On Sun, Sep 03, 2006 at 07:15:32AM +0900, Alvin Ryder wrote:
> 
> As for developing major sites with Rails, most managers don't have the
> balls. They'd rather pay millions to get a java solution, it isn't
> their money on the budget so they gutlessly pour it down the java hole
> and hope for the best. If the project fails they blame the team or
> throw more money and bodies at the problem, of course it's not java's
> fault or theirs.
> 
> Anyway I don't hold prejedice again java or c# but they are in no way a
> safe bet.

Sure it is.  You'll (almost) never have to fear for your job based on a
decision to go with Java or a Microsoft "solution", even if it is
entirely the WRONG decision.  You could cost the company millions, end
up getting dozens of people laid off, and tank the entire project, but
if the language by which you did so is Java or C# you may still have job
security (as long as you haven't made other high-profile bad decisions).
The problem with job security in that circumstance only really arises if
there was a bitter power struggle over whether to go with Java or .NET,
and your side "won", then the project tanked at a cost of millions.  The
opposing "side" might just blame the language/framework decision.

On the flipside, even where from a technical standpoint it's almost
impossible to avoid thinking something like Ruby on Rails, or Perl's
Catalyst, or Python's Django, is the best option, you may well find
yourself losing a job even if you made the right decision and the
project was well on its way to being a howling success.  All it takes is
a poorly-timed change in management structure, and they may junk all the
work that has already been done at a cost of millions to rewrite
everything in Java or C# (or, God forbid, VB.NET), and fire you and all
your buddies for doing great work very quickly in the "wrong" language.

Corporate politics.  Whee.

-- 
CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
Ben Franklin: "As we enjoy great Advantages from the Inventions of
others we should be glad of an Opportunity to serve others by any
Invention of ours, and this we should do freely and generously."