Ruby is Special

The Language that Still Sparks Joy

2024 was a year of Python notebooks and TypeScript components, of Go services and weekend explorations of Elixir, Mojo, and Haskell. The modern tech stack demands it. AI and web frameworks have pulled me into their orbit, and there's much to appreciate about them.

Python's ecosystem is vast and mature. Its list comprehensions are elegant, generators are powerful, and decorators offer clean abstractions. TypeScript has transformed frontend development with its type system and unlocked new paradigms with edge functions and isomorphic code.

But late at night, when the work is done, I find myself missing Ruby.

It's not just nostalgia. Ruby's approach to expressiveness is unique. The way a simple @sentence.split(/\s+/).map(&:downcase) flows naturally. How seamlessly it embraces developer friendly features such as clean hash syntax, keyword arguments, blocks as first class citizens. The way it trusts developers with meta-programming, letting us shape the language itself to fit our needs.

There's something special about writing code that reads like well structured thoughts. Ruby found a sweet spot between functional, procedural, and object oriented programming that few languages have matched. It made writing maintainable, understandable code feel natural.

The pragmatists will say that the AI revolution needs different tools. That we must embrace the languages the ecosystem prefers. They're not wrong. Strict compile time type checking, nil safety, and zero cost abstractions are table stakes for modern languages.

But I can't help wondering if we've lost something in our rush toward the future. If in optimizing for performance, safety, and machine learning, we've forgotten about the human in the loop. If in our pursuit of artificial intelligence, we've neglected what makes developers not just productive, but truly effective.

I still prefer and write Ruby whenever I can. Each time I do, it makes me wish I could spend more time with a language that consistently prioritizes and optimizes for developer experience without compromising power.

Maybe that's what we need most in this AI era: not just more powerful tools, but more thoughtfully designed ones. Not just languages that machines can process efficiently, but languages that help humans write better code.

I have a feeling Ruby's story isn't over. Because while the world races toward artificial intelligence, there will always be value in languages that make complex problems feel simple and elegant solutions feel natural.

And in that space, Ruby still reigns supreme.