What is it? Ruby is a relative latecomer among scripting
languages but it has developed a distinct niche for itself. In
an increasing number of job adverts it is part of an either/or
pair with Python. Like Python, Perl, PHP and Tcl, it is
downloadable, and there are plenty of free online resources to
help you learn it. Ruby is an interpreted scripting language for
object oriented programming. Enthusiasts describe it as simple,
extensible and portable. Together with the Rails open source
framework for developing database-backed web applications it is
said to be several times as productive as some more mainstream
approaches. Although it is a pure object oriented language, Ruby
can masquerade as a procedural one. Its syntax and design
philosophy are heavily influenced by Perl. The Ruby FAQ, says,
“If you like Perl, you will like Ruby and be right at home with
its syntax. If you like Smalltalk, you will like Ruby and be
right at home with its semantics.” Where did it originate? The
language was created in Japan b