Asp Forum - Is Ruby good for web applications?

jt

4/15/2005 2:35:00 AM

I am a Python and Ruby programmer and I'm thinking about learning PHP,
which is similar to C++ (quite different from Python and Ruby). I want to
start writing web applications. Do you think if I use Ruby rather than PHP
I'll develop faster? Does PHP or Ruby have more features? How about the
speed of execution? What are the pros and cons? Will I have to compile the
code before running the apps like I need for regular desktop apps?
Thanks for your opinion,

--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera...

15 Answers

Zoe Phoenix

4/15/2005 2:49:00 AM

I tried a while back to learn how to program using Visual Basic 5, but I
could never really grasp it. I haven't had a lot of that problem with Ruby
thus far, but I'm having trouble finding good beginner tutorials out there
for people who haven't ever programmed before. I'm the kind of person who
needs someone to "hold my hand" in the beginning before I can do a lot by
myself. Can anyone help?

Tiffany Ellis

Bill Guindon

4/15/2005 3:11:00 AM

On 4/14/05, Unknown User <me@privacy.net> wrote:
> I am a Python and Ruby programmer and I'm thinking about learning PHP,
> which is similar to C++ (quite different from Python and Ruby). I want to
> start writing web applications. Do you think if I use Ruby rather than PHP
> I'll develop faster?

If you're already a Ruby programmer, and don't know PHP, then yeah,
you probably will develop faster in Ruby (that's obvious, no?).

> Does PHP or Ruby have more features?

More importantly, which has the features you need? Only you can
answer that. Miva has a lot of features I need, but I doubt you'd
consider it.

> How about the speed of execution? What are the pros and cons?

One will be faster, the other slower. Faster is usually the 'pro'.
My guess is, you'll write Ruby code faster, but PHP _may_ run faster.
Which do you need?

> Will I have to compile the
> code before running the apps like I need for regular desktop apps?

Most PHP apps are not compiled, but it seems it's possible.

> Thanks for your opinion,

no problem, let me offer a couple more opinions...

Asking "Is Ruby good for web applications?" when your message was
"Should I learn PHP?" is a bit misleading.

Personally, I see little similarity between PHP and C++, but I haven't
used PHP in years, so I could be wrong on that (and everything else
I've said). If I am, I'm sure others will correct me.

Why the need to post anonymously? This is one of the friendliest
groups I've ever seen on the net, odds are, you won't be attacked for
asking a simple question -- those odds could decrease if the
subject/message seems trollish, and by posting anonymously.

> --
> Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera...
>
>

--
Bill Guindon (aka aGorilla)

ES

4/15/2005 3:31:00 AM

Phoenix wrote:
> I tried a while back to learn how to program using Visual Basic 5, but I
> could never really grasp it. I haven't had a lot of that problem with Ruby
> thus far, but I'm having trouble finding good beginner tutorials out there
> for people who haven't ever programmed before. I'm the kind of person who
> needs someone to "hold my hand" in the beginning before I can do a lot by
> myself. Can anyone help?

Chris Pine's site is pretty good for the non-programmer:
http://pine.fm/Learn...

Once you graduate that, Programming Ruby (freely available
on the web and for a fee at your local bookstore) will get
you really started.

> Tiffany Ellis

E

Joshua J. Kugler

4/15/2005 3:35:00 AM

I just came across this:

http://rubyforge.org/docman/?gr...

The "Ruby Course" (last in the list) would be ideal, I think. I'm
reading through it right now, and I'm learning.

j----- k-----

On Thursday 14 April 2005 18:49, Phoenix said something like:
> I tried a while back to learn how to program using Visual Basic 5,
> but I could never really grasp it. I haven't had a lot of that
> problem with Ruby thus far, but I'm having trouble finding good
> beginner tutorials out there for people who haven't ever programmed
> before. I'm the kind of person who needs someone to "hold my hand"
> in the beginning before I can do a lot by myself. Can anyone help?
>
> Tiffany Ellis

--
Joshua J. Kugler -- Fairbanks, Alaska -- ICQ#:13706295
Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess, in heaven, on earth, and
under the earth, that Jesus Christ is LORD -- Count on it!

