Python vs Ruby

[Ed Jensen]

Sion Arrowsmith <siona at chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
> I have here a library (it's the client side of a client-server
> interface including a pile of class definitions) which has
> implementations in pure C++, Java and Python, taking about 3000,
> 3500 and 1500 loc respectively. And there's an associated module
> (with no C++ implementation) that I remember being particular
> "impressed" while writing it to find being 3 times as long in Java
> as Python despite (a) extensive (and pretty much common) Javadoc/
> docstrings and (b) implementing in the Python version a feature
> present in the standard Java library (scheduling a thread to run
> at specified intervals and time out). Strip the Javadoc/docstrings
> out and it's about at that 5:1 ratio.

This claim seems pretty dubious to me.