"elif" just doesn't sound good :P
Python for Ruby Programmers (LA RubyConf 2013)
51–54 of 54 posts
Re: Python for Ruby Programmers (LA RubyConf 2013)
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would say you are right except in one case, which is scientific computing. The OP touched on it, but that is definitely the "killer app" of the Python ecosystem, IMHO. Not that the languages you mentioned don't have equivalents, but if you are a rubyist who just wants to do some heavy-duty scientific/data-intensive computing without stepping too far out of your comfort zone, I can see Python being an attractive opt…
I am in the exact same situation. I know Ruby, as my first language, but keep running into scientific applications where Python or R is used. The languages are so similar, it is pretty easy to move between the two at a superficial level, but does take away some bandwidth trying to stay current in them both. It seems that if you are going to do web based work, Ruby is a good choice, but it you are going to be actively…
I know nothing about scientific computing, but I am sure you took a look at this,right? http://sciruby.com/
It goes like: " Ruby has for some time had no equivalent to the beautifully constructed NumPy, SciPy, and matplotlib libraries for Python. We believe that the time for a Ruby science and visualization package has come..."
But status is pre-alpha, last commit 7 months ago... so dunno how much it can help...
Re: Python for Ruby Programmers (LA RubyConf 2013)
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I am in the exact same situation. I know Ruby, as my first language, but keep running into scientific applications where Python or R is used. The languages are so similar, it is pretty easy to move between the two at a superficial level, but does take away some bandwidth trying to stay current in them both. It seems that if you are going to do web based work, Ruby is a good choice, but it you are going to be actively…
I know nothing about scientific computing, but I am sure you took a look at this,right? http://sciruby.com/ It goes like: " Ruby has for some time had no equivalent to the beautifully constructed NumPy, SciPy, and matplotlib libraries for Python. We believe that the time for a Ruby science and visualization package has come..." But status is pre-alpha, last commit 7 months ago... so dunno how much it can help...
I don't know much about that project, other than the fact that it isn't mature yet. In my comments above, I didn't mean that Ruby _didn't_ have any libraries focused on scientific computing, just that they didn't have the community and tools for scientific computing that Python has.
Re: Python for Ruby Programmers (LA RubyConf 2013)
#54Thanks for posting. As a Ruby programmer I have been wanting to learn Python since 2 weeks and hopefully this will get me started for good.
Except if you have a good reason for wanting to learn Python, I will say as a rubyist you should learn a functional programming language like clojure or scala if you don't know them already. This is because both Python and Ruby are OO and similar in alot of ways.
> Python and Ruby are OO and similar in alot of ways.
They aren't similar. I found Ruby to be really hard to learn: The syntax is a mess, Rails is a nightmare, every Ruby project in existence seems to have a gigantic dependency web consisting of dozens of gems, and the language has a lot of rabid fans (including some HN'ers) who'll become downright hostile to anyone who dares suggest that Ruby's less than perfect...
So if you've survived the clusterf...of the Ruby experience, you may find Python to be a suitable substitute for many projects.
Python has its own set of problems -- the years-long Py3k debacle, super(), and anonymous functions (the latter two of which have been tossed around in this discussion) -- but I've found Python to be a much more positive overall experience than Ruby.