Programming outlet after typical 9 - 5 day (language switching)

Question

Okay my goal this year is to really gain valuable experience in C#/ASP.NET and JavaScript. But after a typical 9 - 5 day, I find it really hard to come home and fire up visual studio to try out stuff, afterall I've been using it for over 7 hours. Rather when I get home I find myself drawn to the ruby language and droolling over the awesome community.

Is it a wise (from an experience and productivity standpoint) to play around with ruby when your situation is as stated above?

Won't it be information overload combining (c#, javascript and ruby)? I use c# and js @ work anyways.

p.s Just like everyone else, I do have at least one web based idea in my head. Another reason pulling me to the ruby community is the cheap price to host a rails app compared to an asp.net web application.

Answer 1

I think using Ruby as a compliment to your C#/ASP.NET work is perfectly reasonable. You'll probably find that you learn things that you can apply to your day job, too. You may want to look at ASP.NET MVC -- coupled with LINQ, you can get a fairly close approximation to Ruby/Rails.

Answer 2

Working on a different language, be that Ruby, Python, Lisp, or Smalltalk is a good idea. It will provide you with a definite break from work and also give you another outlook on programming. Each language has certain patterns that work best in it and being well versed in several languages is a great way to expand your thinking.

Answer 3

I know the feeling. I don't want to fire up Eclipse after a day at work even if my mind is full of ideas. Same goes for holidays when you want to get away from all that!

So maybe it's time to regress and do something fun. Learn to program games for the C64/Spectrum/CPC/2600/etc. Absolutely no use in the grand scheme of things, but it's a different software interface, and you're writing games and demos.

As for web development, the cheapest hosting is PHP + MySQL. Personally for a hobby site I'd host at home via DynDNS unless it started getting popular or I already had my own virtual server (i.e., learn some linux sysadmin skills at the same time).

Sadly, you do need to rest. If you're on 9/80 hours you've got a spare full day to work in otherwise, but you probably want to escape what you already know for that unless it is earning you money on the side. Maybe code some perl on a Linux netbook (Python/Perl (+mod_perl) + Apache + MySQL/PostgreSQL) in the pub instead of at home.

Answer 4

I say go ahead an play with Ruby. You'll find ways to leverage these skills at some point via IronRuby. Plus it will exercise your brain.

But... I would say make sure you are keeping up with:
- ASP.NET MVC
- WCF
- Some form of ORM (and maybe IoC)
- Applying patterns to .NET to make yourself a better C# / ASP.NET developer

I went off on a Perl, Ruby, Python, PHP bent in my off-hours for a few years. And I fell far behind in where I think I should be as a C# developer.

Answer 5

I'd say playing with a non-work related tool is extremely beneficial. Ultimately you are adding another tool to your toolbox, not to mention engaging in something you find interesting that is a step removed from work. You are also going to pick up different methods to look at a problem, because the target language might implement things differently than the way you are used to.

So by all means, don't worry about work productivity and broaden your horizons in your own free time. I'd say you answered your own question already, since you have a keen intereset in the Ruby community as it is anyways!