# Torn in two - Pythonist **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [February 6, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531 "2006-02-06T13:03:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 1:03pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/1 "2006-02-06T13:03:34Z")
You probably get this question all the time or some version of it. I’ve been hovering in this mailing list for a time just to get a feel for the community. I must say I’m pretty impressed. Its friendly, very active and I’ve learnt a lot. However, I’m a Pythonist and I must admit Ruby is still a little unusual in its syntax. Am I missing out? Should I jump ship? Has anyone else been in my position and taken the plunge by converting? I’d be grateful for your input. All the best. Doug ---
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/2 "2006-02-06T13:27:41Z")
Hi, Welcome, From: “Doug B.” [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) > However, I’m a Pythonist and I must admit Ruby is still a little > unusual in its syntax. Am I missing out? Should I jump ship? Has > anyone else been in my position and taken the plunge by converting? It doesn’t necessarily have to be a baptism. Unless your personal beliefs dictate otherwise, you could prolly just try Ruby on the side and see how you like it. Maybe do a ruby quiz, or pick some small utility you’ve found you have a need for and see if you like writing Ruby code. 🙂 Regards, Bill ---
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 1:52pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/3 "2006-02-06T13:52:10Z")
On 2/6/06, Doug B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > You probably get this question all the time or some version of it. > I’ve been hovering in this mailing list for a time just to get a feel > for the community. > I must say I’m pretty impressed. Its friendly, very active and I’ve > learnt a lot. > > However, I’m a Pythonist and I must admit Ruby is still a little > unusual in its syntax. Am I missing out? Should I jump ship? Has > anyone else been in my position and taken the plunge by converting? I came from Perl so it was a different transition. Still, there is no real reason to ‘jump ship’ though. Python is a very powerful and clean language, and if you are comfortable with it, you’ll probably code just as quickly in it as you would in Ruby. I definitely suggest trying out the language and playing around with some of the things that are a lot of fun in Ruby (such as the metaprogramming aspects) and just get a feel for the things that are different, rather than similar in the language. This will make you a better programmer and also may make it so down the line, you might be able to use Ruby alongside Python or any other language in your work. A lot of people would lead you to believe there is such a thing as Python VS. Ruby. Though there is a good degree of natural competition due to similar scopes, there is no reason why you couldn’t use both in your every day life. I am actually relearning some python as I read through the Pragmatic Programmer’s book Data Crunching… it’s always interesting to explore different languages and pick up new ideas. There is some interesting stuff about why Ruby might be a good language here: > **[Ruby-Doc.org: Documenting the Ruby Language](https://ruby-doc.org/whyruby/)** > > Fast, searchable Ruby documentation for core and standard libraries. Plus, links to tutorials, guides, books, and related sites. ---
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/4 "2006-02-06T14:34:30Z")
Doug B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) writes: > However, I’m a Pythonist and I must admit Ruby is still a little > unusual in its syntax. Am I missing out? I’m a Rubyist and I must admit Python is still a little unusual in its syntax… 😉 You’ll get used to it, hang in there. ---
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 6:11pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/5 "2006-02-06T18:11:05Z")
Ruby and Python are very similar. There are some minor differences (muliple inheritance/mixins, etc). The major difference, however, is that Ruby has blocks. Like this: [1, 2, 3].map{|i| i \* 2} =\> [2, 4, 6] You would probably do this with a list comprehension in Python. This is one of the tasks of blocks in Ruby. Another difference is that you cannot access instance variables of an object from the outside world. All communication goes through methods. If you compare Ruby and Python, the number of differences is relatively low, however. Jules ---
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/6 "2006-02-06T18:31:14Z")
On Tuesday 07 February 2006 02:11 am, Jules J. wrote: > Ruby and Python are very similar. A few particular items Ruby has which Python nor Perl don’t have is decent propaganda against other languages. [http://po-ru.com/diary/ruby-propaganda/](http://po-ru.com/diary/ruby-propaganda/) 🙂 Tsume ---
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/7 "2006-02-06T18:52:25Z")
removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid wrote: > On Tuesday 07 February 2006 02:11 am, Jules J. wrote: > > > Ruby and Python are very similar. > > A few particular items Ruby has which Python nor Perl don’t have is decent > propaganda against other languages. > > [http://po-ru.com/diary/ruby-propaganda/](http://po-ru.com/diary/ruby-propaganda/) WARNING: Blatant $promotional content approaching! And cooler schwag: [http://rubystuff.com/](http://rubystuff.com/) [http://rubystuff.com/shoplist.html](http://rubystuff.com/shoplist.html) This might be of special interest: [http://www.cafepress.com/pythonrehab](http://www.cafepress.com/pythonrehab) > [Ruby: A New Danger : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive](http://www.archive.org/details/rubyanewdanger) “You’ll shoot your eye out!” [http://www.cafepress.com/ruby\_dangerous](http://www.cafepress.com/ruby_dangerous) [http://www.cafepress.com/rubyshootout](http://www.cafepress.com/rubyshootout) – James B. “A principle or axiom is of no value without the rules for applying it.” - Len Bullard ---
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 9:33pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/8 "2006-02-06T21:33:37Z")
In article [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid), Doug B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > You probably get this question all the time or some version of it.=20 > I’ve been hovering in this mailing list for a time just to get a feel > for the community. > I must say I’m pretty impressed. Its friendly, very active and I’ve > learnt a lot. > > However, I’m a Pythonist and I must admit Ruby is still a little > unusual in its syntax. Am I missing out? Should I jump ship? Has > anyone else been in my position and taken the plunge by converting? Don’t think of it as jumping ship. Think of it as going over to check out the other side of the catamaran. This dynamic-language catamaran has many pontoons and you are free to move about them. Just remember to keep your lifejacket on. Phil ---
**Author:** ![ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/e5b9ba/32.png) [@ashiro](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/ashiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2006, 7:26pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/torn-in-two-pythonist/101531/9 "2006-02-06T19:26:08Z")
Doug B. wrote: > You probably get this question all the time or some version of it. > I’ve been hovering in this mailing list for a time just to get a feel > for the community. > I must say I’m pretty impressed. Its friendly, very active and I’ve > learnt a lot. > > However, I’m a Pythonist and I must admit Ruby is still a little > unusual in its syntax. Am I missing out? Should I jump ship? Has > anyone else been in my position and taken the plunge by converting? no need to bind yourself to one, use both one will help you to better understand the another I can remember my first tries with Python coming from C and C++ it took some mind bending to grasp it as soon as I became fluent in it I did’t used C++ much though one important thing … I learned a great deal about C++ as well by learning Python when I tried Ruby I was used to dynamic in the language so I didn’t took much to learn it (great thanks to irb 😉 Ruby and Python are indeed similar in many ways some ideas are better expressed with Python others with Ruby > I’d be grateful for your input. don’t take it too seriosly afer all they are just tools 🙂 my 2 cents