into a sharp-toothed three-eyed monster.=20
(Which is fine, if you know how to tame sharp-toothed three-eyed=20
monsters.) It took me years to master all the nuances of perl, and I=20
kept finding new (often surprising!) things about it all the time.=20
Ruby, I learned and started using productively in literally an=20
afternoon, and after only about a year or so with it, I feel like more=20
of a master of the language than I ever was with perl.=20

> Playing devils advocate, if you switched from perl because a lot of
> your perl code looked like /that/, maybe the problem isn't the
> language. =3D)

My perl wasn't really the problem; I could *rarely* understand anyone=20
else's without investing some significant effort. On the other hand,=20
every Ruby script, library, or snippet I've looked at written by=20
anybody else has been pretty easy to understand. Maybe it's just a=20
difference in who's writing the code, but experience tells me that if=20
common idioms are awkward and ugly, it's the language.

=2D-=20
Wesley J. Landaker - wjl@icecavern.net
OpenPGP FP: 4135 2A3B 4726 ACC5 9094  0097 F0A9 8A4C 4CD6 E3D2


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