What's better about Ruby than Python?

[John J. Lee]

"Michael Peuser" <mpeuser at web.de> writes:

> "John J. Lee" <jjl at pobox.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
> news:87ekzj6pbz.fsf at pobox.com...
> > "Michael Peuser" <mpeuser at web.de> writes:
> > [...]
> > > I don't know much about Ruby but I did some substantial programming in
> > > Python and Perl. I should now consider side issues more important than
> > > language features itself:
> > >
> > > - How fast does the code run
> > > - Is there an acceptable IDE (best: GUI/IDE  RAD-Framework)
> > > - Is there a flexible and fast GUI Toolkit
> > > -Can you access OpenGL
> > > - Which platforms are supported
> > > - How easy is multimedia (Sound/Movie in- and output)
> > > - How can you deploy your program
> > > - How large is a self contained EXE file
> > > - Is there mathematical support (array arithmetic, statistical
> functions,
> > > plotting)
> > > - Is there documentation
> > > - Are there books
> >
> > AFAIK, none of these are distinguishing features between Python and
> > Perl.
> >
> I absolutly disagree! We are (probably) not talking about the academic
> merits of  the languages, but of what you can do with them with reasonable
> effort.

Yes.


> Those "side issues" I mentioned above (and some more, and some of them not
> relevant for everyone) have - this is my experience - influenced my
> productivity more than everything else.

Sure.  What does that have to do with the *comparison* between Perl
and Python, though?  My claim was that these things are pretty much
the same on both.


> Most of the things we do with - especially so called script languages is
> inetrfacing library packages. Thoug this is not a feature of the languge it
> is most important how to do it, what pachages have already been bound etc
> etc. Consider the permanent discussions about what GUI oder IDE to use. The
> OpenSource situation is, well unclear. I have learning a lot about that
> durung the last two weeks, and I would say: Well perhaps take eric3 and
> PyQt. But in fact I have no experience with eric and I very little with Qt.

Where's your point here?  You seem to have slipped into a comparison
of Windows and Open Source.  My post was a reply to your Perl / Python
comparison.


> If all those would be in a state as VB with its Active-X support and quitre
> acceptable application framework or - eben better - as compiled RealBasic on
> Macintosh with its universal Quicktime interface, then I should say you
> could discuss fines language matters. (One should mention Delphi as well.)

This comes over as a troll, so I shan't bother to answer.


> But this is not the case.
> 
> > The really major differences are: Perl has tons of library code
> > (though Python has lots) and Perl has a pile of stuff you have to
> > learn that brings no significant benefits.  It'd be great to see more
> > research on the impact of the nonsense-overhead that comes with Perl
> > (and is absent from Python).
> 
> 
> Just amount of "library code" is not what matters.

Where did I say that?  Not sure why library code requires scare
quotes, either...


> You cannot have found it
> on my list ;-)

I still don't, if we're talking about *differences*.  (With the
possible exception of 'how easy is multimedia' -- I don't know enough
about that to say).


John