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March 27, 2005
Rails vs Java
There was a pretty long thread on theserverside.com about Rails and Java.
Reading the comments in the thread, it's obvious that some of the Rails and Java advocates have gotten pretty wrapped up in the One True Framework (TM). I think the Rails folks could be a little less incendiary in their claims, and that the Java folks could be a little more open to suggestions and be willing to learn from people who don't necessarily agree with the Java approach to web frameworks.
I'm really enjoying Rod Johnson's lightweight J2EE book, there's lots of great advice in it. After reading the above thread, this quote jumped out at me:
"All good developers are intellectually curious and excited about the technologies they use. Exceptional developers know to subordinate these drives to the real needs of the projects they work on."
I think advocacy is a good thing, but no matter what project you're looking at, there are always a few young turks who take things a little to far, poking out one too many eyes along the way. I've seen enough idioms come and go that I get a little detached when looking at new technologies. It's just like reading the news, you have to look at it with a critical eye and filter out bias to figure out what the real costs and benefits are.
Developers are a funny breed; we can get all worked up about tools and methodlogies and having huge flame wars over mechanisms, when in the end, it's good design, documentation, and project management that determines whether or not a project is going to be successful. I've said embarrassing things in the past when advocating or defending the framework or methodology of the day, it's kind of fun to go over my sent mail folder and chuckle at the crazy things I used to say.
Now, don't get me wrong, I still say crazy things, but I tend to qualify my ramblings now. Or stick them on my blog. :-)
Posted by djb at March 27, 2005 12:10 PM