I write Python and Javascript code. I use Django and jQuery. And I cringe every time I have to run gem install x. I only have a limited understanding of Ruby and hardly any of Ruby on Rails. It seems disorganized to me and hard to process. All this is fine – I don’t have to use any of it if I don’t like it, right?

I always knew there was something wrong with the way Ruby works. I don’t mean wrong like murdering children, I just mean wrong like I don’t know why things are the way they are. There are a lot of talented Ruby programmers and I don’t mean to dismiss that.

Recently, though, I came across a tweet that I made me realize what it was that I didn’t like about Ruby. It was like a small revelation.

Markup is markup, not Ruby. JavaScript is JavaScript, not Ruby. CSS is CSS, not Ruby. Get that in your head before I slap you. - @ara_p

Do you get it? ERB is Ruby with some html-like fragments mixed in. CoffeeScript is a Ruby-like language that compiles to Javascript. Sass is a Ruby-like language for writing css files.

Before you know it, everything will be in Ruby.