From: Josef 'Jupp' SCHUGT <jupp@...>
Date: 2003-11-28T23:18:34+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby advertisement article [Computerwoche]

Hi!

* Lennie DeVilliers; 2003-11-27, 21:23 UTC:
> Hello,
> 
> Just some comments from me.

I did move you comments below the text you are commenting...

>> 'Computerwoche'? Never heard of :-| How does it compare to c't and
>> ix (that those people *should* be reading)?
> 
> Dont know it! Do've a link please?

For Computerwoche? Wild guess: http://www.computerwoche.de/
c't and ix are publication by the Heise Verlag. If people in the know
are subscribed to computer-oriented periodicals c't is among those
subscriptions because it covers all of the spectrum that is of
general interest. ix is a c't spin-off that has its focus on the
needs of middle to large scale companies. Heise's homepage is

http://www.heise.de/

The most information they have is at

http://www.heise.de/newsticker/

up-to date information on almost anything relating to computers and
internet.

>> - How much manpower is needed to *maintain* software (usually a
>>   very time-consuming task)?
>
> I've been programming in diffirent languages: Delphi, C++, Java,
> VB, C#, Python/Jyhon, Perl, Rebol, Rexx & Ruby. I find apps written
> in Ruby easy to maintain and after writting something I can put it
> on a server and forget about it! (isnt the same with our C++
> apps!!)

Perhaps you misunderstood the reason why I brought that issue up: I
know that software written in Ruby is easy to maintain. The people
who may read the article in question don't - so my implicit
suggestion was to communicat that advantage.

>> - Costs of introducing Ruby - in terms of training, not of
>>   hard/software. Oops, big trap: Are there any professional Ruby
>>   courses and if they exist: is an in-house option available?
> 
> Ruby is just like Java- a free programming language (1 no cost to
> buy development tools etc)

The cost of buying the programming language is almost always
neglectable when compared to the money you have to pay for training
people to use it. The cost is two-fold: On the one hand it is
spending money on the training, on the other hand the people that are
being trained cannot at the same time work on a project.

> I dont know if one get any Ruby books (I've been working in Ruby
> for 6 months & taught myself) Even for someone that doesnt have any
> programming exprience it would be easy to crasp Ruby.

The number of books in German is smaller than that of books in
English (and of course smaller than that in Japanese).


> >- Can using Ruby mean running into trouble when exporting software
> >  to China or Korea (due to some historical facts concerning Japan
> >  and these countries)? - I don't like asking that question but
> >  from a business point of view it has to be asked :-|
> 
> ? You might need to look at the licencing of the software.

I was not thinking of licensing issues. The problem lies elsewhere:
Not all Chinese and Koreans will find it acceptable to use software
written in a language that originates in Japan.

That sounds stupid but I recall examples of the same frame of mind -
from the time immediately before the beginning of war on Iraq, second
edition (Fr* fries on the one side, 'Boycott McDonalds!' here in
Germany; you will almost certainly find examples from the time of the
apartheit time - again on both sides).

Humans do not always act in the way that is the most advantagous for
them.

Josef 'Jupp' Schugt
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