On 1/6/07, James Britt <james.britt / gmail.com> wrote:
>
> They don't trust their technical people to make assessments of
> development tools?  PHP + security concerns = severe cognitive dissonance.
>

You've obviously never worked in some of the places I've had to... =/

I don't think I've ever been in a place where management left me be
because they thought I knew what was better.  Regardless of their
breadth of knowledge, they were willing to pay for what they knew, not
what I thought was best.


>
> But in such a case you probably *shouldn't* using Ruby for production
> development.
>
>

Then how do we get better?  How do we gain applicable, real-world
programming skills if we never step out and say, "I'm going to use
this for something meaningful"?

> [snipped a lot of good stuff]
>
> Why be concerned over Ruby's popularity?  Or, at least, why be concerned
> with making Ruby popular among people who don't have the wherewithal or
> motivation to properly assess it?  Will it cultivate a strong, lasting
> Ruby community?
>

Mostly because people interested in the craft need to pay bills.  I'm
interested in the craft of software development, but I'm also
interested in being able to eat.  I would rather spend my time
learning a langauge that is possibly useful to me in a work
environment AND enriching...they are not mututally exclusive concepts.

> Someone choosing Ruby for production development had better be sure of
> the value and risks, which are not apparent from one-page success
> stories.  I'd prefer someone not use Ruby at all rather than use Ruby
> with mistaken expectations, fail, then blame the language.
>

Of course, but they need to know of the benefits.  Some people simply
respond better to a narrative of someone else's success rather than
dry technical explanations (ie., my boss's couldnt care if Ruby has
metaprogramming and increases productivity; they want to know if
someone has been able to increase productivity first).

It's a sad environment to work in, I know, but it's not totally
uncommon for those of us who are not lucky enough to work in good jobs
or have the proper education to garner said occupation.

--Jeremy

-- 
My free Ruby e-book:
http://www.humblelittlerubybook.com/book/

My blogs:
http://www.mrneighborly.com/
http://www.rubyinpractice.com/