Is Ruby a good Alternative to Python ?

[Kilon]

I was just curious cause I hear alot about Ruby and Ruby on Rails. It seems like a language that generates a lot of buzz. Anyone wish to share experience with Ruby. Advantage /Disadvantage ?

[jespdj]

I have used Ruby more than Python. Both programming languages look and work similar. In my opinion, Ruby has a cleaner syntax and is more object oriented than Python. The new Python 3.0 cleans up some of the old stuff in Python.

On Ubuntu, Python is used a lot. Many of the desktop applications that you get with Ubuntu are written in Python, and Python is installed by default on an Ubuntu system. Ruby is not installed by default, so if you write an application in Ruby, other people will have to install it to be able to run your application.

[fiddler616]

I'm rather biased--I know Python and don't know Ruby (so I didn't even vote) but Ruby code has always seemed a bit more complicated to me. Although now that I think about it I can understand almost everything, and the only thing that bothers me is the "do" and "end"s. I think it boils down to personal preference.

[Sorivenul]

+1 to jespdj's post. I have used Python more than Ruby, but would agree with the opinion that Ruby has a cleaner syntax and is more object-oriented than Python. I haven't worked a lot with the Rails framework, but I understand it is quite powerful.

The usage preference comes down, really, to what you want to do. While you can do desktop and web applications in both, I prefer Python for my desktop development and Ruby for my limited web development. Other users' mileage may vary.