A computer language written by a Japanese programmer is approaching the tipping point” in its spread around the world, and according to some it is more logical and user friendly than Microsoft’s Windows and Linus Torvalds’ Linux.
Created by Yukihiro (“Matz”) Matsumoto and called “Ruby,” the new programming language is said by a wide range of experts to be a significant improvement over Windows and Linux in its efficiency, structure and scalability.
Now in use by hundreds of thousands of programmers around the world, Ruby is said to be 90 percent faster than the Windows and Linux, making it possible to create new software applications in only 10 percent of the time required by other systems.
Matsumoto released the first version of Ruby free on the Web in 1995, but it didn’t go anywhere. He continued improving the language. By 2000 a growing number of Web system engineers had picked up on the new programming system, triggering widespread use around the world.
Since 2001 there has been an annual international conference in the United States promoting the use of Ruby, with Matsumoto as the featured speaker. There are presently over 6,000 software developers around the world sending Matsumoto what they regard as enhancements for the spreading language, but he incorporates only those he feels are up to par in structure, logic and ease of use.
Ruby is the first computer programming language created by a Japanese that has achieved international success. / To see a list of books on Japan by the author, go to: www.phoenixbookspublishers.com.
