Lethalman wrote:
> (sorry for my poor English)
> 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.
> I never programmed in ruby, because i python is more used.
> 
> 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!
> 
> Bye!

Some might say the same about Microsoft Windows vs Linux.  Rather than 
looking at the current status, look at the trend to see which technoloy 
is enjoying a faster growth rate.

As I type this, #python has 130 users and #ruby-lang has 185 users (the 
most I've seen).  About 2-3 months ago, I saw around 190 in #python and 
only 160 in #ruby-lang.  Ruby is seeing constant and continuous increase 
in popularity while Python does not (based solely on the IRC observation).

I understand that using only IRC channel membership by itself might not 
be accurate but it is something we can measure.  And the trend is clear: 
ruby is growing in popularity while python is not.  So you decide if you 
want to stick with something that has already peaked or if you want to 
go with something that is growing consistently.

Also keep in mind that Ruby didn't have any English-language books 
before year 2000. It now has around a half-dozen or so and more is 
coming out each year.  The lack of English documentation was the biggest 
(perhaps only) weakness in Ruby.

I've heard Ruby is already more popular in Japan than Python--but I 
don't know if that is true because I don't know how the numbers were 
measured.  Again, what is important is the growth trend and not just the 
current status (think MS Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux).