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Video equipment rental costs were paid for by PeepCode.
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Hello, my name is Evan Phoenix, and I work for Engine Yard as the lead developer for Rubinius. Jim asked me to come here and give a little keynote.
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I thought about it for a while. I'm a big procrastinator, so I was working on the last bit of the slides today. Since this is a fairly short talk, I decided that I wouldn't talk about Rubinius. However, if anyone wants to discuss Rubinius, I'd be happy to do so later. Tonight, in the next half an hour, I want to talk about something a little more fun. It would work really well if everyone had a beer in hand, but that's okay. I'm going to talk about fun moments in Ruby community history, which I find really interesting.
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The Ruby community loves memes, and you'll often see someone mention something, which creates this almost avalanche effect where everyone tries out the same thing. This results in rapid and widespread adoption, and people really start to have fun with it. But what is a meme after all? It's an element of a cultural system or behavior that may be passed from one individual to another by non-tic means.
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Now, this is not that kind of conference, so we won't be discussing sharing techniques in that way. Nonetheless, the idea is that this information spreads really quickly, and the Ruby community is particularly fun to observe in this regard—how these things are discussed. I also want to touch a bit on history, as I think it's just fun to provide some background. So, let's do a little test here: who has been programming in Ruby for at least a year? Raise your hand. Okay, great! How about two years? Three years? Four? Five? Six? Fantastic!
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Looking around, it seems that most of you started programming in Ruby around 2004 or 2005, which works perfectly for my discussion. Around that time, we saw an influx of Java programmers joining the Ruby community. This wave was seen somewhat negatively, as they were perceived as a 'barbarian horde' by the rest of the community. One interesting thing they brought with them was the concept of dependency injection.
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We went through a period that I like to call the 'dependency injection rash.' Beginning around 2004, as I mentioned, we had a significant influx of Java developers who were accustomed to using tools like Spring for dependency injection. The concept seemed sound—decoupling relationships to create more modular code was appealing because it allowed for flexibility in the code to adapt to future changes.
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However, this shift meant that many started to believe that Ruby needed a dependency injection framework. For a couple of years, everyone was really focused on this topic, especially during the first six months of the trend. People like Jamus Buck even wrote multiple frameworks during this time. The community thought that if dependency injection was useful in Java, then it should definitely work in Ruby, too.
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However, as more people considered the concept, they began to realize that dependency injection wasn't as useful for Ruby as they initially thought. The concept fundamentally relies on dynamic resolution, which turned out to be something Ruby does naturally with late binding. Ruby's dynamic nature made dependency injection feel unnecessary. Ultimately, many Ruby programmers had already been using this form of dynamic resolution since the beginning.
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To illustrate this, let me give you a quick example. You can easily create a class that does some work, while delaying the exact method definition until you need it. In this way, you are already achieving what dependency injection sets out to do without the need for a separate framework. People looked at the simplicity and beauty of Ruby and thought, 'Why complicate things with additional frameworks?'
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To this day, dependency injection frameworks are rarely used in Ruby, and it's fascinating to reflect on how the community evaluated and rejected outside ideas. Programmers often have a poor reputation for ignoring historical outcomes, so it's essential to remember that we tried and largely abandoned dependency injection in Ruby.
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Next, I’d like to explore another meme that intrigues me. How many of you are familiar with the debate over naming certain Ruby constructs? Let's see a show of hands—who refers to this construct as a meta-class? Or a singleton class? Or an eigenclass? This ongoing debate on terminology within the Ruby community serves as a fun lens to understand our language—and it exhibits how we attempt to define the Ruby constructs.
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Interestingly, in Rubinius, there is a concept known as a meta-class. However, it is crucial to remember that you shouldn't feel obliged to use my terminology. While we're on the subject of memes, I want to rant a little bit about a certain prevalent trend. Let's take a moment and look at the classic definition of a class—a category or set of things having properties or attributes that differentiate one kind from another. For example, think of a class hierarchy like organisms, mammals, felines, and house cats.
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Although these examples seem straightforward, the Ruby community has taken liberties with naming conventions that can lead to confusion. For example, when we categorize classes, the use of terms like 'base' can lead to ambiguity. Are we making a class called 'Base' for a military base? The takeaway is that naming has significant implications, and developers should care about how they define their classes.
