IDE - asp.net v. RoR for new programmer?

rubyonrails-talk
1

The real issue that experienced programmers will point out about anything that comes with a giant IDE is that, ultimately, the IDE is an absolute necessity. Many of the frameworks supported by heavy IDEs are so verbose that it's simply impossible to set everything up by hand (see the current state of Java web apps for an example - XML 'til it hurts!).

Furthermore, quite a bit of the functionality in Visual Studio - things like creating app skeletons, etc - is essentially covered by the CLI generators that packages like Rails provide. Maybe not as glitzy, but they work.

Finally, the value of having the entire platform's source code can't be overstated - it may be intimidating at first, but reading the Rails source can be extremely valuable to a new developer. It's also the documentation of last resort... :slight_smile:

--Matt Jones

2

Can't agree more with what has been said here. I'm a C#.Net developer that is transitioning to Ruby (finally! Bought the pickaxe three years ago and never got around to it...). Yes VS is a fabulous productivity tool, but I've seen plenty of new developers get stumped for lack of understanding of the HTML, Javascript and C# that goes behind it.

If all you want to do is learn programming, then it's a matter of personal preference. If anything, getting your hands "dirtier" in Ruby will make you a better programmer, as without the comfort of VS you'll have to go deeper :slight_smile: