Iain D. wrote:
That is, I should be able to download, run an installer, click on a
icon, and starting typing ruby code into an editor that can execute
the ruby code. 
Marnen Laibow-Koser wrote:
You can do that already. irb comes standard, and you can use any text
editor for files. If you want to run scripts, “ruby my_script.rb” will
do fine. Where’s the problem?
Not quite the same. irb can execute code, but (at least I believe this
to be true, I’m still new around here…) it isn’t an editor. Yes, you
can edit code in a text editor, and execute code from the command
line…but that doesn’t fulfill the criteria.
There’s still going to be folks that aren’t going to be interested in
a product where they have to go to the command-line/shell to start
using the product. The idea isn’t even part of their world-view, even
if they have a vague notion of what a shell is.
I switch back and forth across the GUI/shell dividing line pretty
frequently, but that sort of thing was a complete mystery to most of
the people I’ve worked with in the past. On occasion, when we had
projects that there just wasn’t GUI tools for, I had do some
hand-holding through those portions of the project.
My own preference right now for Ruby/Rails is Emacs+shell, but I’ve
worked with folks for whom that’d be an exercise in frustration. Both
come from an entirely different world than the one they know.
I think the question to ask is: As Rubyists, what do we want them to
learn? Ruby.
So everything else [installation, editing, execution, debugging]
should be provided in a form familiar to the target audience and
arranged so that it is transparent/smooth. Whatever the solution (IDE
or some other clever idea) it should follow the conventions of the
platform/OS it is being installed/used on.
Absolutely nothing wrong with Shell+Favorite text editor. That’s a
route I go often. For me, it is the fastest route to producing code,
because I already know that environment. Eclipse was a frustration to
me, because I needed to be writing code (Java at the time), but
instead I was spending the time learning Eclipse. Eventually, I’ll
have to admit the bias that created and give Eclipse another try.
However, the combination of tools that I find familiar and comforting,
could be an exercise in frustration for someone else. For instance,
someone very familiar with Eclipse would be much happier learning Ruby
on that platform (provided the platform supports Ruby). It is
frustrating to have X to be your goal, and have to slog through Y and
Z.
I admit, it may not be possible to provide comfortable and familiar
tools to every potential Rubyist. On the other hand, there’s no reason
not to try. If a new IDE brings in another segment of the audience,
there’s that many more folks using and a few them helping to improve
Ruby. We all benefit from an influx of new ideas from a segment of the
population previously unrepresented.
Okay, I’ll stop flogging this horse, I already have a far longer
message than necessary.
Iain
