Comments on: From the ridiculous to the sublime: Moving from PHP to Ruby on Rails http://www.serenestudios.co.uk/2009/05/22/from-the-ridiculous-to-the-sublime-moving-from-php-to-ruby-on-rails/ Serene Studios is a small team of creative minds that build websites, web presences, and online social engagements. Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:58:06 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Salil http://www.serenestudios.co.uk/2009/05/22/from-the-ridiculous-to-the-sublime-moving-from-php-to-ruby-on-rails/comment-page-1/#comment-13 Salil Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:58:06 +0000 http://www.serenestudios.co.uk/?p=137#comment-13 If your goal is better programming, you will learn far more from reading high-quality code bases in your current languages than from a new language. Go read top-notch code in the languages you know already; it’ll teach you techniques and style quickly, plus different ways of thinking about problems, with the added bonus that you can actually use what you learn. You can also understand a lot about programming languages in general (issues like typing, scoping, functional vs. imperative) by reading a good book. If your goal is better programming, you will learn far more from reading high-quality code bases in your current languages than from a new language. Go read top-notch code in the languages you know already; it’ll teach you techniques and style quickly, plus different ways of thinking about problems, with the added bonus that you can actually use what you learn. You can also understand a lot about programming languages in general (issues like typing, scoping, functional vs. imperative) by reading a good book.

]]> By: Jonathan http://www.serenestudios.co.uk/2009/05/22/from-the-ridiculous-to-the-sublime-moving-from-php-to-ruby-on-rails/comment-page-1/#comment-8 Jonathan Sun, 13 Sep 2009 01:06:32 +0000 http://www.serenestudios.co.uk/?p=137#comment-8 Ruby itself isn't the reason RoR has been so successful, it's the MVC architecture. there are frameworks such as cakePHP and codeigniter which do the same thing for php ;) With this in mind, I think you're being *slightly* unfair here. For example, you actually need to know a language before you can use an application framework written in it - so the "hello world" comparison isn't quite right. The reason I've always been a little bit uncomfortable with Ruby is that I feel it goes a bit too far. Firstly, I can never get it out of my head that with every abstraction made in a language, you're throwing another bucket of performance out of the window. I don't think it's really much of a surprise that the current Ruby interpreter is slow. (Although no doubt it will improve). Secondly, you're right - I just don't feel in control when using Ruby. It goes just over the top feature wise. If I want features, I'll use/write a library, thanks. That way I'm more in control of my code - if I find a faster or better way of doing something, I can go and change it. The "Ruby way" is to be limited to one particular way of doing something hard coded into the interpreter. Which isn't really that great, even if there are 15 alternatives :x Of course, not trying to say Ruby is a terrible language - I use it every now and then for quick scripts, it's great for churning something out when you're not too concerned about performance. But as an enterprise level solution... I dunno. Ruby itself isn’t the reason RoR has been so successful, it’s the MVC architecture. there are frameworks such as cakePHP and codeigniter which do the same thing for php ;)

With this in mind, I think you’re being *slightly* unfair here. For example, you actually need to know a language before you can use an application framework written in it – so the “hello world” comparison isn’t quite right.

The reason I’ve always been a little bit uncomfortable with Ruby is that I feel it goes a bit too far.

Firstly, I can never get it out of my head that with every abstraction made in a language, you’re throwing another bucket of performance out of the window. I don’t think it’s really much of a surprise that the current Ruby interpreter is slow. (Although no doubt it will improve).

Secondly, you’re right – I just don’t feel in control when using Ruby. It goes just over the top feature wise. If I want features, I’ll use/write a library, thanks. That way I’m more in control of my code – if I find a faster or better way of doing something, I can go and change it. The “Ruby way” is to be limited to one particular way of doing something hard coded into the interpreter. Which isn’t really that great, even if there are 15 alternatives :x

Of course, not trying to say Ruby is a terrible language – I use it every now and then for quick scripts, it’s great for churning something out when you’re not too concerned about performance. But as an enterprise level solution… I dunno.

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