Hal E. Fulton

4/15/2005 3:39:00 AM

Phoenix wrote:
> I tried a while back to learn how to program using Visual Basic 5, but I
> could never really grasp it. I haven't had a lot of that problem with Ruby
> thus far, but I'm having trouble finding good beginner tutorials out there
> for people who haven't ever programmed before. I'm the kind of person who
> needs someone to "hold my hand" in the beginning before I can do a lot by
> myself. Can anyone help?

You might consider the "Poignant Guide to Ruby" by the
person who calls himself "Why the Lucky Stiff."

http://poignantguide...

Cheers,
Hal

Chris Mueller

4/15/2005 8:42:00 PM

The biggest problem I've faced so far writing web apps in Ruby is
finding a webhost that supports ruby! PHP was designed (more or less)
with web in mind, and has been around for quite a while. It is very
mature and there are thousands of great tutorials online not to mention
every host under the sun supports PHP.

But in the end, it all comes down to preference. If you're gonna host
your own site and you already know ruby? Go for it!

-Chris

James Gray

4/15/2005 8:48:00 PM

On Apr 15, 2005, at 3:41 PM, Chris Mueller wrote:

> The biggest problem I've faced so far writing web apps in Ruby is
> finding a webhost that supports ruby!

TextDrive (textdrive.com) is truly excellent. I'm running the Ruby
Quiz site there (with some Ruby CGI), a Rails application (with FastCGI
from lighttpd), and an Instiki web. This is typical daily stuff for
them and I found out how to set everything up from their forums.

Their responses to support tickets are timely and genuinely helpful. I
really appreciate that.

I also think their prices are very reasonable.

James Edward Gray II

Florian Groß

4/15/2005 9:41:00 PM

Unknown User wrote:

> I am a Python and Ruby programmer and I'm thinking about learning PHP,
> which is similar to C++ (quite different from Python and Ruby). I want
> to start writing web applications. Do you think if I use Ruby rather
> than PHP I'll develop faster? Does PHP or Ruby have more features? How
> about the speed of execution? What are the pros and cons? Will I have
> to compile the code before running the apps like I need for regular
> desktop apps?

Have a look at RubyOnRails at http://www.rubyon...

It is a very popular web development framework right now. I think that
it can back up the buzz in quite a lot of cases as well and am currently
using it for developing yet another ecommerce application.

Lothar Scholz

4/15/2005 11:38:00 PM

Hello Unknown,

UU> I am a Python and Ruby programmer and I'm thinking about learning PHP,
UU> which is similar to C++ (quite different from Python and Ruby). I want to

The only thing where PHP is similar to C++ are two ANSI characters used for
opening and closing statement blocks: '{' and '}'
In all other aspects the languages are more different then anything
else. PHP is very much closer to Python and Ruby.

And if you don't develop larger applications then you should go with
PHP. Only if the project reaches a certain difficulty level it makes
sense to switch to a good general purpose language like Python or
Ruby.

--
Best regards, emailto: scholz at scriptolutions dot com
Lothar Scholz http://www.ru...
CTO Scriptolutions Ruby, PHP, Python IDE 's

Daniel Amelang

4/16/2005 2:20:00 AM

No offense to Pheonix at all, but we get one of these 'ruby newbie,
where do I start' every week. I'm totally fine with that, but
sometimes we forget to mention resource x, book y, etc. I'm sure
RubyGarden has a page for this, but what would really rock would be
for the ruby-lang page to have a 'start learning ruby now' link (I
think I saw _why put one on one of the mock-ups) for us to point
people to.

What happened to that great redesign effort that was doing so well a
couple weeks back? The recent surge of interest in Ruby really scream
for that redesign.

Dan

comp.lang.ruby

Is Ruby good for web applications?

jt