I’m sure there’s a lot of fuss over the Why He Chose JRuby over Groovy article that wormed its way yesterday. I couldn’t help but smile while reading it.

Having been a part of the dialog in both Ruby and Java/Groovy camps (including seriously over-heated mailing list exchanges) it somewhat surprises me that anyone would “pick” any language/platform in the blanket sense. Although I would tend to shy away from Java (and thus Groovy) I know it has its place firmly rooted in many enterprises, applications, and appliances. Ruby for me, and my developers, is more about simply doing something we like to do (very fast) and seeing a high-rate of success. The details are left for others to banter about, like Why He Chose JRuby…

I wish there was some scientific, empirical evidence that could quantify the developmental performance rates of both Ruby and Groovy. Any of you PhD candidates out there…sign up.

Here’s a thought: use whatever makes sense. If your developers have a rich background in Java, don’t push Ruby on them and expect great things. If your developers are willing to “adapt and overcome” throw a few prototype Ruby projects out there, providing the opportunity for them to grow horizontally. Whenever I come across the Java/Ruby arguments I always see the same thing. The Java crowd always comes off as ultra-conservative to the point of stubbornness. The “other” crowd always comes off as passionate and eccentric to the point of juvenile.

Parting shot - the debate/argument is more about the communities than the tech. Look deep into what’s happening in each, and who the players are.