What I mean by this is if I install jRuby on Rails, can I use only the ruby language to build my application? I wanted to install my rails application with jRuby in case I wanted to use Java in the future, though I don't need it now. Or do I not understand? Is jRuby ruby that has access to java libraries?
+4
A:
yes, jruby is ruby (your ruby scripts need no modification to run under jruby). in addition, it has full access to java libraries - check out the wiki for how easy it is to integrate a java class or library into your ruby code.
Martin DeMello
2009-05-22 23:21:42
Read how easy it is... and then don't do it. If your goal is to maintain the ability to switch between Ruby and JRuby you should avoid using C extensions in Ruby and java libraries in JRuby.
Matt G
2009-05-22 23:27:01
+1
A:
The others have answered your direct question. I just want to say that I've been using jruby full time at work for the past 6 months and it's great. Deploying a rails app with the glassfish gem is very easy and jruby performs better than MRI ruby 1.8.x.
I've seen no real downside after 6 months other than the fact that we can't use gems that have pieces written in C. However, we've taken a C library and created a gem using FFI and it wasn't too much trouble.
It's also really easy to speed up your app by writing a few key pieces in java (which is easier t work with than C).
jshen
2009-05-23 02:47:43