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Another thing I want to address is the singleton pattern. This pattern has often been brought into our community by Java developers—the Highlander syndrome, if you will. The common understanding is there can only be one instance of a class. But do you really need only one? More often than not, different models can benefit from multiple instances.
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The important thing to recognize is that the singleton pattern can complicate testing in Ruby. The use of the singleton has been debated a lot, with many developers concluding that they wanted reusability without necessarily limiting themselves to one instance.
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To simplify implementation, we afforded ourselves a different perspective by creating a simple contract in Ruby for instances. This led to a simplified way to create singletons in Ruby without requiring additional libraries, which showed how powerful Ruby's expressiveness can be. Many of these ideas can seem all-or-nothing, but Ruby allows for flexibility in how we implement functionality.
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The same can be said about aspect-oriented programming, which has seen various attempts at implementation in Ruby, often leading to mixed results. While the idea of aspect-oriented programming can seem appealing, Ruby's existing metaprogramming capabilities negate the need for strict implementations.
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Over the years, we’ve seen the rise of prominent figures in the Ruby community, such as why, whose mysterious presence fuels discussions and theories at every Ruby conference. He does something, then disappears, and his self-portrait from 2006 gives just a glimpse of who he is. It's amusing to think about how much more we know about his code than about him as a person.
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Moving on, let’s discuss the amusing 'chunky bacon' meme from the Poignant Guide. It’s a humorous representation of the community's light-heartedness and creativity. This quirky meme showcases how humor can easily blend into programming culture, reinforcing the friendships and connections among developers.
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In contrast, we have personalities like Zed Shaw, who maintain a strong presence and voice in the community. The balance of quiet contributors versus vocal advocates adds a multifaceted layer to the Ruby culture.
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On a technical note, Git has emerged as a standout meme in recent years. When we transitioned to Git from SVN, we observed widespread acceptance across the community. Its rise illustrates how Ruby developers are not afraid to adopt new technologies and creative ways of working together.
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However, along the way, we've also had our fair share of debates regarding performance. Complaints about Ruby being too slow often arise, but it’s crucial to examine the context behind these claims. Programmers are often quick to blame the language while neglecting to recognize that poor coding practices can lead to inefficiencies.
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The discussion regarding operating systems and hardware isn't exclusive to the Ruby community. Notably, the Ruby community has shared a unique bond with Macs, leading to humorous scenarios like the 2006 RailsConf's issuance of non-conformist certificates to those without a Macintosh.
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Concerns over Rails not being able to scale have been a common refrain, often echoed without substantial basis. General claims that 'X can't scale' have recurred throughout tech history. Naturally, it's possible to write poor code in any language, so careful attention to building efficient systems benefits any development.
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The legendary Pickaxe book has also proven vital in shaping Ruby's popularity in the United States, with most early developers learning about Ruby through that essential resource. Although many continue to discuss Ruby's evolution, the RubyGems system is something that is often taken for granted.
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Notably, RubyGems showcases the Ruby community's ability to vet solutions and maintain an effective infrastructure for package management. This has allowed new developers to jumpstart their Ruby experience and connect with established practices.
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Lastly, we must acknowledge the creative explosion of ideas that often leads to a pipeline of new gems and frameworks within the Ruby ecosystem. The practice of developing domain-specific languages (DSLs) has particularly flourished, sparking innovative tools and frameworks across the community.
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This trend toward DSLs showcases the Ruby community's desire for flexibility and expressiveness, allowing for push-and-pull discussions that cultivate growth and adaptation. Even within the sphere of Behavior Driven Development (BDD), a wide array of DSLs have developed, providing Ruby developers with choices that fit their specific needs and preferences.
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As we discuss the importance of metaprogramming in Ruby, we must guard against overdoing it. While metaprogramming can enable impressive feats, it's crucial to thoughtfully approach and recognize when conventional methods are more effective.
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The essence of the Ruby community lies in its commitment to enjoying the craft of programming while celebrating the infusion of humor and camaraderie. The ongoing pursuit of excellence spurs friendly competition, resulting in vibrant growth for all involved. The community should remain agile to exotic ideas without losing sight of its core values.
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Thanks for joining me in this exploration of Ruby history and community culture. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to share.
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The discussion around the RPA and RubyGems exemplifies how collaboration and criticism can lead to meaningful advancements. While some differences may seem subtle, they helped shape the community's perception and approach to package management. Ultimately, both systems contributed to the growth of Ruby as a language.
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Thank you!
