* Lethalman (Jan 09, 2005 17:20):
> Hello, i'm a pythonist but i like very much some ruby features,
> however it doesn't seem to be very supported at all like Python.

Please, oh please look at the ruby-talk archives before asking questions
like these.  We have had a countless number of threads on this subject
already.  There's nothing to be gained by this discussion anymore.

Anyway, your statement is a bit ambigious.  Do you mean supported as in
"used and _endorsed_ by a lot of people" or as in "receiving a lot of
attention from its developers"?  Either way, I think that you haven't
seen the whole picture.  It is both actively used and actively
developed.

> I never programmed in ruby, because i python is more used.

Yes, yes...and Java is perhaps the most used language in the industry at
the moment.  If you are required to use Python, then do...you could do
far worse.  However, if you're doing things for your own pleasure, you
shouldn't be limiting yourself to using whatever language seems most
popular at the moment.

> I would like to know why ruby doesn't "take the fly" like Python did,
> because i really would like to try the ruby language!

I really don't understand what you mean here.  Python has been around
longer than Ruby, so it has gained a larger user-base.  It is also much
closer related to Algol-type languages (such as C) than Ruby is.  Thus,
many users of Python are using it since it fits their mental model
better.  This isn't to say that Ruby isn't as usable, probably the
opposite in fact.  Ruby brings ideas from many programming lanugages
together, taking the best of many paradigms; you can find bits of Lisp,
SmallTalk, Perl, C, sh, and even Python in Ruby.  I don't understand why
you can't use a language simply because ESR (Eric S. Raymond) uses
Python,
	nikolai

-- 
::: name: Nikolai Weibull    :: aliases: pcp / lone-star / aka :::
::: born: Chicago, IL USA    :: loc atm: Gothenburg, Sweden    :::
::: page: www.pcppopper.org  :: fun atm: gf,lps,ruby,lisp,war3 :::
main(){printf(&linux["\021%six\012\0"],(linux)["have"]+"fun"-97);}