The Ruby Way: Solutions and Techniques in Ruby Programming, Second Edition

Chapter 1. Ruby in Review

Language shapes the way we think and determines what we can think about.

—Benjamin Lee Whorf

It is worth remembering that a new programming language is sometimes viewed as a panacea, especially by its adherents. But no one language will supplant all the others; no one tool is unarguably the best for every possible task. There are many different problem domains in the world and many possible constraints on problems within those domains.

Above all, there are different ways of thinking about these problems, stemming from the diverse backgrounds and personalities of the programmers themselves. For these reasons, there is no foreseeable end to the proliferation of languages. And as long as there is a multiplicity of languages, ...