Paul Krill
Editor at Large

Ruby.Net set to continue

news
Feb 8, 20082 mins

The Ruby.Net compiler project to bring the Ruby language to the .Net environment is set to continue as a extension to Microsoft’s IronRuby project, which also involves running Ruby on .Net.

The leader of Ruby.Net, Wayne Kelly, this week announced he would instead be supporting IronRuby. But another Ruby.Net advocate, M. David Peterson, in an email said he believed the Ruby.Net project now should center on extending IronRuby. Peterson said would be interested in taking over as Ruby.Net project lead but that the matter is open for discussion on the Ruby.Net list.

“If there is any one message I believe must be broadcast above all else it’s that the Ruby.Net project should continue forward shadowing the work of the IronRuby project as it relates to the language features and syntax, not as an alternative Ruby language implementation for the .Net platform but as a complementary extension to IronRuby.”

“In other words,” Peterson said, “if as a developer I write code targeted towards IronRuby that same code should run exactly the same via Ruby.NET when compiled into a .Net assembly, whether that be an executable or DLL.”

The primary focus of the Ruby.Net project could be on static compilation of Ruby code targeted at IronRuby while a secondary focus could be on experimental language and platform features, Peterson said.

Ensuring one-to-one compatibility with IronRuby also is a priority. Another area to ponder is concurrency via Actors/Agents, in which Actors or Agents, or objects, pass messages from one to another. This could become a core part of the Ruby language, Peterson said.

Paul Krill

Paul Krill is editor at large at InfoWorld. Paul has been covering computer technology as a news and feature reporter for more than 35 years, including 30 years at InfoWorld. He has specialized in coverage of software development tools and technologies since the 1990s, and he continues to lead InfoWorld’s news coverage of software development platforms including Java and .NET and programming languages including JavaScript, TypeScript, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, and Go. Long trusted as a reporter who prioritizes accuracy, integrity, and the best interests of readers, Paul is sought out by technology companies and industry organizations who want to reach InfoWorld’s audience of software developers and other information technology professionals. Paul has won a “Best Technology News Coverage” award from IDG.

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