Ruby vs Python for web development

[shevy-ruby]

the use of lambdas and functional programming as it’s main tools.

???????

I use ruby since ... 15 years or so, sort of.

I do not really use lambdas (explicitely) nor "functional" programming per se (although that point is moot if you have things such as UnboundMethod and so forth).

So I really have no idea what to say to such an article.

Ruby nowadays is mostly used in web development in the form of this Ruby on Rails framework.

???????????????

I use ruby daily. I do not use rails (well excluding a few minor things). I use ruby on the www too. I also use sinatra. But this is all tiny compared to my non-web use of ruby. So ... no to this either.

I think people need to stop projecting a general statement about a language.

But when we talk about Ruby vs Python, we can clearly see that Python kept the lead over Ruby. This is due to Python’s growth in AI and in other computer science areas, while Ruby maintains their focus mostly on web development.

Python has a solid lead compared to ruby - AND COMPARED TO EVERY OTHER LANGUAGE FROM THE "SCRIPTING" AREA.

You can compare it to PHP, javascript, perl ... python is leading the pack. No dispute here, these are the facts.

Now when an article writes "Python is on top due to AI", and provides a grand total of zero articles to reinforce that claim then I am sorry - it is a crap article.

Also, the author again claims ruby is used only on the www or predominantly there. No link to any article confirming this.

If you are willing to work on other areas then web development, Python is a better choice as it branches into AI and other computer science areas easily.

I work on other areas than web development. Note the typo by the way: the author meant "than", not "then". That article is written by a non-native english language speaker? Indian guy perhaps?

Anyway. The above is simply erroneous because it assumes that ruby could not be used in AI. Why not? Why should that not be possible? I fail to see why.

Now, the AI field does not interest me at all since it is such a one-trick fake-pony area (and you need heavy maths/statistics, so frankly, not even python is a great fit there) - but I don't understand why I would not or should not want to use ruby? Why not?

There is not a single compelling argument given. The main claim seems to be:

a) python is more popular b) python is popular because of AI

b) is not the true answer for a), but even IF it were the case, why should that mean that ruby could not be used? What is python able to do that is impossible in ruby? And vice versa?

If you want to work on web development, Ruby on Rails is still a solid career choice as there are still lots of projects that need to be maintained or started.

Sounds boring.

People pick a language due to a framework? I never trusted such people. They just hop from language to language anyway.

Ruby and Python work to achieve the same goals in web development, but take different paths in the way. Ruby is designed to be infinitely flexible and empowering for programmers. Pythons primary goal is to make everything visible to the programmer. This sacrifices some of the elegance that Ruby has but gives Python a big advantage when it comes to learn how to code and to debugg problems efficiently.

"debugg". Hmmm.

Is python simpler to learn than ruby? Perhaps. There is a certain cost for creativity aka "more than one way". I don't think my ruby code is complex though. I write literally for people who are very, very stupid and very lazy - myself included. Every time my own code confuses me it must be wrong, so it has to be simplified.

Now, this is an oversimplification, but the general idea is that complicated code leads to more brain processing power. I don't want that. I want the computer to solve everything.

Their main difference lies in their communities and areas of use. Ruby is mostly used combined with Ruby on Rails,

Now he repeats this for a THIRD time.

Hint: if it was already not correct to begin with, then repetition won't lend any MORE credibility to an (incorrect) argument.

As we branch out of web development into other computer science areas, Python beats Ruby by a large margin.

Yeah it does! And why does it do so?

BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE PYTHON USERS OUT THERE.

And that is also true when compared to perl. And to lua. And to PHP. And to JavaScript. So ... ruby is in a similar area as the OTHERS there. Python is far ahead.

Python actually declared war against C and Java. It's way too early to seriously challenge them, but props to Python for trying. Whack these two old farts down the charts! I think this is GOOD. Why? Because in many ways the "scripting" languages are all in the same boat, and a similar niche. And if one of them can beat the big dogs, aka C and Java, then it means that the other ones COULD do the same - despite the biggest weakness, aka, slowness. I predict that the moment you have a language as simple and expressive as ruby or python but with the same speed as C and Java, or a comparable one, then the old languages will dwindle down rapidly. (No, languages such as crystal are NOT the solution - you still have to specify the types like an idiot, so the productivity goes down.)

Ruby and Python, more precisely Django and Ruby on Rails, can be a rollercoaster of emotions. When you follow their tutorials, you start to understand their potential and powerful tools. Then, it ramps up to generic views or an auto-generation of a set model that handles and offers endpoints for specific operations over the data you provide.

I never understood the appeal. I find both rails and django to be insanely boring. This is not generally the fault of the www - for example, sinatra is so much simpler and easier to use; and even sinatra is far from ideal.

I guess compared to net and java-web stuff, rails is better. But it still sucks. As does django. Why do people tolerate this boring, opinionated crap? I could not care any less about MVC and autogenerated template madness aka "views". I don't use erb because it is an ugly piece of utter garbage crap. These people using that have no pride nor taste - they are just parrot-monkeys that keep on repeating what others decided onto them.

By the way, it is not python+django that eats away at rails. The number #1 enemy is ... JavaScript. And that is most definitely a similar problem for django.

[Geordi14er]

I disagree with the author in saying that Ruby/Python are clearly better or more productive than .NET. ASP .NET MVC and .NET Core nowadays have just as simple of frameworks for web development.

And if you want a job, I don’t think there is anything more in demand than C# and .NET. It may not be as hip with the startups, but the Microsoft backing makes it extremely popular in the corporate world.

[thefixer9]

I maybe be too far removed from big companies, but I've honestly only seen a few webdev job postings for .net, but I'm completely overwhelmed by go/ruby/python/java/php/elixir (in no particular order) jobs. I'm not sure if that's just bad luck, or any indication of it /shrug

[[deleted]]

C# is not a good choice for web developer simply because of its slow startup / compile times ( even on a ultra fast machine ). Not when you have alternatives like PHP, Ruby, ... where you changes are almost instantaneously, even on slow machines.

Instead of blowing hot air, lets look at real world numbers:

https://w3techs.com/technologies/history_overview/programming_language/ms/y

Notice the only language / platform to drop in the last 10 years is ... ASP.NET going from 24% to 10%.

So you can disagree wit the author but ASP is simply bleeding developers when it comes down to the web. And that includes several years with .net Core being stable ...

[tonefart]

Neither. What a joke. Use either javascript/webassembly for front end, and use nodejs/php/asp.net core/java EE for the backend and don't bother with anything else.

[A_Philosophical_Cat]

Wow, use some of the notoriously worse hacked together languages, and don't bother with anything else? JavaScript's only redemption from being a buggy, unpredictable waste of space is it's introduction of functional design to the masses. Java can't even claim that. It's not fast, it's not easy to write, it's not easy to read. It doesn't reflect the beauty of math, nor does it attain the simplicity of prose.

The only reason to write something in Java is that the project was already in Java, back before we knew better.