Greetings! I'm trying to figure out if Ruby is the right language for a project that I'm working on, and I'd appreciate any advice that anyone can give me. First, some background about myself and this project: * Depending on who you talk to, I either am or am not a "real" programmer. I have no formal training, and although I have extensive experience in scripting languages like Bash, application-specialized LISPs, Matlab, and especially PHP, I've never programmed in a "real" relatively low-level language. Nor am I particularly eager to. * I am currently developing my project with Matlab, but it looks like Matlab's GUI capabilities (among other things) may be insufficient. Thus I am looking for another language to port my program to, or at least use to build a graphical front-end for my Matlab programs. * Whatever language I use should be cross-platform, although initially I am developing for Windows only. When thinking "cross-platform," Java is the first thing that comes to mind. But Java is a pain in the ass, and I'd rather not do it plus, I've never used a Java application that has struck me as anything other than clunky. When searching around for languages, I ran across Python, which seemed like it would do everything I need, in combination with the wx widget library. Then I noticed some people promulgating this "Ruby" language. I'd never heard of it, but I was intrigued. Particularly because they all seemed to have this particular glassy-eyed zeal that I usually associate with Amiga or BeOS users. Now, I've been an Amiga and BeOS user back in their heyday and I know that their zeal is ABSOLUTELY 100% JUSTIFIED. Those systems were simply a JOY to use, which is a selling point that seems to elude most computer people, but is important to me. If I can experience some measure of joy while learning a new language and porting my project to it, then that is a very big selling point indeed. However, if Ruby doesn't actually do what I need, then I'll have to find another language to work with. Here are the concerns I have: * This is going to be commercial software, and I do NOT intend to give away the source code. Is their a way that Ruby programs can be securely compiled so that the source code is inaccessible? * For that matter, is there a way that Ruby programs can be compiled as binary executables? On Windows, Linux, and Mac? * I will be using a shareware-validation protocol not unlike http://www.shareit.com. Will Ruby be compatible with this? * If I am porting the entire program to Ruby, rather than just using it as a frontend to my standalone Matlab programs, are there good Fast Fourier Transform libraries for Ruby? If anyone can help me answer these questions, I'd be most appreciative. Sincerely, Nathan