I know they are very similar and that I could learn both, and ideally I would. It's not so much that I am intimidated by learning another language as it is that I don't want to start a project in Python and then realize 75% through the project that Module X doesn't work with Filetype Y and that the community no longer exists and that I have to rewrite the whole thing in Ruby. (This is exactly what happened when I tried to build a SUSHI client in PHP and realized PHP's SOAP libraries were not compatible with the style of SOAP responses specified in the SUSHI standard, and it was a big headache I'd like to avoid in the future.)
Josh Welker Information Technology Librarian James C. Kirkpatrick Library University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, MO 64093 JCKL 2260 660.543.8022 -----Original Message----- From: Code for Libraries [mailto:CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Jon P. Stroop Sent: Monday, July 29, 2013 3:04 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Python and Ruby s/ruby/any_language/ Why not learn both? As with spoken languages, knowing more than one makes it easier for you to think at a higher level of abstraction and therefore a better developer, and, as others have alluded to, will allow you to choose the 'right tool [framework, library, etc] for the right job'. Plus, as Giarlo said, they're not really that different. ________________________________________ From: Code for Libraries [CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU] on behalf of Chris Fitzpatrick [chrisfitz...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, July 29, 2013 1:39 PM To: CODE4LIB@LISTSERV.ND.EDU Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] Python and Ruby One thing to factor in is that if you learn ruby you run the risk of becoming one of those people who constantly talks,tweets,blogs, posts to this mailing list about how great ruby is. This can have a very negative impact on your work productivity. On Monday, July 29, 2013, Dana Pearson wrote: > Josh, > > I work exclusively with XSLT but specialize in metadata only no need > for content display choices > > maybe a candidate for library programming language...XSLT 2.0 has > useful analyze-string element to cover Roy's point > > by the way, Josh, live just down the road in Leeton > > regards, > dana > > > On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 12:04 PM, Roy Tennant > <roytenn...@gmail.com<javascript:;>> > wrote: > > > On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 9:57 AM, Peter Schlumpf > > <pschlu...@earthlink.net<javascript:;> > > > > wrote: > > > Imagine if the library community had its own programming/scripting > > language, at least one that is domain relevant. > > > What would it look like? > > > > Whatever else it had, it would have to have a sophisticated way to > > inspect text for patterns -- that is, regular expressions. > > Roy > > > > > > -- > Dana Pearson > dbpearsonmlis.com >