Language Snobs
Last week one of the guys on my team left us. It was disappointing, because the guy seemed to be really smart and it’s always sad when a really smart guy goes. He said it was because of a better opportunity at his new place, where he’d largely be working from home, and that he’d get to use Python. He’d commented several times that he thought Ruby was immature compared to Python, but I hadn’t thought much of it.
Anyways, I stalked him on the web after he left and found a blog post he wrote explaining why he left, and it sounded like it had more to do with not liking Ruby than anything else. At first I was thinking “how can someone not like Ruby? It’s so much fun to use!” and “Why would someone quit a job over a language?”
Then I realized that I’ve done the same thing. I think the reason for learning a new language should be to change the way you code. It should show you new ways to solve old problems. Generally your first entry into a language like that (at least in my experience) will be your favorite. I liked C++, but Java offered things like Object and GC, so I switched. Then I was introduced to .NET and all its different forms of retardation, and I hated it. I left Company V for several reasons, but high up on the list was that they were a .NET shop.
Ruby changed the way I code. I think it’s for the better, but I’m sure some people who read my horrific one liners I post to twitter are more skeptical. I’ve seen Python, and I understand that the two languages are pretty similar, but I have no drive to learn it, and I wouldn’t enjoy doing things with it. I was broken into dynamic languages with Ruby, and that’s where I’ll stay until the next new language concept is introduced.