athensbum said:
I think personal experience has a lot to do with what platform a person prefers, which is why I don't think people who prefer Windows are dumb, and I would like to think that they offer me the same respect...
Gotta love a Mac vs PC debate - the one I started in another forum stuck at the top for over a week. I was less mature then, however, in believing that Macs were less superior to PCs. Whilst I use every possible opportunity to poke fun at Macs, I respect Mac users as I do PC users. Nowadays, considering they're very similar for all but serious/professional use (be it development, music production, erm...gaming..., etc) it's like choosing tea over coffee. Boils down to personal preference and what you feel suits you best.
Interestingly, as has been noted, Macs do crash. Mac users often say that is the badly written software, not the Mac OS itself, but the same excuse applies to Windows instabilities - any instabilities I've had with Windows in recent years have been due to poor drivers, buggy patches, etc.
Macs are really expensive though. That adds to their exclusivity, but means that I would prefer to build myself a decent PC over getting an Apple product that would cost double that and be less powerful. PCs bought from reputable brands, or constructed from quality hardware, are just as good quality as Macs. The fact Mac desktops and laptops are barely customisable is a rather limiting factor too.
JayArby said:
About Ruby...elegant??
Ruby allows the programmer to write code in fifteen confusingly different ways, so that a difference in style can result in complete unreadability. Then Ruby also replaces the elegant braces of C/C++/Java/etc. with clunky tags that look like variables...bleah...
Nothing can match the elegance of C.
Sorry, I know this is not supposed to be a programming forum, but I can't resist sticking up for good old C.
Every language has good and bad styles and forms that are specific to it. I'm sure one can write a C program that reads just as horribly (or far worse
) than the same-functioning but also badly written Ruby program. In Ruby, if you're serious, there are forms and style guidelines that advise you what does and doesn't look good. But, the fact you have the freedom to work like you want isn't a bad thing, if used maturely.
I did enjoy C programming at Uni. In fact, C was the first language I learned, almost a decade ago now, so I'm not going to fault it
. But suffice to say that unless you need low-level access to the system, Ruby will most probably allow you to get your job done quicker, and more enjoyably. Furthermore, you don't hear about web application frameworks written in C. Don't say that Ruby on Rails counts because Ruby is written in C - that's
not what I mean
. Basically, I think that like Macs and PCs, both have their uses. I have used both at work in the last few days, in fact.
Btw, what are the "clunky tags that look like variables"? If you mean calling a function with no parentheses, it can be used to great effect. Things just flow in Ruby without needless brackets. I do use brackets a lot though, in keeping with the style guidelines that I personally find rather instinctive. Ruby is flexible
.
).
