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Every person I know that knows Ruby knows Python while the inverse is not true. Despite liking Ruby, I suggest trying out Python for the larger user base. That

Every person I know that knows Ruby knows Python while the inverse is not true. Despite liking Ruby, I suggest trying out Python for the larger user base. That being said, one thing that you may prefer about Ruby is that its both more OO than Python (you do len(array) in Python and not say array.size) and more functional, so it may be more consistent with your knowledge of Java while exposing you to all the joy of functional programming. While I'm blabbering, I also suggest you consider learning as many weird languages as you can. I think its usually kind of informative. (I suggest running through a tutorial where you build something in that language so you have a feel for where its strong and weak, and then if you feel extra motivated, coding something up in it.)

jwilliams 18y ago
I can't back up your experience, but it sounds reasonable. That suggests that Python is more orthogonal to Java than Ruby is (er, before I trigger a deep language discussion, I mean much more generally - in terms of application, libraries, userbase, available documentation, examples, etc) - again, it's not something I have hard analysis on, but something I can probably believe anecdotally... So if you're looking for a "partner" language, then all that would suggest that Python might be a good option (i.e. less overlap == more complimentary). ... That's some pretty rough logic, but maybe something to start with.
MoeDrippins 18y ago
I'm pretty decent at ruby, but only know a little python. :shrug: The OP should try both for awhile. One striking difference I've found between the two are the communities. There's the python community, the ruby community, and the rails community, and they have vastly different memes and "tenor". One might fit the OP better than another.
- litewulf 18y ago
  (Your first line kind of supports my thesis ;))
- jamesbritt 18y ago
  The JRuby community rocks. Charlie, Tom, et al are doing an amazing job, and the activity on#jruby on freenode is impressive. I don't know what it's like for Jython, but bugs get fixed fast in JRuby, and help is always available. If you're into Rails, deployment on Glassfish using warbler looks to be a snap (I've only tried some trivial examples). The seem seems to be true for any Rack-based Web app (though, again, I'm still short on deep experience, and have not gotten satisfactory results for Ramaze yet). For desktop apps, I (in my strongly biased opinion) think nothing beats JRuby + Swing + Monkeybars.

jwilliams 18y ago

I can't back up your experience, but it sounds reasonable. That suggests that Python is more orthogonal to Java than Ruby is (er, before I trigger a deep language discussion, I mean much more generally - in terms of application, libraries, userbase, available documentation, examples, etc) - again, it's not something I have hard analysis on, but something I can probably believe anecdotally... So if you're looking for a "partner" language, then all that would suggest that Python might be a good option (i.e. less overlap == more complimentary). ... That's some pretty rough logic, but maybe something to start with.

MoeDrippins 18y ago

I'm pretty decent at ruby, but only know a little python. :shrug: The OP should try both for awhile. One striking difference I've found between the two are the communities. There's the python community, the ruby community, and the rails community, and they have vastly different memes and "tenor". One might fit the OP better than another.

litewulf 18y ago
(Your first line kind of supports my thesis ;))
jamesbritt 18y ago
The JRuby community rocks. Charlie, Tom, et al are doing an amazing job, and the activity on#jruby on freenode is impressive. I don't know what it's like for Jython, but bugs get fixed fast in JRuby, and help is always available. If you're into Rails, deployment on Glassfish using warbler looks to be a snap (I've only tried some trivial examples). The seem seems to be true for any Rack-based Web app (though, again, I'm still short on deep experience, and have not gotten satisfactory results for Ramaze yet). For desktop apps, I (in my strongly biased opinion) think nothing beats JRuby + Swing + Monkeybars.