Not much objective information, and despite its claims to the contrary, this book really seems to be for those who have already decided to switch to Ruby and just want to convince themselves or someone else. Most of its "evidence" seemed to be anecdotal and personal experience.
Since I hadn't yet decided that I wanted to make that move, I was looking for more objective data. For that reason, I also couldn't get myself to read the second half, which is even more for those who have decided and want to know how to get started.
I think if you fit the target audience, it would be more helpful. Because of this, and because it did make some good points about tradeoffs and trends, I still felt it was a decent book. In fairness, its focus is probably consistent with the title and aim of the book, but I still felt the material had a pretty subjective feel to it.
It's a sales pitch, but a good one
I picked up this book because it isn't a technical reference or a tutorial. I am a developer, but have the opportunity to drive what technology is used for projects in-house. This book shows where Java (or C or other things) still have advantages over Ruby, but in most cases shows case studies of how Ruby or Rails is introduced into a development environment successfully. It also shows where Ruby is headed and talks about what potential there is for further improvement.
Although it is candid and unbiased, I did still find it a bit preachy in places, but that is basically what marketing is. Still, this is a book that I'm handing around to people in the office as it is easy to digest and will raise awareness of Ruby before we try a pilot.
Book Should be Called Why Bruce Tate Moved to Ruby
This book has some very strange logic. I found the analysis of the book to be very weak; Bruce Tate is taking his reasons to go to Ruby and assuming that his reasons work for other people. Here are some examples of the strange logic in the book.
On page 21 Bruce writes "Take management. If Ruby on Rails is five times more productive than Java for web-enabled database applications and a manager can handle ten employees, a typical manager can handle five times as many projects. With such savings, you could flatten your organization by removing one full level of management."
What twisted logic, first of all in the whole book Mr. Tate offers no proof that Ruby on Rails is 5 times faster than Java development. Second, the limiting factor for the number of projects is not the language chosen but other factors, such the complexity of the business problem being analyzed, getting broad agreement on requirements, and other organizational issues ... etc.
Even if you worked on a platform that was 5 times more productive that does not mean that you will be able to do five times more projects. Yes you can do more projects but the scaling will not be linear. This argument is like saying, if you have a 4 cpu system it is just as fast as 4 separate machines which is not true, it is faster than a single cpu machine but not as fast as 4 separate machines.
On Page 38 under the section titled productivity Bruce writes "You might wonder why I've gotten so passionate about Ruby so quickly. I've noticed a remarkable change in my programming practice since I picked up Ruby. With Java, I had long since quit doing live programming in my seminars. I rarely coded Java production applications. I had a difficult time keeping up with the rapidly churning state of the art in Java, because the choices were overwhelming me. I coded infrequently enough that basic problems tripped me up, often for hours at a time."
WOW! What an objective analysis of moving from Java to Ruby! Java is being applied to a huge range of problems far bigger than what Ruby is currently being applied to. If Ruby starts getting used on the same wide range of problems that Java is being applied to today then Mr. Tate might no longer be able to keep up with Ruby and he will write a new book form Ruby to ... Some new thing!
I bought this books hopping to get an objective analysis that summarizes all the key pros and cons of Ruby vs. Other programming environments. All I got was Mr. Tate's personal opinions and strange logical arguments.
Don't waste your money on this book. Do not give it your manager, if you care about you reputation. The book is not objective and does not provide a good analysis of transitioning from Ruby to Java. You are likely to hurt your chance of getting your manager to buy into Ruby if your give her this book.
Helping your management buy into Ruby...
It's not a difficult sell to get a technology geek to understand and try out a new language. But getting your management to buy into it can be nearly impossible. Bruce Tate makes a convincing case for moving to Ruby in the book From Java to Ruby - Things Every Manager Should Know.
Contents: Introduction; Pain; Establishing Your Reward; Pilot; On An Island; Bridges; Ramping Up; Risk; Bibliography
While a proponent of the Ruby language, Tate doesn't approach this from a "rah-rah" standpoint. It's written from a practical, pragmatic standpoint, one that is designed to show the pros and cons of using this tool over the "normal" option of Java. He talks about his journey from being a Java evangelist to becoming sold on the benefits that Ruby offers. He doesn't shy away from where Ruby still doesn't measure up. It's more a case of using the right tool for a job, and he feels that Java is an elephant gun being used to kill small rodents in far too many cases. There is always the risk that Ruby won't "cross the chasm", but he feels that Ruby has reached that critical mass that ensures it won't stagnate and die. I personally have wanted to learn Ruby, and this only whets my appetite all the more. I've been trying to learn Perl (in my lack of spare time) for use as a utility tool. But apparently Ruby can do that kind of data manipulation just as well, so I'll probably be reassessing my time spent in that area...
If you're someone who has seen the benefit of Ruby and you want to get your management on board, this might well be the sales tool you need... An excellent read...
Welcome to the conversation!
The only complaint I have with this book is that it is difficult to listen objectively to an Evangelical. The title of the book and its presence in the PragProg Ruby series reveal Bruce's conclusion in most cases (although don't worry, he does agree that Java may still be your answer if your pain measurements align that way).
In practice, that is a minor complaint compared to the value of this book. The negative reviews below suggest that this is more of the same and I couldn't disagree more. "Beyond Java" was a book to open developer's eyes. This book is a nod to the decision making responsibilities of managers and senior engineers.
We can no longer pretend that the engineers can be left in the corner. In the face of agile methodologies, outsourcing and increased competitive pressure, we as an industry must have open channels of communication in order to succeed. This fits in nicely with some of the other recent PragProg titles such as Venkat Subramaniam and Andy Hunt's "Practices of an Agile Developer : Working in the Real World".
In the real world, decisions have consequences, but as this book points out, so does indecision.
Bruce Tate and this book will not solve your problems (unless, perhaps if you hire him). But, by engaging managers into the discussion, he may just enable them to make the decisions that are right for them.
Read this book if you are an engineer and need to be reminded about things like risk and business value. Read this book also if you are intrigued but afraid by Ruby's perceived fringe status (it will embolden your efforts to master the language!).
Buy this book for your manager if you want him/her to see in you a proactive individual with an interest in reducing costs, increasing producitivity and the maturity to value a dialogue.
The back of the book says (in somewhat modest fonts) "Welcome to the revolution!". I would suggest that it should also say (in larger fonts) "Welcome to the conversation!"
