people love Ruby… is that appropriate?

July 01, 2009

People love Ruby… “is that appropriate?” Dave Thomas asks, “is a software tool something that should be the object of our love?”

“programmers, like poets, constantly start with a blank piece of paper… so we have to love our tools, since otherwise we grow frustrated and that ends up showing in our work.”

I enjoyed Dave Thomas’ RubyConf 2008 keynote in which he challenged the Ruby enthusiasts in the audience to f**k Ruby (get your mind out of the gutter, he meant *fork*) to show love for the language. Perhaps this talk was the genesis of “fork is the new friend” or perhaps that idea is new for me but well known for community.

Dave’s talk sheds light on delightful corners of the Ruby Language and is worth checking out. I’m increasingly enamored of open source tools that I use in my daily work and find that spending a little time now and then to contribute a patch or edit a wiki will streamline my later work and brings a joy akin to gardening.

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