Groovy Vs Jython Vs Jruby Vs Parrot

[siva kumar]

Hi...,

Assuming that the scripting arena dominated by Perl is up for grabs?

also assuming that JVM based scripting is going replace Perl.

what are the pros and cons of Groovy Vs Jython Vs Jruby Vs Parrot/Perl6, who is likely to emerge as a winner.
[ May 26, 2008: Message edited by: siva kumar ]

[Michael Ernest]

None of the above, is my guess.

No one is going to dump Perl in favor of another scripting language. However, it's likely Perl may attract fewer to its base. As more tools marry the convenience of dynamic scripting with the safety of statically-typed languages, perhaps fewer people will turn to Perl or Ruby purely on need.

People who like Ruby but would prefer to stick closer to Java have Groovy as an option. Over time, I think you'll see more people looking for pure JavaScript solutions, in particular for mashups.

That's right, I said it: pure JavaScript. Along the way, I see less use of Perl for web-based applications, but by no means is it going away any time soon.

So long as we're making bold predictions, here's my bet for the sleeper-comeback tool of the rest of the decade.
[ May 28, 2008: Message edited by: Michael Ernest ]

[Marc Peabody]

A good portion of the Groovy and JRuby work out there, as I understand it, is actually for OO applications and not for scripting.

That said, I think most developers that do write scripts will try to get away with using whichever language they're most familiar with because familiarity is a veritable necessity to be productive in a dynamic language.

I think most of the scripters that are eager to leave Perl will go to Ruby. I'm not sure if there's too much of a reason to do JRuby specifically unless you're writing a UI application and you want to take advantage of the Java Platform.

[siva kumar]

As a user of Perl, I cannot confirm that most Perl users want to ditch Perl for Ruby,

When I did programming in Java after migrating from Perl, I felt like typing with my fingers tided together, the flow of perl was not there.

Strangely I felt the rhythm when I did a small development in python, But python lacks the CPAN kind of repository.

I don't think either sysadmin or scripter's dumping perl for Ruby just because its cool, I think Perl will continue to dominate till Ruby or some other language provides the repository like CPAN.

In fact the massive code-base/modules available for all system admin task in Perl ( especially in Unix environment) makes perl irreplaceable. Perl has the massive advantage of being the King of scripting for the past 10 years.

Thats why I feel parrot which inherits much of the knowledge base & packages from Perl will play a major role in scripting arena.
I wonder why parrot is getting delayed, I feel most scripters will try parrot at-least once before trying other options.

[Marc Peabody]

Originally posted by siva kumar:
As a user of Perl, I cannot confirm that most Perl users want to ditch Perl for Ruby,

I think you misinterpretted what I said. I didn't say most Perl users want to ditch Perl for Ruby. I was saying that, of the Perl users who want to move on, I think Ruby will be their most likely candidate.

[Rusty Shackleford]

I don't see anyone moving away from Perl, Ruby or Python to JCrap. Java is a clumsy, inelegant language, and no amount of lipstick is going to change it. IMO, Groovy, Jython, etc are pointless attempts to pound a square peg into a round hole. Given that, Java certainly has its place and valid uses(I use it often), but no way is it going to move into the territory that Perl, Python and Ruby control. Python, and Ruby are not merely "scripting" languages, they are full featured, OO languages that are very dynamic and powerful. It is like saying women are going to ditch diamonds and move en mass to cubic zirconia.

"When I did programming in Java after migrating from Perl, I felt like typing with my fingers tided together, the flow of perl was not there. "

Exactly. I had learned Java before I learned these other languages, and Java now makes me feel like I am going in slow motion, with my fingers tied, and half my keyboard is non-functional.

[Marc Peabody]

Originally posted by Rusty Shackleford:
I don't see anyone moving away from Perl, Ruby or Python to JCrap. Java is a clumsy, inelegant language, and no amount of lipstick is going to change it.

Ummm... this really has nothing to do with the Java language. This is more about other languages (like Ruby and Python) getting to take advantage of running on the Java platform.

So this isn't about dressing the Java language up like a hooker, it's about combining a powerful language with a robust platform.

Will all scripters hop on the JVM? Of course not. Why change unless some circumstance demands it?

Which brings up a good point. Perhaps nearly all of the work in JRuby, Jython, and the like will simply be from Java programmers looking for a more powerful language to run on the same platform.

I think Sun hopes to pull the scripting community onto their platform. I'm sure Microsoft is doing some similar pushes for .Net. Whether or not either are successful, we'll see. In the meantime, I'm having a blast learning some new languages.