Recently, while reading about how Ruby allows the values of constants to be changed, I came across this post:
A year ago, I would've criticized Ruby's lack of restrictions as just asking for trouble, but the more I've been using it, the more I've been appreciating the freedom it allows.Remember that Ruby is designed for giving maximum power to professional programmers. It is not designed to give armies of morons an opportunity to create some kind of reliable code (what Java is for). So, well, if sometimes you really need to do something dangerous (kinds of goto, one line commands, redefine methods/constants, rough fixes and workarounds) you have a total ability to do this. There are no stupid restrictions just because of their potentional danger. This is by design, so this is a feature, not a bug :)- Oleg Andreev, http://blog.jayfields.com/2006/12/ruby-constant-values.html
More than any language with which we have worked, Ruby stays out of your way. You can concentrate on solving the problem at hand, instead of struggling with compiler and language issues. That's how it can help you become a better programmer: by giving you the chance to spend your time creating solutions for your users, not for the compiler.- Dave Thomas, Programming Ruby 1.9: The Pragmatic Programmers' Guide, pg.xxi
Having read this a year ago, when learning the language, I was skeptical. I took this as just some idealistic notion, far from reality. But, in reality, this really is the case. Who would've thunk it that I'd be so wrong! Maybe it is as the saying goes, "People change". So, it is true. Ruby has won me over from Java, and is now my language of choice.
Written on July 13, 2011