“Stop evangelising [..] you’re wasting your time” : September’s Troll of the Month
This month's "Troll of the Month" is Ruby vs Python - why no-one should care by Cynos. Cynos touches on a point I've seen raised a few times in the past month.. namely that Python and Ruby are similar and are, supposedly, 'converging'. He argues, therefore, that both communities should stop evangelizing to each other. Despite a reasonable, if baited, argument, however, the comments quickly turn into a pointless flamewar:
- and when you unfairly malign nice people because of the programming language that they use [...] that I can only assume you're a born again Ruby user
- I don't really care about either language, but if I had to pick one I'd go with Python. Why? Because Ruby is surrounded by the "graphic designers" of programming; people who's sole concern is looking the part, saying the right buzzwords but not producing the goods.
September 21, 2006 at 8:16 pm
I heard that all Ruby programmers sleep in the nude and only eat pizza with anchoives. Is that true?
September 21, 2006 at 8:44 pm
I can understand why this guy is the troll of the month, but I would also say that I actually agree with the underlying point. I would like to see Python and Ruby developers living happily ever after. Maybe even getting some sort of civil union one day!
I am doing Ruby/Rails professionally now (http://29moves.com) but I have done alot of Python in the past and am doing some Django on the side.
I think the main point is to go after the Java/J2EE's and .NET's of the world. Show them the light. Does it matter if they jump to Ruby over Python or vise versa? I don't really think so. Getting them to move at all is a victory in and of itself.
Just my thoughts.
-jason
September 21, 2006 at 8:50 pm
I see the point, and sympathize with it a great deal, but I'm also compelled to not entirely agree with it. Y'know, the French and English are far more alike than, say, the English and the Chinese, but would a Frenchman or Englishman naturally support the other over anyone else? I'm not sure. As with the French and English, I think the closeness can actually cause conflict of its own.
September 21, 2006 at 9:10 pm
@Peter: Good argument. In fact, the more similar things are, the more likely they are to compete with each other because they're targetting the same problems/needs with similar approaches. Java/.Net for example competes less with Rails/Django than they do with each other, because the companies who use Java/.Net often have certain reasons why they "must" do so (ie, "enterprise" pressure from up the ladder, corporate policies, related applications on the same platform, already-trained employees, etc. etc.). Therefore the debate is less about whether Rails or Django is better, but other issues. On the other hand, those using either Rails or Django are often free from those corporate restrictions, and therefore are more likely to compete for the same mindshare and argue over the details.