# Is the Ruby executable written in C? **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [December 30, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049 "2005-12-30T16:40:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spiz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 4:40pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049/1 "2005-12-30T16:40:21Z")
Hi all, Is the Ruby executable written in C? Thanks SteveT Steve L. > **[Troubleshooters.Com](http://www.troubleshooters.com)** > > The process and mindset of troubleshooting. removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid ---
**Author:** ![spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spiz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049/2 "2005-12-30T16:52:37Z")
On Dec 30, 2005, at 9:39 AM, Steve L. wrote: > Hi all, > > Is the Ruby executable written in C? In a word: Yes. James Edward G. II ---
**Author:** ![spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spiz)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 6:52pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049/3 "2005-12-30T18:52:28Z")
At 12:50 AM +0900 12/31/05, James Edward G. II wrote: > On Dec 30, 2005, at 9:39 AM, Steve L. wrote: > > > Hi all, > > > > Is the Ruby executable written in C? > > In a word: Yes. modulo JRuby ---
**Author:** ![spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spiz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049/4 "2005-12-31T12:48:29Z")
Steve L. wrote: > Is the Ruby executable written in C? It seems to be written in a version of C that I found a little difficult to read. It uses old K&R style function declarations, and uses macros in places I’m not used to seeing them. Honestly, I’d love to spend some time hacking the VM, but it looks prohibitively difficult. Maybe someone will enlighten me. πŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spiz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 1:00pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049/5 "2005-12-31T13:00:39Z")
Steve L. wrote: > Hi all, > > Is the Ruby executable written in C? yes. ---
**Author:** ![spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spiz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049/6 "2005-12-31T14:52:17Z")
On Sat, Dec 31, 2005 at 10:34:19PM +0900, Christian N. wrote: > > difficult. Maybe someone will enlighten me. πŸ™‚ > > The Perl source is worse. According to Nat Torkington, the Perl source is β€œan interconnected mass of livers and pancreas and lungs and little sharp pointy things and the occasional exploding kidney.” – Chad P. [CCD CopyWrite | [http://ccd.apotheon.org](http://ccd.apotheon.org) ] β€œA script is what you give the actors. A program is what you give the audience.” - Larry Wall ---
**Author:** ![spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spiz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049/7 "2005-12-31T16:46:25Z")
Jeffrey S. wrote: > Steve L. wrote: > > > Is the Ruby executable written in C? > > It seems to be written in a version of C that I found a little difficult > to read. It uses old K&R style function declarations, and uses macros > in places I’m not used to seeing them. Honestly, I’d love to spend some > time hacking the VM, but it looks prohibitively difficult. Maybe > someone will enlighten me. πŸ™‚ Might be an acquired taste. I’ve not done any regular C coding in many years, (which may have helped here) but when crawling through the Ruby source some years back, in preparation for a book, I found it fairly easy to get used to the naming and coding conventions and figure things out. It was a great help when trying to determine if some class or method had any potentially unexpected behavior that was not documented, or not documented correctly. (I realize it may seem pretty obvious to say that the source code is a good place to look for this information, the point being that it is quite readable.) James – [http://www.ruby-doc.org](http://www.ruby-doc.org) - Ruby Help & Documentation [Ruby Code & Style](http://www.artima.com/rubycs/) - Ruby Code & Style: Writers wanted [http://www.rubystuff.com](http://www.rubystuff.com) - The Ruby Store for Ruby Stuff [http://www.jamesbritt.com](http://www.jamesbritt.com) - Playing with Better Toys [http://www.30secondrule.com](http://www.30secondrule.com) - Building Better Tools ---
**Author:** ![spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@spiz](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/spiz)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/is-the-ruby-executable-written-in-c/55049/8 "2005-12-31T14:37:01Z")
Jeffrey S. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes: > Steve L. wrote: > > > Is the Ruby executable written in C? > > It seems to be written in a version of C that I found a little > difficult to read. It uses old K&R style function declarations, and > uses macros in places I’m not used to seeing them. Honestly, I’d love > to spend some time hacking the VM, but it looks prohibitively > difficult. Maybe someone will enlighten me. πŸ™‚ The Perl source is worse. _scnr_,