[Eiffel Translation] Interview with Ruby Founder
Note: Matz is the founder of the famous programming language Ruby (Japanese)
This dialogue translated from the OREILLYNET.com website to Matz's interview.
English article Orine: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/linux/2001/11/29/ruby.html
Do not reprint this translation article without any part of it (first published in your website http://www.eiffelqiu.com).
Ruby is called a pure object-oriented language that attempts to integrate the best feature in the scripting language, it itself is developed in C language, but more than the ability to have Perl and Python when designing. Although origin is in Japan, Ruby has gradually gained attractive attention in the United States. YUKIHIRO MATSUMOTO (called Matz on the Internet) is the founder of Ruby, and is also the author of O'Reilly's latest language book "Ruby In a nutshell" author.
Matz is a professional programmer, he works in Japan's open source company NetLab.jp. He is also one of the most famous open source communicators in Japan. He released many open source products, including cmail, an Emacs-based mail client program, which is written in Lisp. Ruby is his first famous software outside Japan. Recently, we talked to Matz's history, Perl, Python's impact of Ruby and why we need another scripting language.
The following is an interview fragment:
Stewart: Let's start from reviewing history, why do you want to develop Ruby languages?
Matz: Take back to 1993, I talked to a scripting language with a colleague, and their powerful features and possibilities gave me a deep impression, I think the scripting language is the right way.
As a long-term object-oriented programming loyal supporter, object-oriented programming is also very suitable for scripting languages, so I started searching online. I found Perl 5, when it was not officially launched, I am going to implement some OO characteristics, but that is not what I want, I finally gave up the execution of Perl as an object-oriented scripting language.
Later I found Python, it was an interpretation, an object-oriented language, but I think it is not a "scripting" language, in addition to this, it is also a hybrid language that includes process programming and object-oriented programming.
What I need is a more powerful than Perl, more objects than Python, which is why I decided to design my own language.
Stewart: When did you really start writing ruby? How long does it cost to make a useful language?
Matz: I started to develop Ruby is February 24, 1993. The first Ruby version "Hello World" is the same year's summer. The first Alpha version was posted in December 1994.
Stewart: Are you doing it alone? Or contribute most of the code by the open source community?
Matz: Until in 1996, I have been developing it independently. After the play, a Ruby community has formed, they helped me very busy, but I still do most of the work, but many people give me it. Patch and patches for code.
STEWART: How is it active in Japan's open source community? What do you think than the US open source community movement?
Matz: Very active, but I think is smaller than the US community.
STEWART: How can you think of the name of "Ruby"? Matz: Ruby is a precious gemstone name (ruby). It is not a shortcomings. When I start this language project, I joked with a colleague, this project must be named after a gem name (such as Perl), my friend came up "ruby", it is a beautiful precious gemstone Abbreviation. So I adopted this name, which eventually became the official name of this language.
Later I found that Pearl (Pearl) was the birth stone in June, and Ruby was the birth stone in July. I think Ruby's name is really just right, it is true that the name of the language after Perl.
Stewart: Do you have any guiding principles when designing Ruby?
Matz: Yes, I call it "least amazed", I think people want to express their own thoughts when they are programmed, they don't want to use language. Programming languages should be natural to programmers. I am trying to make programmers feel the fun of programming when using Ruby, but will focus on programming fun and innovation.
Stewart: You are very active in Ruby's mailing list, what is the most common problem there?
Matz: Various questions, from "How do I install Ruby on the Windows 2000 machine" to "Can you combine my patch to fix your error?" The people in the Ruby community are so different and friendly, really amazing, I believe that the community is the most powerful force of Ruby.
STEWART: On SlashDot or other websites, if you mention Ruby, there is a problem that will always appear again. "Why do you need another scripting language?", What is your idea for this question?
Matz: Why do you need another language? In theory, it is not necessary. We just need a map spirit to solve all our problems. People need more complex tools to program, this is the needs of humanity. Only someone feels that using Ruby is very happy, for me, this reason is enough.
Stewart: I noticed that you are using Perl and Python before invented Ruby. In Ruby, you integrate those parts of Perl?
Matz: a lot. Ruby's class library is an object-oriented object-oriented reorganization for Perl language, and adds some of SMALLTALK and LISP. I think I have used a lot of Perl's things, but I should not inherit such as $ _ $ & and some eloquent variables.
Stewart: So what about python? What features do you try to reuse this language?
Matz: Before you are less than Perl, but I still steal some things, such as an exception name, and I have learned a lot from its source code.
Stewart: If people are already familiar with Perl and Python, what reasons do they have to go to Ruby?
Matz: Why is you going to Ruby? If you are very satisfied with Perl or Python, you don't need to go to Ruby. But if you really feel a better language, Ruby may be your choice. Learning a new language is not harmful. It gives you a new idea and insight, you are not transferred to it, you can just learn and try. When you feel that ruby uses very comfortable to use it again.
STEWART: Do you think ruby is so successful in Japan, but what is the cause of the United States and Europe?
Matz: Ruby has been famous in Japan since the first official release of 1995, until 1997 has an English document. I didn't have any propaganda to Ruby before I have established a Ruby-Talk mailing list in 1998, so this is a very new language for non-Japanese countries. I think this is the main reason. Now we have English books about Ruby, just like my "ruby in a nutshell". The community is also developing. No one knows what Ruby is in Japan last year. This year, people know that ruby is a language name, I think the situation will change in the future.
STEWART: Is there a role in cultural differences?
Matz: I don't think so. I design Ruby to minimize my surprise. When people around the world told me that Ruby reduced their surprise and allowed them to enjoy the happiness of programming, this is surprised me, now I am sure that the world's programmers are very similar.
Stewart: Do you have any plans in your future?
Matz: loop do read and reply mails write code write document / article / book write codeend
Stewart: Do you have any plans for the next version Ruby now?
Matz: I hope to do it faster and more stable. I plan to rewrote the Ruby 2.0 interpreter, the code name is: "Rite". It will be smaller, easier to embed, thread is safe and fast. It will use the bytecode engine. It may have to make me spend a few years, because the current version of light maintenance has made me quite busy.
Qiu Haifeng (Eiffelqiu) Mail: Eiffel_Q@163.comWeb: http://www.eiffelqiu.comWeblog: http://weblog.eiffelqiu.com
