Posted by Phlip on 09/18/05 01:02

www.douglassdavis.com wrote:

> I'll check it out, but this kinda scared me:
>
> Features of Ruby
>
> * Ruby has simple syntax, partially inspired by Eiffel and Ada.
>
> IMO, there's a reason why people aren't flocking to use Eiffel and
> Ada... Although Ruby it should be interesting, so I'll take a look.

I don't know who wrote that. Ruby was invented to compete directly,
head-to-head, with both Perl and Smalltalk at the same time. That's an
incredible stretch, and Matz did it by bowing to Perl's kewtzey /regexp/
syntax, with magic $1 and $2 variables for the match results. Matz then
fixed this otherwise ridiculous system by making $ the prefix for global
variables _only_. That instantly makes $1 and $2 work, because they are
nothing but stereotypical global variables.

Ruby competes with Smalltalk by making everything an object, including
classes, and making all objects indefinitely extensible. Oh, and block
closures so you don't need zillions of lines of code to get trivial things
done. Block closures permit local variables to have the narrowest scope
possible over indefinite lifespans, enhancing encapsulation without the need
for excessive plumbing to route those variables into the called-back block
where they are ultimately used.

--
Phlip
http://www.greencheese.org/ZeekLand <-- NOT a blog!!!

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